Imagine Gallery

"Onwards and upwards".

It seems to be the daily mantra for me.

Having the opening of an exhibition always makes me feel that "now I can take a break",

but that never seems to happen as there is the ever present thought of "what's next"?

Having devoted all of my recent time to one event it now seems that I must forget about that and focus on the next, still at least I have the pleasure of looking at the results of a lot of planning and dreaming

while I am "planning and dreaming" of the next exhibition.

In fact not just the next one, but the one that follows and the one after that.

Which makes me pause for a moment, as I think a few of you may be hearing from me about that,

but, for the moment that is a future worry the one that concerns me and has all of my attention at the moment is our 'Christmas Exhibition'.

Much as there is a great part of me that adores Christmas in a very childlike way I have never before taken the exhibition side of it too seriously as I feel that so many galleries just use it as an umbrella 

under which to "stock up"for the future and that this cheapens the idea of it being an exhibition and is very unfair on the artists.

Maybe that is the right thing to do, who knows?

This year I decided that what I would would do is to treat the Christmas exhibition "very" seriously.

So I decided to contact and to visit artists whose work I really want to show but haven't got the appropriate group show for, or who I couldn't give a solo show to for some time.

This way I felt we could exhibit work I really like sooner rather than later,

plus, they would have to be special pieces as it is Christmas, usually that bring out the best in us all.

As a result I have been travelling again, travelling and collecting.

This time yet again my journey took me far north and meant stopping overnight at different locations.

one of these was of course 'The Green Dragon" in Yorkshire but I will not mention that as I think I have given them perhaps too much publicity in the past.

However if you travel north make sure to stop at..........................................................................!

I went to visit various artists, some we have exhibited before some we haven't, one in particular I have been pestering for some time and who I thought would never succumb to my persuasion.

At last he has, the potter Rob Watson.

He is a very "northern" man, if such a thing exists, he is very "down to earth" and has no interest in celebrity or exhibiting with galleries, he is far happier to just make what pleases him and sell it to the people who make their way to his door.

But at last I have managed to persuade him to show his beautiful pots with us at Christmas.

He is a man who works in many styles and who uses an extensive colour palette.

Those I have shown I chose because I love them, plus the colour is very fitting for the season.

 Another person who I am pleased to be showing is the lovely Jessica Irena.

I have long wanted to have on display one of her 'Mountain Goat" sculptures, at last I shall.

This Glass and bronze sculpture will be shown alongside some of her delicate glass bowls.

I should really be telling you more about the people and my visits with them, but as always this is being written last thing before I leave for the day, and now I have an extra reason to want to get home.

We have a new addition to the family, "Bramble", another Old English Sheepdog puppy.

I say "puppy"but she is growing by the minute and is wrecking the home.

Good thing I'm hiding here at the gallery.