Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Sunday 11 April 2010

In the sunshine

On Friday it was, once again, my turn to look after The Riverslade Gallery and Shop in Saffron Walden. Over the past six months on the days when I've been in charge of the gallery, the weather has been cold and grim and I've always driven home in rain, sleet or snow! What a difference a ray of sunshine makes! I opened the huge vintage wooden shutters to reveal the newly revamped Jubilee Gardens - they aren't re-opened to the public yet but the smart new path and flower borders look spick and span, just waiting for a lovely concert at the traditional bandstand and people chilling out on the lawn.

I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite things by a few of the other artist/makers at The Riverslade:

Here is the sunlight casting coloured patterns through one of Carole Gray's glass panels onto the wooden shutters . . .


Gill Howe creates beautiful mosaics, I love her colour combinations and how she incorporates vintage crockery into the designs . . .


A row of luxurious scarves and wraps in the richest of jewel colours, made from hand-dyed velvet by Lin Patterson . . .


The display of restrained white domestic ware by Susan Cupitt, all her ceramics have an air of simple calm beauty . . .


And finally, an irresistible row of pencils covered with marbled papers by Victoria Hall . . .


The Riverslade Gallery and Shop is open Wednesday to Saturday, look for the signs by the walkway to Waitrose just off Hill Street in Saffron Walden. Oh, and my prints and cards are for sale there too.

18 comments:

  1. I am completely smitten with those marbled pencils!

    ReplyDelete
  2. the mosaics are lovely. Glad the sun is finally finding it's way to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those marbled pencils are fun and I love Susan Cupitt's work - her simple white ceramics are very covetable! Must visit this gallery on my next trip to Saffron Walden. I'm looking forward to summer concerts too - just booked tickets for the Tempest at Ickworth Park in August - hope the weather is better than last year!

    Jeanne x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovin the colours. Nice photos :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ohhh those pencils are lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful riot of colour! I particularly like the rich fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just a thimbleful....

    Must pay it a visit - I love Saffron Walden - why can't Royston get a similar atmosphere?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I will have to pay a visit very soon - I think I could fall in love with so much there, especially those scarves!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I thought about coming over on Friday but somehow never quite got around to it... I must visit soon. It looks like a lovely gallery.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the scarves and the pencils! Well, it is all lovely really. You are so right about the sunshine. Gave me a perfectly happy day today.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Celia, just the name Saffron Walden seems pretty wonderful to my eye and ear.

    I also love those marbled pencils (and do have some myself made years ago in Italy.) And Ms Cupitt's clean designs also would make me want to part with some funds.

    Thank you for sharing the riches of this gallery with your readers. Bet that some of your work just might be included there, too?

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. What delicious things Celia - I must visit the Riverslade soon x

    ReplyDelete
  13. The pencils are lovely aren't they! They'd have to be for display only though, too lovely to sharpen down........ then again! Such gorgeous goodies in that gallery, love the simple ceramic work, it's so elegant.
    Love Vanessa xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oooh, the scarves, the pencils! It all looks lovely. i must try to get along to the gallery very soon. Which days are you there?
    I've just put a link to you from Planet Penny, you'll see why!
    love Penny x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful things... it's lovely to find a gallery that sells crafts and gorgeous things made by local people, as opposed to the mass produced rubbish we find in so many shops these days. I love all the colour, the glass and the mosaics especially, and contrasting with the pure white ceramics of Susan Cupitt, make each seem more desirable.

    ReplyDelete
  16. oh what a glorious environment to work in, surrounded by such beauty!! Lovely shop, just as well I live way over here in N Ireland or I really would be there everyday crying over the fact that I can't afford anything, ahhaah

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fantastic things to look at and the sunshine always makes things even better.

    ReplyDelete
  18. For those of you who live near Saffron Walden, The Riverslade Gallery is well worth a visit (yes, I'm biased). Jubilee Gardens has re-opened to the public after it's makeover and is a lovely public space. Kim's tearoom has outdoor seating overlooking the gardens and is just around the corner from the gallery.

    Celia
    x

    ReplyDelete

I love reading all the comments (except for spam and advertising which I will delete) and I'll reply here in the comments under each blog post, it may take a few days if I'm busy.
You don't need to have a blog to leave a comment, you can select the name/URL option and fill in just your name instead of a blog link.