Meet The Maker – Sue Candy

Sue Candy – Ceramicist

After studying a City & Guilds course in Ceramic Design and having a number of careers including English Teacher and member of a wholefood co-operative, Sue set up as a full-time ceramicist eight years ago.  She now works from a workshop at the bottom of her garden in the creative town of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, designing and making contemporary tableware, wall pieces and ceramic jewellery.  

Jewellery Box

All of Sue’s work is handmade with care from porcelain slabs, and decorated using a variety of techniques including inlay, sgraffito, incising, metal lustre painting and printing.  Each piece is finished with a transparent silky glaze and fired to 1230°, making her tableware waterproof and dishwasher safe.  Her reputation is built on the clean geometric shapes and delicacy of her designs, applied with a limited colour palette. 

Tall Lidded Box

The imagery Sue uses is drawn from coastal, horticultural, Scandinavian and Japanese influences, which unconsciously become absorbed into the melting pot of ideas, and resurface as a range of unique decorative and functional tableware and accessories.

Chutney, Salt and Pepper and Mustard pots

 Sue regularly exhibits at galleries all over the UK and stocks approximately twenty galleries at any one time.  She also sells direct to the public at contemporary craft fairs and online.  She is a member of Northern Potters and an Associate Member of Northlight Art Studios.

Jewellery Box, Vase and Bud Vase

Heart Gallery regularly showcases Sue’s ranges and we currently have this turquoise version on our shelves.

Send in the cleaners!

This really sounds like something from a Tarantino film but I just wanted to write a quick little post on the cleaners that my landlord sent in on Sunday after the floods in Hebden Bridge Friday night!

Market Street flooding – image taken from the internet Ed Chadwick

I know that I  was really lucky on Friday night, compared to many of my lovely neighbours on Market Street, but I did still suffer and I suppose I naively thought that being set back from the road with gardens would save the building from being flooded by the water and sewage – I was wrong! You cannot protect anything from the forces of nature and I found that to be true today when ironically meeting with my loss adjuster in the garden at the gallery the sky turned black, the heavens opened and a flash storm meant the road outside the gallery and the path leading up to the front door was once again under an inch of water in 7 minutes! (apparently I have been reliably informed that this equates to 12 inches in an hour). Needless to say with both of us without umbrellas or coats we left in rather a soggy state!

One of three dehumidifiers working their socks off to dry out Heart Gallery

Anyway, I am waffling on so back to the cleaners! My landlord came round on Saturday during the clean up to bring dehumidifiers and let me know that the cleaners were arriving Sunday am. I swear that it just sounded like something from a film script! But send them in he did and when they arrived they worked like troopers to scrub the muck out of the reclaimed timber floor and skirtings in all the rooms and sanitise it so no germs could survive!

Cleaners in the Picture Gallery which sells paintings, prints, photography, glass  and ceramics

Cleaners in the back retail room that sells kitchen and homeware including retro telephones

Cleaning underway in the Picture Gallery – can you imagine how much we had to shift to make all this possible?

The cleaners in the back of the building in the office and storerooms – where does the water come from, where does it go? (Think there is a song there somewhere!)

I was so grateful that I also sent them on their ‘aching bone’ way with a bottle of pink fizz which I was told by them would go perfectly with the fish soup they were making for dinner!

Shifting the whole gallery around to clean!

Shifting the whole gallery around to clean!

No where to go!

So watch this space ……. hopefully the floor will once more be back to its former glory!

The floor clean and safe from germs x

So, the cleaners were amazing and I would recommend them to anyone so here is their Facebook Page.  Thanks to the landlord for stepping up to the mark in these difficult circumstances, thanks to friends and family who have been there to support me physically and emotionally (I have yet again learned a valuable life lesson about some), and thank you to my wonderful husband who has had flooding to our other business, The Milk Bar, to deal with along with me and my roller coaster of emotions – I love you xXx

Meet The Maker – Nicola Cheers

Nicola Cheers – ceramicist

Whilst on a drawing trip during her time at Cumbria College of Art and Design Nicola became fascinated by the wonderful colours and textures on the fishing vessels in Maryport Harbour. Back in her studio at the college she set about trying to recreate the rusting, flaking colours of the ships in clay. Having successfully experimented with surface texture and glazes she developed a range of ship forms as a vehicle to carry her colours and texture. 

