The Unbearable Hotness of Being. Shetland. Iceland. The Bleb of the Icicle.

1 August 2024

What a scorcher.  The sun is out and we have passed the 'mustn't grumble' threshold, the point beyond which it is legitimate to complain about the heat, having moaned about the lack of sunshine for most of the preceding year.  When a visitor from Florida comes into the gallery to bask in the relief of the air-conditioning (and finds there none) you know its warm. 
By way of a cooling balm, here is some Shetland rain... 

 

Ruth Brownlee  Spring Rainshower Quendale  Mixed Media on Board  31 x 31 cm. £850

 

And a River Dart swimming venue.....

Stewart Edmondson  The Kneading Tumble and the Water Hammer  Mixed Media on Paper 91 x 91 cm.  £3,300

 

'The House of Two Weathers, or The Years after the Layoff' by Carrie Etter

'The mailman brought a Florida postcard
or a thin white envelope the weight of an anvil.

The potted African violet in the kitchen window
raised its richest purple or drooped.

The mother bustled over the stove
or at the sink stood, staring out.

The tabby lazed on the couch
or crouched under a bed.

Almost cloudless blue or
hailstones the size of golf balls.

Cursing, he pored over the bills,
or he cycled into the prairie.

In laughter or in silence the girls
husked cobs of corn over the bin.

The lasagna tasted of love,
or it tasted of ash.

The moon the moon the moon'

There is only one place to be today and that is in the shade, a sentiment 'Man of Leaves' (below) endorses.

 

Anna Gillespie  Man of Leaves  Bronze Ed. of 9  51 x 30 x 29 cm.  £9,000

 

One could always take to the open water....

 

 

Roger Hardy  Dream Journey  Wood with earth pigments, Unique  28 x 47 x 9 cm.  £1,600

 

Or dream of a Mountain scape in the far north...

 

Jenny Pockley  Icelandic Ridge  Oil on Copper 23 x 28 cm.  £950

 

'North' by Seamus Heaney
 

'I returned to a long strand,
the hammered curve of a bay,   
and found only the secular
powers of the Atlantic thundering.
 
I faced the unmagical
invitations of Iceland,
the pathetic colonies
of Greenland, and suddenly
 
those fabulous raiders,
those lying in Orkney and Dublin   
measured against
their long swords rusting,
 
those in the solid
belly of stone ships,
those hacked and glinting
in the gravel of thawed streams
 
were ocean-deafened voices
warning me, lifted again
in violence and epiphany.
The longship’s swimming tongue
 
was buoyant with hindsight—
it said Thor’s hammer swung
to geography and trade,
thick-witted couplings and revenges,
 
the hatreds and behind-backs
of the althing, lies and women,   
exhaustions nominated peace,   
memory incubating the spilled blood.
 
It said, ‘Lie down
in the word-hoard, burrow   
the coil and gleam
of your furrowed brain.
 
Compose in darkness.   
Expect aurora borealis   
in the long foray
but no cascade of light.
 
Keep your eye clear
as the bleb of the icicle,
trust the feel of what nubbed treasure   
your hands have known.’


And speaking of rubbed treasure our lovely Tricia Thom pots are proving very popular.  They can now be purchased online...
We also have a few new pieces by Mizuyo Yamashita....
 
Tricia thom  48.  Small Jug (Splash), Porcelain  17 x 18 cm.  £170
Mizuyo Yamashita  Core Set B  Stoneware  Hts. 6 - 21 cm.  £480
And finally....

'Love . . . is like nature, but in reverse; first it fruits, then it flowers, then it seems to wither, then it goes deep, deep down into its burrow, where no one sees it, where it is lost from sight, and ultimately people die with that secret buried inside their souls.'

Edna O'Brien
 

Please have a look at our new website and let me know what you think !! Our summer show continues until the end of August.

We are open 10-5 Monday to Saturday or by appointment on Sunday.  Any questions, queries, or for further information please phone or email.

We can take payment by phone, transfer, paypal as well as diectly on the website.  We ship worldwide.

Thank you very much for reading.

Aidan

August 2, 2024