Meet The Maker – Rosie Brewer

Rosie Brewer -Working with Wood

Rosie has a very fluid method of working, where the piece constantly evolves, adjusting to new discoveries and responding to the strengths and weaknesses of the material it is made from. She likes to incorporate a certain amount of chance and a sense of unpredictability, allowing some other extraneous variable to influence her work, whether it is nature or otherwise, it will to a certain extent, dictate the final outcome.

Laid table with some of Rosie’s boards

Rosie looks at the design process as if it was an evolution, the journey of an object, from sourcing the raw materials through to the final outcome and beyond to when it is unleashed into the wild and allowed to begin its new life being used for what it was always intended.

Zebrano wood boards

Zebrano wood heart

Rosie is interested in the things which people use every day, products with which the user can form a strong bond. She has a gratitude and respect for all objects, an appreciation, a joy in making and what is made. She wants to celebrate the ways of making and demonstrate an appreciation of objects which highlight how they are constructed.

Wooden board with fruit

Rosie enjoys making work which has a sense of time, where you can appreciate that whilst an object appears so, it is never static but constantly changing and evolving at a very slow pace, everything is gradually becoming more chaotic. Working in a material such as wood, this is especially apparent. Being a natural material, wood already has a history, having come from a tree which might have been growing for many years. It shows signs of its previous life, marks where it was cut down, imperfections from diseases and spalted marks from fungus as well as knots and splits where branches once sprouted.

Twisted stack of mini boards

Heart Gallery lovely Rosie’s work and we have taken great delight from our customers that have bought them this month since we introduced Rosie’s work to Heart Gallery. The many uses they are buying them for has given us lots of Christmas present ideas but the one we have taken on board (excuse the pun) ourselves is the little mini board wrapped up with lemons and limes and given as a gift with a lovely bottle of gin!!

Oak mini boards

Happy gin soaked Christmas everyone!

Thinking outside the (GIFT) box!

So ‘silly season’ is most definitely upon us now in Heart Gallery and we are positively glowing with cheer and enjoying the festive atmosphere in Hebden Bridge. The Valley of Lights events recently really brought our community together and it was an amazing celebration for businesses and homeowners that had been affected by the floods but got through it and renovated and re-opened. With a sense of pride for what we have all achieved the Valley of Lights attracted approximately 10,000 visitors from far and wide and gave the upper Calder valley the boost it needed to face Christmas.

With the Festive Fandango now well and truly underway we can see at Heart Gallery that people are making more of a conscious effort to stay local and support the many small independent shops in our great town. Every year I do this as I feel so blessed to have a wealth of choice on my doorstep but this year more and more people are supporting Hebden Bridge businesses which is fantastic to see. Festive Fandango is now in its third year and gathering pace. It’s not rocket science! All you need to do is spend a minimum of £5 in 5 separate Hebden Bridge shops, get a sticker, collect all 5, complete the card and hand it in or post it to our Visitor Centre by the Marina. You are then given a discount voucher booklet for January and entered into the draw to win a £750 hamper of goodies donated by all the lovely shops in our great town.

So many of our fabulous customers are thinking outside the (gift) box this year and I just wanted to share a couple with you that have got our creative juices flowing here at Heart Gallery so thank you to those that planted the seeds for those ideas!

Andy Poplar’s amazingly clever etched glass lab bottles have been bought to fill with home infused damson gin for presents by one very artistic customer who is also a member of our fabulous Hebden Bridge WI. Then this last weekend two guys bought the larger version of Andy’s lab bottle for their bathroom to keep purple shampoo and conditioner in … I will be borrowing that idea too!

I think everyone in our town should bottle a bit of Hebden Spirit don’t you?

The same lovely lady who has been making damson gin all year came back for one of Rosie’s handmade mini wooden chopping boards we have in Elm, Oak, Tulip and Zebrano …. not for cheese but for lemons and limes to go with the gin of course!

So there you have it folks, a few ideas thinking outside the (gift) box and keeping your pennies in the town along with the chance to win a £750 hamper – simples I say!

Meet The Maker – Natasha Newton

Natasha Newton – artist and illustrator

Natasha is an artist, illustrator and designer living and working in the beautiful coastal county of Suffolk in England. Since July 2010 she has been spending a few months of the year in Paris, and she now divides her time between the two places.

