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Hola! I’m back from my travels, rejuvenated, refreshed, reinvigorated and raring to go, keeping you updated with all the great arty stuff that happens all year round here on the wonderful Isle of Man. All sorts of things happened while I was away so I have been running around for the last week trying to do some catching up, so without further ado……
Julie Collins’ exhibition “At the Edge of the World” was one of the shows that opened while I was away on holiday so unfortunately I missed catching up with her. I popped into the gallery for a look yesterday but apart from bumping into Graham and Jackie Hall (Graham is based at Grenaby as Artforms from Nature) it was pretty quiet, as was the whole of Tynwald Mills for some reason. As always, I do recommend going along to previews if you can make it. Everyone is always made very welcome and there’s invariably a lovely convivial atmosphere as you will no doubt pick up from the video interview by Paul Moulton that I’ve included here for you.
“Tabula Rasa” opened at The Sayle Gallery on the 29th of July (when I was in Amsterdam, so I missed that one too) and will run though until the end of the month. This show is a collaboration of five of this year’s graduates from University College Isle of Man, exhibiting together for the first time since becoming trained and qualified artists. Daniel Price, Erin Dimelow, Margaret Buchanan, Rebekah Corlett and Sharon Beedell’s work comes together to showcase some of the best work from this year’s crop of talented new artists.
Also at The Sayle the results of the children’s open day are presently being exhibited and I was very impressed by the quality of the pieces produced by these young people. Nestled between Gavin Carter’s beautiful wooden sculptural works it’s a wonderfully colourful and vibrant display of artwork made by the children. As always there is lots to see so do call in as I’m sure there will be something that lights up your senses. Check out Rebekah Corlett’s work by peeping into the letterboxes for example.
There’s a wonderful exhibition on at Noa Bakehouse at the moment – ‘Cornucopia’ by Chrissie Moss, who is on Facebook as Manx Pets in Pencil. It’s only on until the end of August – which is creeping up remarkably quickly – so make sure you get down there for a coffee asap as these paintings and drawings are absolutely gorgeous. I’m just finalising a page for Chrissie here on the Directory and will let you know as soon as it goes live.
There was much excitement last week as Laurence Llewelyn Bowen visited the Island’s lovely little arts hub in Ballabeg, Grenaby Studios. He’s been filming two room makeovers for his programme ‘Laurence of Suburbia’. Claire Pearse (ElementIsle) reported that they had a great time filming with him, discussing the importance of arts & crafts, triskels and Archibald Knox. Testament to Claire’s skill and craftsmanship, he purchased some of her ‘Droplet’ collection of jewellery and also a candle made by Breeze Candles – and they all drank tea from Katy Mitchell Ceramics mugs. Here are a few of the pictures from the day – Left to right are Graham Hall, Nicola Dixon, LLB himself, Claire Pearse, new recruit to ElementIsle, Shona, and on the far right Ruth Keggin. I’ll let you know when I hear about the date for the programme to be aired.
The incredibly talented Sally Black has embarked on a new series of pictures, this time of the crustacean variety. They look good enough to eat don’t they? There are going to be 10 different crab paintings in oil using several crabs in various styles, sizes and poses. Five are completed and the sixth is almost done. Number seven is going to be on linen 30″ x 40″. If these are anything to go by then I’m looking forward to the next course already!
Juan Moore’s ‘Worserthings’ project has me smiling on a regular basis. If you aren’t following him yet here is a link to the website: https://worserthings.com/, “Illustrations to make you feel better about your current situation in life”. Juan post 3 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and you can also catch him on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram.
29 August – Farm Yard Animal Faux Taxidermy art workshop (tongue in cheek!!) at the Neb Cafe, Peel (check the Isle Gallery site to book)
​Cats... mysterious creaturesHistory has been full of stories linking cats to the bizarre and unusual. People love them, hate them, worship them, call them tools of the devil, keep them as familiars, and generally don't know what to really think of them. They are loving companions, yet proud individualists. Even as I type this, a cat has come and sit on my lap and is watching me type, purring away.
One of the cats tripped me out the other day. I was sitting on the porch when Sheba walked up and under my chair. I reached down to pet her, there was a loud thump, I looked down, looked at the railing, looked all over the porch and yard... no kitty anywhere, after hunting for about 5 minutes I sat back down, 10 minutes later... thump and Sheba launches from under my chair onto the railing. Blink what the heck?
When I was about 12 years old I came home from school and plopped down on the couch. My cat was sitting near by and I swung my arm toward the TV and told the cat to turn it on... well it walked up to the TV, bit the nob and pulled. Sadly I freaked out a little. I loved that cat, but it never again showed quite so much understanding of what I was saying.
I had one cat that always joined me when I did religious rites. I would not bring him or do anything to call him. Sometimes I wouldn't even see him that day and then he would show up for ritual.
So are they smarter then we often give them credit? Do they know secret things about the working of the universe that we have yet to discover? I have had friends tell me about their cat that would pick catnip and plant the sprigs so more would grow... Cats that herd other cats to go on hikes with their human family... cats who mysteriously escape being locked in a room... a cat that somehow threw a machete across the room and nearly hit someone...
There are thousands of books on the cats in art, history, magic and culture. What is this fascination. All I know for certain is that even though I have a few scars from playful kitties, I love them.