Subs and Tubs – Nicola Cheers

Having produced an extensive range of designs for boat forms she was inspired to create submarine shapes after reading about the submarine works in Barrow in Furness. Submarines have continued on from that point to be the core of Nicola’s work. These subs do indeed float in the bath (upside down)!!

Tub with periscope- Nicola Cheers

Nicola’s range of nautically themed forms are also designed to amuse and delight, in particular her submarines which are brightly decorated and adorned, as opposed to the image of submarines as being instruments of stealth, menace and destruction.

Submarine with periscope – Nicola Cheers

Heart Gallery adores Nicola’s pieces and we have seen that our men folk are really loving the display of submarines as they come through the door – a real talking point for them.

Meet The Maker – Suet Yi

Suet Yi – ceramicist

Last year at GNCCF I was honoured to be asked by Ann-Marie and Angela to offer a prize to an exhibitor and also excited to be able to get a sneaky early peek before the doors opened to the public! (See the blog I did about it here). The GNCCF showcases cutting edge contemporary craft to buy from over 150 carefully selected designer-makers in ceramics, glass, jewellery, interior and fashion textiles, wood, paper, silver, metal, product design, print-making and more. Last year was its fourth year and I have supported it since it first opened its doors at Manchester Grammar School in 2008 when it was opened by designer Thomas Heatherwick.

GNCCF Spinningfields 2011

Visitors to GNCCF can spend the day in a relaxed yet stimulating atmosphere, chat to the makers about their work and buy or commission pieces directly from them. As a gallery owner it is the perfect place for me to visit to find new graduates and designer-makers I have not yet discovered to showcase their work in Heart Gallery in the future….and there’s a bonus – it’s ‘Up North’ so not far to travel!

My first view of Suet’s display

Awarding Suet Yi with her certificate and the chance to exhibit with me in 2012

Awarding Suet an exhibition got me thinking about her work and when it would best suit Heart Gallery. Talking to Suet made it clear that she had a real passion for her craft and her inspirations from nature and life were so important to her. Suet’s display reflected this so well so it seemed apt to launch a Summer Showcase around her and therefore a 2012 exhibition was planned, organised and hey presto – Suet’s work has now arrived at Heart Gallery for others to admire 9 months after first meeting her.

Summer Showcase 2012 invitation

Summer Showcase 2012 invitation

In 2008, Suet quit her job in Hong Kong and came over to the UK to do a second degree in Nottingham. She expected to do something she would enjoy but had absolutely no idea what that thing would be. The summer before she entered her final year, she met Katrin Moye (an established potter based in Nottingham) who offered her a placement over the holiday and a part-time job for two months. This working experience helped her explore some decorating skills in pottery.

Suet Yi – wall plates

During her final year, Suet gave all her heart into creating her own body of work and played with clay every day and night. Sometimes it did not listen to her and sometimes she misunderstood it so the path to understanding ceramics took a lot of patience on Suet’s part but her love towards her work is more powerful than an alarm clock! It wakes her up every morning and she now knows that ceramics is the thing for her life. Suet Yi Ceramics is her everything; it has given her a meaningful life, a life Suet is able to look after and control, a life which makes her smile and a life she wants to last forever.

Suet Yi – wall plate

Suet explores beauty and simplicity from her love of the countryside and also the joy of being a child. 

Suet Yi – ceramic birds and trees

She enjoys the inner peace and tranquillity creating with clay. 

Suet Yi – wall plate

From her playful plates to her minimalist birds and trees, there is a sensibility as delicate as the materials. 

