Chickens!

We welcomed 9 new arrivals to the Lund... 8 hens and a rooster. Settling in well in their very des-res recyled plastic hen house... pecking about under the old oak tree. With sunrise being fairly late at the moment Mr Rooster is crowing at a respectable hour... but when summer comes along he may well be moved a little further away from outside our bedroom!

A new lick of paint

Any kind of DIY seems to take a while when you have a 3 year old helping out... We've just finished filling all the cracks in the plaster in the Tractor Barn - three years after the barn conversion the plaster has settled down enough to finally fill in and paint. So now we have some new paint, some colour on the wall, and a nice new shiny floor - and we can start putting everything back in place.
And the woodwork outside is weatherproof for winter.. with some bright new colours to spice up the darkening evenings.
With all the redecortation finally done, we can at last think of setting a date to re-open the doors! ... watch this space...

Summer Solstice...

After several months behind closed doors, the Gallery opened its doors to take part in North Yorkshire Open Studios and it was fantastic. We had many visitors to the gallery, both old and new, it's been great to see everyone.
Those that came to visit will have noticed that we've been playing around with the layout. Debbie's studio is now in the end of the gallery space, and Martin is now renting a studio. This is a 'considered' move to further build on the creativity at the Lund, to bring painting to the fore while retaining much, but not all, of the exhibition space in the gallery. (And it means that when you come to see the gallery, you get a chance to sneak a peak at Debbie's studio... )

The summer solstice is on the horizon, and the late daylight is magical, so I'm off out to sup a beer... and think about building a fence for those chickens...

Chickens...?

Since we opened up the central courtyard behind the gallery a couple of years ago, our 'sculpture garden' has effectively become redundant. So, we've decided to rip out much of the 'formal' garden, transplant as many of the plants as possible to the courtyard, and take the sculpture garden back to its agricultural roots with the addition of some chickens. Well - not quite yet, we're half way there. Just need a little extra fencing, and some chickens. A trip to Thirsk Fur and Feather Mart in the coming months will be in order.

Our next event at the gallery will be 9th/10th 16th/17th June - as part of North Yorkshire Open Studios Debbie and resident artist Martin Huxter will be opening their studio doors. Worth checking ot the NYOS website to check out what is going on - it's a major county-wide event not to be missed.

year end...

December the 18th saw the Gallery close its doors at the end of another busy year. A few more days work behind the scenes now will hopefully make sure that all is sorted in the Gallery and all the books are in order and we can put our feet up on Christmas day - though there won't be much chance of that with a 3 year old boy running around!
Like last year we have chosen to be open 'by appointment only' for the first part of next year. Debbie has had yet another succesful year, both in Lund Gallery and elsewhere, and so needs to take some time out to spend some time out and about on the moors and to create her own work. So if you would like to come and visit the gallery, please do call at least a day in advance to make sure we'll be in....

Yorkshire Spa

The Joy of Food is coming to an end.. it doesn't seem like yesterday since it opened - time has flown by. We've had a great response to the show - so many thanks to all the makers, and to Isa and Sarah for taking part. Next show opens in a couple of weeks - we've just finishing proofing the invitiations which will be sent out soon.

We reached new heights in decadance ; I have recently built an outdoor hot tub with views out across the fields:

A new lease of life for an old cast iron bath that has been sitting behind one of the barns. Needs a bit of trial and error though - if the fire gets a bit too lively it's a case of jumping out before scorching one's tender bits!

More good news - Debbie has been celebrating a succesful affordable art fair over the last few days... great to be taking her work out to a wider audience...

logs and turnips - and the Joy of Food

Debbie has returned to a favourite haunt in the North Yorkshire coast - Runswick Bay - so I've taken the opportunity to catch up on stuff that has been bugging me for a while.... After years of looking out of the kitchen window at our logs thrown up against the side of a barn and covered with woobnly tin, I scavenged together a load of left over 4 by 2 and fenceposts, and built a proper log store. (I use 'proper' in the loosest sense of the word.)

Having cleared out the weeds from the veg plot, I went searching for things that you can plant at this time of year (my veg planting does not get planeed in advance!) - so this winter we'll be eating mainly turnips and spinach. More spinach - it always seems to be time to plant spinach.

