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Couldn't resist posting another of Emily's wonderful creations!
We've just put all of the birds that will be exhibited online here - along with details of how you can reserve a bird if you're unable to join us for the opening on Saturday 23rd August.
Back from a couple of days in London. Had a particularly good night on Wednesday in the company of Mr. Spicer. Managed to do several things that I don't normally get to do here in rural Norfolk - sat on the edge of a pavement drinking in the West End on a warm summer evening, ate a decent pizza and then got to see/hear some particularly good jazz in a decent venue.
The clip below is of the Neil Cowley Trio's performance on Later With Jools Holland which I don't think I've pasted here before. There are still plenty of opportunities to see the band play live this year - next stop for Angie and I will be Edinburgh (earlier that week we'll be seeing the rather fine Count Arthur Strong at the Assembly Rooms). For live dates and CD purchases, visit www.neilcowleytrio.com
The goldfinch below is just one of the wonderful hand painted and embroidered birds by Emily Sutton, a recent graduate of the Edinburgh College of Art.
The birds are described perfectly by one of Emily's tutors, Mark Hearld, as "delightfully spry with a stitched liveliness that might peck or flit away".
Having sold out at her November 2007 exhibition in Harrogate, we're delighted to be showing Emily's work (which includes a selection of drawings and prints) at St. Jude's from August 23rd 2008, alongside prints by Angie Lewin.
If you'd like to receive details of the range of work we'll be exhibiting nearer the time, join our gallery newsletter.
Latitude Festival kicks off tomorrow. I'm ever so slightly envious of those lucky people attending, it's only the damp and dreary forecast which eases the envy - just a little.
But enough about the wonders of Suffolk Festivals, it's Norfolk Festivals where it's at this year. Jelly Fest, formerly Maize Stock, is being held at Compton Hall, South Creake, Norfolk (near Fakenham) on the 2nd August. It promises music in the genres of folk, reggae, soul, jazz, funk and live dance, heaps of local food stalls, beer from local breweries and entertainment for the kiddies.
Tickets cost £10 if bought in advance and £15 on the door/gate. Click here to find out where tickets can be purchased. To find out more about the history of this event, read 'The Tale of the Jelly Festival'. If you want to know who is playing, you'll find the line up list here.
I have a weakness for books relating to food. I particularly enjoy books where the author outlines and enthuses about the history or gives a personal connection to each recipe which I guess, is why I am enjoying 'A Tale of 12 Kitchens' by Jake Tilson so much.
Jake is a passionate cook, artist, designer, photographer and typographer. He has put together a book so visually exciting, accompanied with fascinating tales and memories from his childhood with his artist parents and their friends, that it just makes you wish you could produce just a tiny slice of something similar to pass on through the generations.
For anyone who likes food, travel and design then this book will not disappoint. The layout is faultless, vibrant and creative. It seems to weave culture, food, family and places effortlessly.
Jake's book is generally in stock at the gallery but it can definitely be bought from his own website where you can also see images from A Tale of 12 Kitchens as well as further information about the author himself.
We spend a good part of the year not too far from Nairn, on the Moray coast in North East Scotland.
Sod's law, we're going to be back south when the first Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams is taking place between August 15-23rd 2008.
From this weekend's Scotland on Sunday...
"Cannes it may not be, but Tilda Swinton is hoping to place her quiet Scottish hometown on the world stage.
The award-winning actress is behind a film festival which will be launched in the Moray community of Nairn this summer.
The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams event is the brainchild of the Chronicles Of Narnia actress along with Mark Cousins, a former director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, and the Oscar-winning writer/director Joel Coen."
I thought I'd have a blog about two North Norfolk coastal hot-spots seeing as they are fresh in my memory after five relatively rain (and pain) free nights happy-camping at Stiffkey
I knew that Stiffkey Stores had changed hands last year and I'd heard very complimentary words about the new owners, Andy and Alice, but I hadn't expected it to be quite so damned attractive. With their stylistic changes, Stiffkey Stores has been transformed into a coffee shop, home wares and gift shop (no tat), book shop, wine shop, post office and grocery store selling lots of local produce. They bake cakes, make delicious tarts and pot up salads ready for take-away picnics. And they don't grumble when I turn up with a good fifteen minutes worth of St. Jude's mail to weigh and stamp. Stiffkey Stores is open seven days a week but I'm unsure of the opening times.
I blogged about Wiveton Cafe last year when it opened towards the end of July. This year it opened in May ready for the bank holiday visitors and to provide refreshments for punters picking the early varieties of home grown fruit and veg. This year, the cafe has a bigger kitchen with more chefs helping the brilliant Ali Yetman cook with produce grown and reared on the estate - a fabulous example of low food miles. A shop has also been added where you get your picked fruit weighed and where you can buy seasonal produce cooked by Ali in the months the cafe is closed. I can't recommend this place enough for families of all ages who want to relax, eat, pick fruit and savour the beautiful view. For opening times, click here.
Michelle Payne from The Upstairs Gallery sent an email earlier in the week in response to a previous post I had written about the powerful and inspiring book The Boudica Within.
Michelle, an artist and experienced lifecaster (images of her work can be found here) takes commissions from people to cast their body parts.
To accompany the The Boudica Within, Michelle has taken plaster impressions of the women who feature in the book and is hoping later this year, to take the artwork on a UK tour.
"Each woman throughly enjoyed the experiences of lifecasting and
found an element of freedom, fun, sexuality, beauty, through the
application and involvement of having a personal cast made."
Next Thursday, 10th July, the Ladies In League Against Cancer (LILAC) are holding a charity fund raising event at Drayton Old Lodge, Norwich. Guest speaker Michelle will talk about the lifecasts she has taken of the women who have undergone breast reconstruction surgery and the involvement art has in raising awareness of breast cancer.
For further information and for ticket sales, please click here.