Suet Yi – ceramic birds and trees

We adore Suet’s work and know that you will too so do call in soon to see the range she has created for us. We are officially launching the Summer Showcase on Sunday 01 July from 12-5pm so do please join us for our Garden Party.

Suet Yi Ceramics – wall display

I will finish this post on Suet with her own words: “Ceramics and I are bonded by destiny. It carries my love for a simple and quiet life.”

Meet The Maker – Rachel Dormer

Rachel Dormer - ceramicist

Rachel has been making pots on the potter’s wheel since she was 14 and in 2009 to mark 20 years since her first pot she successfully launched her collection at four international shows.

Blue ceramic colander

Rachel now makes a range of finely thrown porcelain tableware in simple, elegant shapes. New pieces include bowls and large porcelain dishes and vases decorated with platinum line drawings.

Cups

All work is glazed in either retro blue, white or pale green and fired to a high temperature for increased durability.

Salt Pots - Rachel Dormer

Bowls - Rachel Dormer

Everything Rachel makes is stamped with a discreet potters mark which is listed in British Studio Potters Marks.

Cups on dresser - Rachel Dormer

Heart Gallery is proud to have been carefully selected by Rachel to showcase her ceramics and her latest hanging hearts for weddings and civil partnerships make really lovely and affordable gifts so call in to see them soon.

Rachel Dormer's ceramics are stunning

Meet The Maker – Jo Luckstead

Jo Luckstead - ceramicist

Returning to formal education following 10 years of experience working and teaching within a range of media, Jo completed two years of ceramic studies and opened her studio/shop in Somerset . From here she produces amongst other pieces, figurative ceramic sculptures reflecting ecclesiastical themes and more recently, mythological influences.

Ceramic genie bottles - great little pressie for someone you love

Egg Bowls

Handbuilt bowls and sculptural vignettes, bottles and framed decorative tiles celebrate the more quirky things in life. Alongside her fine art ceramics  she makes an ever expanding range of ceramic buttons and also runs workshops from her studio.

Magpie Nests

Primarily Jo now works in stoneware, using clays that work well with handbuilding. Pieces are produced through press moulding or handbuilding, or a combination of the two. All press moulded pieces are worked by hand to form a unique finished piece. After the initial bisque firing colour is applied with underglazes and some transparent glaze is used to intensify the colours or create a contrast in surface texture. 

Ceramic hearts and pebbles ideal for Mothers' Day presents

Previously she worked with a very neutral palette but now enjoys the movement into subtle colours with this more recent body of work. Pieces are fired to 1260 degrees C and certain individual pieces are then finished with a touch of gold leaf.

Jo's Valentine piece

You can personalise Jo's pebbles with initials which are great for wedding favours

Jo is a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen and Heart Gallery is proud to have been carefully selected by Jo to showcase a range of her latest work.

Meet The Maker – Bev Milward

Bev Milward - ceramicist

Bev’s work is back with us again this year after proving popular in 2011 and as part of our current Wedding Exhibition. ‘I DO’, Bev has made us some more of her porcelain cake toppers.

Porcelain cake topper

Bev’s porcelain landscapes and figures are influenced by the environment in which she lives, personal events and experiences and by the nature of the porcelain itself.

Couple on mound

 

She is concerned with how humour and sentimentality have been used historically in ceramics and aims to infuse emotion into each piece.

 

Couple under bowe

Although the work illustrates a personal journey it appeals to a much wider audience who can identify with the sentiments.  Each element or symbol has a history or a meaning and her maker’s mark, in the shape of a key, can be found somewhere on each piece. 

 

Imagery and themes are reworked and revisited but no piece is repeated.  The last piece informs the next and evolves as a continuous visual diary.

 

In clover

A sense of ambiguity is important and Bev is left with satisfaction when someone is able to bring their own interpretation to the work.