And on the topic of food - the gallery is getting a major make-over in time for the next show - the Joy of Food - opening September the 25th. It's going to be a major event in this year's calendar, with a special 'foody' preview...

Open again...

We re-opened the doors of Lund Gallery on June 10th after 6 months of the Gallery being 'dormant'. The date coincided with the North Yorkshire Open Studios event of 2011, which resulted in a cascade of visitors coming to see Debbie's work... it was great to see the place alive with people once more! Debbie also managed to track down Sarah Carrington for some new work - now living in Ireland having moved on from Edinburgh. It's taken some time to get in touch, but it's been well worth the wait... several new pieces now hanging in the gallery.

Debbie has recently bought in some vintage Ercol armchairs which are now sharing the space with the pictures and ceramics... they look great! had them re-upholstered and cleaned up. Great to see such classic design in the space.. and a little bit toooo comfy - at risk of being found napping on a Sunday afternoon!

Feb to May Opening

Saturday night saw the opening of Debbie's show of new work at the Gallery at Ryedale Folk museum - it was also Debbie's birthday AND there was a Folk Festival in Hutton-le-Hole - fantastic!

Our son Finn came along for the evening, which made it very much a family afair... though he quickly tired of the main event preferring instead to wander down to the stream that runs through the middle of the village. His first game of 'Pooh Sticks' under the bridge.

During the evening three middle aged men who should have known better started having a tinker with the old tractor outside the museum, and ended up knocking it off it supporting blocks. They ran away and hid like primary school lads who had pulled a prank... and I even think I saw one blushing (!) but they skulked back and 'fessed up with an offer to reseat the green machine. Hutton-le-Hole was most certainly the place to be last Saturday...

February to May 2011 - Solo show...

Debbie has a solo show at The Gallery - Ryedale Folk Museum opening on the 28th of May... In addition to over 70 smaller works she has been working on several larger pieces in mixed media. With so much ink, paint pastel and water on the move, the best place to work is often on the floor...

Exhibiting in Swaledale - East Windy Hall

Debbie has just returned from beautiful Swaledale after delivering some new paintings and drawings to East Windy Hall Gallery. The work is showing in their Easter Exhibition from the 23rd April to the 8th May. So if you fancy a great day out in the dales, take a trip to Reeth, head north towards Arkengarthdale, and after a mile or so stop off at one of Englands most wonderfully located galleries - East Windy Hall.

A week in Runswick Bay

A week in beautiful holiday cottage in Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast - sublime. Uninterupted panaromic views out across the bay in glorious sunshine.

First Earlies

There's a different smell around the farm at the moment - I find that Debbie has bought a blow torch and is experimenting with scorching her paintings. The results are amazing! but, since it's all done outside, it's a case of trying to dodge the snow showers...

With best intentions I have a box of first earlies chitting in windowsill half way up the stairs. I have a bag of main crop waiting to be laid out in a second box. Life is so busy at the moment I think I'll be putting most of our raised beds down to one or other type of potato with maybe the odd onion and parsnip - minimal attention required... Good job the three of us are spud fans!

I'm home for the weekend between trips abroad with work. Time to refill the boiler, bring in some logs, wash some shirts, and spend some precious time with family. But most important of all - strut my stuff at Coxwold Village hall at a very dear friend's 40th birthday bash - 70's style. Over the past few weeks I've been growing a goaty beard which today has been trimmed down to a classic porn star / drug dealer / hipster droopy moustache (I don't think it will remain on my face for mare than a day!)

I think our son is stirring after his midday nap - so better be off...

Snow snow snow

Just like everyone else in the North East of England, we have had our fair shair of snow over the past week or so - however, from the news coverage it looks as though we've missed the main falls and only have about 30cm on the ground. But, as we live here, we have no problem getting to work! So we're still open to all who venture out to see us.

Very glad we took delivery of 5 tons of woodchip a few days ago - with temperatures dipping down to minus 10 C the boiler has been earning its keep. And it's been a perfect chance to throw some large logs in that we collected in 2009 from some of the branches down around the farm. The boiler seems to work better when it's firing on all cylinders, really seems to burn the wood down to very little ash...

