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 15 August 2010

Public hanging


This morning I took my framed linocuts to the Michaelhouse Centre in Cambridge for the 'hanging'. We'd been told to hang our pictures using fishing line as we were not allowed to hammer hooks or nails into the walls; there would be hooks at the top of the wall that we could use. No probs! I thought.

Michaelhouse
is a 14th century church right in the heart of the historic centre of Cambridge, it has been stunningly converted into a café, gallery and cultural and spiritual meeting place. The Summer Art Exhibition in aid of the Arthur Rank Hospice is displayed around the ground floor and the mezzanine gallery; the lower area was already hung with prints by the late Pamela Hughes, we were directed to climb the open tread spiral stairs to the upper lever were my work was to be hung alongside the meticulous detailed wood engravings of Andy English and Judy Logan's moody and mysterious etchings from her 'Crow' series.


We arrived at the top of the steel and wood spiral staircase to find Judy and her husband contemplating the task of how to hang fishing line from the very very high walls! I was so relieved that Cliff had helped me carry the pictures from the car and that he was able to stay to help me hang my pictures . . . and I'm so lucky he's very tall and not averse to climbing a ladder.



You wouldn't believe the sweat (and almost tears) that went into hanging five pictures! I think I may have heard Andy mutter something about what he's give to be able to hammer a nail into the wall . . . but I may have imagined it! I suppose the public sipping their cappuccinos and eating the quiche of the day, will think the pictures just appeared with a wave of a magic wand!



I hope some of you will be able to see the exhibition – it's well worth going in for chef Bill Sewell's food and to see the interior of the building, from the mezzanine gallery you get a panoramic view across the nave – the glass in the west window is stunning!



Tomorrow evening is the Private View, it will be good to see Andy and Judy again – by then we may have recovered from the 'hanging' and be able to enjoy looking at the pictures.

The exhibition continues until 4th September, the Michaelhouse Centre and Café is open Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm. All commission on sales and proceeds from donated work will be donated to the Arthur Rank Hospice.

13 comments:

  1. The little glimpses we get of your linocuts are tantalising! They look lovely - but I don't envy you the hanging of them!! lucy x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michaelhouse is one of my favourite places - but please tell me Cliff wasn't up a ladder on the mezzanine ...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Locket Pocket - you can of course see all my linocuts over on my main web site. Hanging these was a nightmare!

    Hi Dottycookie - I can't believe it but this was my first time inside Michaelhouse. And yes Cliff was up the ladder on the mezzanine ... I'm so relieved I didn't go to hang the pictures by myself!


    Celia
    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. the church looks lovely, wish I could get to visit but it's a bit of a trek for me to Cambridge. Thanks for posting the pictures though they look great

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a beautiful setting for an exhibit, but also what a huge challenge to get that public hanging accomplished.

    Let us all toast Cliff for being the right man in the right place at the right time.

    I am sure that your prints will attract lots of great attention and quick purchases.


    As I looked at the photos, I kept trying to search my memory to think if I might have been inside that beautiful place. Think so, but I might be fooling myself.

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Michaelhouse is a wonderful setting for your art Celia. Unfortunately I won't be there in time-next scheduled visit not until mid-September. In the meantime I will enjoy the pictures in the post and on your website.

    ReplyDelete
  7. judy logan's crows are wonderful! as opposed to climbing above the third rung of a ladder--which is more along the lines of chill-in ducing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your prints look great. Congratulations, and here's hoping for big success.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's a wondeful setting for your pictures - hope you managed to get a cup of tea and a bun before you left?!

    ReplyDelete
  10. this is one of our favourite places to eat, celia ..its so beautiful...look forward to seeing your prints at our next visit.....

    ReplyDelete
  11. They are tall walls, sometimes a man comes in very handy!
    I hope the exhibition goes well and have a lovely evening.
    love
    Lyn
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. oh my those ARE tall walls! And I loved the photo you took of the magnificent windows including that last one showing the leaf detail. Your images look great.

    I've been enjoying reading some of your recent posts -- dropping by as I do every once in a while, since I can't make it on a regular basis. Lovely to see how you are doing!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That looks like a lovely exhibition..our group uses that same hanging system..its hard work!

    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.