The night you swept me off my feet

Meet The Maker – Alex Shimwell

Alex Shimwell - ceramicist

In his work Alex explores the relationships between the processes that make the piece and the effects they create, as well as the relationship between the pot and the user.

Throwing

He makes solely wheel thrown, high fired, porcelain and stoneware objects with a functional purpose.

Throwing

His aesthetic ideas are grounded in the traditions of British studio pottery, which takes its inspiration of aesthetic idiom from Japanese culture.

Glazed bowl

In Alex’s pieces he attempts to attain a balance between his aesthetic purpose; to display and manipulate the properties of each stage of the creative process into a balanced confident piece, and his personal belief that the beauty of a pot is as much in its visual presence as it is in how it functions.

Glazed pots

The communication between person and pot though initially always visual; the tactile responses stimulated by its use are where a truer understanding and appreciation of the form and personality of the pot are found.

Alex Shimwell pot

 

Love is in the air ♥

It’s that time of the year again when we’ve finally reached January payday, after a very long month of juggling finances, and we can think about buying a Valentine gift and/or card for our loved one.

Here is a little snippet of what has arrived at Heart Gallery recently for you to drool over whilst looking for that perfect piece alongside some of our lovely Valentine cards by local makers:

'Love Matches' limited edition A5 screenprint by local graphic artist Andy Pointon. Exclusive to Heart Gallery

Clare Mahoney's porcelain hearts are back in by popular demand

Sue Candy, local ceramicist, has made us a cute heart range which includes this ring box.

How about 'popping the question' with our silver and 9ct gold 'MARRY ME' ring?

'I'm In Love With You' limited edition A5 screenprint comes in a selection of colours

Some gorgeous love nest bowls arrived from Jo Luckstead this week

These framed ceramic hearts are so sweet, hand delivered by Sophie Steen this weekend

This oxidised silver bracelet with etched photo of kissing couples is truly romantic

'Just My Type' limited edition A5 screenprint - another winner by Andy Pointon

This gorgeous silver tied knot pendant is part of Jodie Hook's stunning collection we are showcasing for the first time at Heart Gallery

Sexy and stylish choice of Valentines cards by lovely lass Nia

If you know someone who loves birds then Sarah Dodd's textile pieces will make the perfect gift

Or why not keep it simple with a ceramic love heart?

Meet The Maker – Timea Sido

Timea Sido - ceramicist

Award winning British designer Timea Sido is based at the prestigious Cockpit arts London. Where she has been hand crafting her beautifully intricate ceramics since 2002. Timea’s work ranges from hand crafted bespoke work to design for manufacture and batch production. Her clients have included Kevin McCloud, Molton Brown, Kelly Hoppen, Aveda, Liberty and Fortnum and Mason.

Tangled contour small vessel

Timea’s Tangled Web Collection challenges conventional ceramics, through the development of an innovative technique in which delicate organic lines of white earthenware clay are formed and layered to construct a filigree pattern, which is then creatively applied to a variety of products within the collection.

Tangled Web Small T-Light holder

Her intricate ‘tangled’ pattern structure and fine detailing is Timea’s signature style.

Tangled Heart Container

Her enchanting ceramics add a touch of individuality to a room.

Tangled Web bowl collection

Timea’s work has been well represented by the media and the press, her work was featured in ‘Breaking the Mould’ a contemporary ceramics book published by Black Dog Publishing. Timea also won Best Dressed Stand @ PULSE 08 for her innovative display and enchanting collection of ceramics, textiles and gifts.

Various Tangled T-Light Holders

Her most recent achievement was winning the runner up prize for the Export Award at Origin 2009, enabling her to launch her collection in Milan the following year. 

Tangled heart hanging ornament on red ribbon

Heart Gallery has a wonderful selection of Timea’s tangled web collection and her hanging Christmas decorations are flying out so hurry if you are wanting to treat yourself to a snowflake, droplet, heart or bauble xXx