Following a very busy month - courses from Celia Smith and Peter Wray, and opening TWO shows - Debbie's own show in the main gallery and a show featuring Hilary Angle and Barbara Wood in the Tractor Barn - we now have only a few weeks left before closing the doors for Christmas. It's been great to have the gallery bursting with people and creativity, but it will also be pleasant at the end of the month to take a deep breath and enjoy a few days to ourselves!

Steve's week off..

I've taken a week off work and had a 'staycation' in the truest sense of the word - stayed at home. And it's been great - once I managed to get my head into the 'holiday' groove... Playing with chainsaws and fallen trees, piles of wood, mowers, cars, bikes... anything to be outside in the fresh air (occasionally tinged with exhaust fumes and wood smoke) - and playing with our son.

Wednesday was a special day - Debbie and I packed up our rucksacks and headed for the hills -our first real walk on the moors together since the boy came along. A day in glorious sunshine up above Hawnby, with the ever present Bilsdale mast towering above us.

Debbie took sketch book and pencil along for the day - it will be interesting to see if any of the walk ends up in future drawings... On the topic of Debbie's drawings, we spent a morning with the framer last week in the very pleasurable task of discussing how to frame Debbie's newest body of work due to be exhibited in November in Lund Gallery. There are some interesting 3D blocks and multiple image works - can't wait to see how they will look when framed up...

Autumn on the Lund

The past few weekends have been wonderfully busy ; the opening of our 5th anniversary show, followed by a woodblock printing course from Jo McChesney and a stone carving course from Dominic Hopkinson. The creative buzz that comes with hosting courses makes the whole Lund come alive...

The sculpture yard has been bursting with colour - could not believe how the borders have flourished...

... and the White Horse of Kilburn has been repainted in the last few weeks, and it seems to jump off the hillside on a sunny day...

Steve has been trying to work out what veg to plant over the winter - this year we will mostly be eating spinach and spring onions.. I know it's a cliched picture, but I could not resist a snap of the fork in the vegetable plot that I saw the other day... They say that much of the pleasure of food is in the anticipation - well we'll be anticipating these for several months!

Almost Five!

Lund Gallery is rapidly approaching its fifth anniversay! In may ways it seems 'just like yesterday', but then again there are times when it feels like more than five years - there's a lot of hard work behind the scenes!

In these last five years we have built up a considerable mailing list to which we send out invitations to our featured exhibitions and events, and it has grown to quite a size - a little bit too large in fact. So in order to save some trees we have decided to make sure the list is up to date. So, if you are currently on our mailing list and would like to continue receiving information from the gallery in the future, please let us know by e-mail, 'snail- mail, or in person when you next visit the gallery.

Peter Humpherson's Pots

A short blog entry just to say how much we like Peter Humpherson's pots.


He has a selection in our current show, including some new forms on wooden bases one of which required a little last minute work before display...

On yer bike...

I took some time away from the chocolate factory and loaded up my bike with a tent and loaded the bike onto a train up to Berwick upon Teed (what a fantastic thing to be able to do - take a bike on a train for free!). The following days were then spent ambling back through the Cheviots and the Pennines roughly following Sustrans route 68. Revisiting many of the places I have not been on a bike for over 20 years - absolutley fantastic. One of the highlights was an old railway up Tynedale to Alston; I think Sustrans deserve a warm pat on the back for having opened up some fantastic cycleways.

I would also like to take the opportunity to praise Anna Whitehouse, an up-and-coming ceramicist from Harrogate who has helped us out in the Gallery over recent weeks - including photographing much of the current work in the Gallery and setting us up with some 'business pages' on Facebook : thanks Anna...

Summer at the Lund

The Summer show has opened at Lund Gallery, and the gallery has come alive...

In June, Debbie held a drawing course, Dominic a stone sculpture course, and Celia Smith a wire sculpture course - accompanying the opening of her show. The courses took place throughout the Lund - in the barns, fields, gallery, courtyard and Tractor Barn - a real buzz...

We finished the courtyard in time for exhbiting works by Chris Lewis, Nigel Edmondson and Sarah Walton:

And on top of all this, Debbie has been putting a body of work together for a show coming up in Harrogate next week. A busy time for all...