Abstract Seedpods – hand painted pebbles

Her art explores an ongoing love of nature and astronomy, featuring birds, trees, starry night skies and mountainous winter landscapes, as well as her recent nature-inspired abstract paintings.

Silent Sigh – painting on wood panel

Dreaming – painting on wood panel

Her work frequently has a quiet, dream-like quality and a subtle or muted colour palette, sometimes with the addition of an occasional hit of bright colour. Look closely and you’ll often find areas of fine detail and decorative pattern. She also enjoys the strong graphic quality of black and white, and produces many monochromatic works on paper alongside her paintings on canvas and wood.

Watching – painting on wood panel

Natasha has exhibited with many galleries throughout the UK, and her work has been selected several times for major shows in London, including winning an award at The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours Annual Exhibition.

Keeping Watch 1 – painting on wood panel

Natasha’s artwork has gained a large international following in recent years and her paintings sell to collectors all over the world. She also receives regular commissions from both private and business clients. Commissions have included CD cover artwork, business logos, and book covers. In March 2010 her paintings were used by the book publishing company Random House as the cover artwork for a series of five books by the author Jorge Bucay. 

Keeping Watch 2 - painting on wood panel

Heart Gallery is proud to be able to showcase Natasha’s original acrylic paintings and hand-painted stones as part of our Summer Showcase, her work is dreamy, soothing and calming and much loved here at Heart Gallery HQ!

Nature Set of 4 hand painted pebbles

Summer Showcase and Garden Party

Summer Showcase invitation

Summer Showcase invitation

Our Summer Showcase will introduce new makers to the gallery from June through until August 2012; celebrating the very best of British Contemporary Craft.

Suet Yi ceramics

At GNCCF October 2011, Heart Gallery was asked to be a prize sponsor and proudly offered an exhibition opportunity to Suet Yi Ceramics which set the ball rolling to find makers that would compliment Suet’s work which is inspired by the beauty of wild flowers, falling leaves, autumn trees and resting birds.

Suet Yi ceramics

Suet Yi ceramics

This showcase will be a delight and a visual feast as Natasha Newton’s painted wood and stones will sit proudly with Suet’s terracotta plates and bird gardens.

Keeping Watch – Natasha Newton

Abstract Seed Pods – Natasha Newton

Complimenting Suet and Natasha’s stunning work we are showcasing ranges from other UK designer/makers inspired by the natural world including the following:

Gold plated Bird Heart Necklace – Alice Stewart

Oxidised silver raven necklace – Anna de Ville

Jewellery range – Belinda Norrington

Hand dyed and hand painted anodised aluminium wall butterflies – Caroline Parrott

Silver jewellery – Caroline Watson

Glass Landscape Dish – Colette Halstead

Ceramic Pumpkins – Fiona Mazza

Peacock Feather Studs – Kirsty O’Donnell

Silver jewellery – Christine Kaltoft

Ceramic submarines – Nicola Cheers

Our Garden Party to celebrate the Best of British is Sunday 01 July, 12pm – 5pm, but work will be on show from Sunday 10 June. Please join us for fizz and nibbles and a mooch around the gallery and garden as part of the amazing Hebden Bridge Arts Festival.

Meet The Maker – Katie Heeks

Katie Heeks - Designer/Maker

Katie is a designer/maker who specialises in laser cutting, using it to produce lighting, 3D pictures and other objects to value and cherish. She is inspired by the decorative forms in nature and hand sketches drawings of flowers and similar imagery into beautiful silhouettes.

Detail from Rainforest

The primary material Katie uses is mostly sustainably sourced birch plywood, which she then laminates with vintage textiles to add pattern and colour. Katie then laser cuts the beautiful silhouettes to create her Gardens of Delight!

Rainforest

The idea behind Katie’s work is that it is a little world dedicated to people’s interests and passions, whether its animals, music or even gardening, almost anything can be incorporated into these magical worlds.

Katie Heeks Meerkat Garden

The level of detail ensures constant surprises and delight, you never know what you might find in the undergrowth!

Side view of one of Katie's Gardens of Delight

Heart Gallery was so blown away by Katie’s work when we first saw it; we absolutely love her Gardens of Delight and know you will too. We currently have four on sale and chose her image for our Garden Party invitation to celebrate being 5 year’s old this month. Please come along and celebrate this achievement with us and see Katie’s work in Heart Gallery, you will not be disappointed.

Five and Fabulous Invitation

Five and Fabulous Invitation