Christmas Is Coming!

The Countdown to Christmas begins!

And we have a real cracker of an exhibition for you!

 

Hope you can all make it in to feast your eyes on this :)

GET READY!

The Menagerie is coming!

Featured here are 'Yellow Flower', 'Work of Art' and 'Cafe Creme' and are just 3 of the fabulous creations Barbara Franc has made for her solo exhibition.

TIP: This is a MUST SEE exhibition!

Horses for Courses

Hello everyone

I thought we could do a spot of horsing around today and take a closer look at sculptor Barbara Franc's magnificent horses in her first ever Scottish solo exhibition, "Diversity".

"Ride on a Fine Horse", steel wire, copper wire, tin and brass by Barbara Franc.
Barbara used to keep horses and even trained to be a riding instructor, so has always been fascinated by their power and physique. Barbara explains "the debt owed to them by humanity as the early fast vehicle of trade and conquest has always been a subject for artists since the dawn of time".

"Time Flies", steel wire & recycled material by Barbara Franc.
I wholly admire sculptors. Like many other painters, I find trying to create an accomplished image on 2D really hard...it's so difficult and taxing on the brain! However, to create something in 3D, so that it appears anatomically perfect, tactile and pleasing to the eye from all angles...that's mind blowing.
Here's another fine horse:

This is award artist Janet Melrose's horse toughing it out against the harsh winter of 2010/11.
As you can see he was well cared for with his blanket, and given plenty of scoff to keep him fit.
Nature is an incredible thing. It's hard to believe that under all that snow and frozen ice it was still working hard, working it's magic, and 3 months later provides us with joy like this:

We all welcome and enjoy the sights of the awesome blossoms, here we see it perfectly celebrated in:

"Birds on the Damson", acrylic on canvas by Janet Melrose.

Award winning artist Janet Melrose's first Edinburgh solo exhibition, "A Still Life", opens Thursday May 5th. GET VOTING AND GET VIEWING PEOPLE!

 Speak soon x

Bird Song

Hello everyone

I wanted to show you a very special guest in award winning sculptor Barbara Franc's solo exhibition, "Diversity".

This sweet little chap is called Edgar.
Edgar came to stay with Barbara Franc just before Christmas last year and proved to be quite an inspiration.
Barbara explains to me that crows in particular are very intelligent birds, and that it is not uncommon for them to turn to humans when in need. Sadly Edgar died peacefully of old age, but he was given a loving home in his dotage and Barbara naturally got very attached to him.

You can see why! What beautiful and trusting eyes. Birds are very intelligent and you can tell from this photo that Edgar felt safe and comfortable in his new surroundings.
Here he is lovingly immortalised:

"Black Crow", steel wire & recycled materials by Barbara Franc.

I already knew the touching story of Edgar and had seen the photos of this magnificent bird with the searching eyes. So I confess that when I unwrapped the above sculpture and saw his eyes staring back at me, it pulled the heart strings. Barbara Franc has captured Edgar's personality with great care: In the eyes alone she has given him soul and created a fitting tribute.
Thankfully, "Black Crow" now also has a loving home: as I've said before, I love happy endings :)

Previously I have posted blogs on artists and their studio cats and dogs. I think about the special bonds between humans and their faithful companions quite a lot. Personally, I'm an animal lover and if I'm painfully honest, sometimes I prefer the company of my pets to humans.
So, I will leave you with another touching story:

This is little Chirpie in the studio of award winning artist Janet Melrose. Janet's solo exhibition, "A Still Life" opens next month and promises to be an exhibition of real beauty and sensitivity. This photo was taken way back in the summer of 2009 and was an enlightening introduction to Janet Melrose and her work. Janet rescued little Chirpie as she was being relentlessly picked on by the rest of her flock. Being a baby and without Janet's careful observation and swift intervention, Chirpie would surely not have survived. However, lucky Chripie is now thriving and much like the story of Barbara Franc and Edgar, it reveals wonderful acts of kindness and character-a genuine love and respect for nature.

Wishing you all a lovely Easter....if you're passing by I can introduce you to Edgar personally!

Foxy Ladies!

Hello everyone

I hope you have all been out and about and enjoying the better weather!

This is a special blog as we have 2 very special exhibitions coming up at Union Gallery. April the 11th sees the arrival of award winning sculptor Barbara Franc's new work for her first Scottish solo exhibition, "Diversity". 30 new pieces of work, varying in scale and subject; all perfectly crafted; all simply brilliant. "Diversity" opens on Thursday, April 14th.
Introducing......

"Reynard" by Barbara Franc. Wire netting, steel wire and red oxide.
This stunning chap will be making a trip with all his other companions in a van all the way from London. By the time he reaches Edinburgh, he will be one well travelled fox. I can't wait to meet him!

"Reynard". Profile.
There is much to admire in Barbara's work. I am always amazed by her care and attention to detail. There's as much love and commitment in the small scale works as there is in the larger sculptures. We are always being force-fed the importance of recycling, so I'm sure you will agree, that this is an inspired and ingenious form of recycling.
Barbara was rather modest about making her debut on the blog. However, Newton, her studio cat was more than happy to represent her:

I often think that foxes get an awful lot of bad press. Considered as vermin and a pest to many, I personally believe and I think both artists Barbara Franc and Janet Melrose (who's solo exhibition will be in May) would agree with me, that there is much to admire in them. Of course they are 'cunning', but they are so much more than that. I think they are beautiful and mysterious, inquisitive and intelligent animals. As the modern day world relentlessly encroaches on their natural habitats, they have adapted like the true survivors they are, and I find them welcome visitors to our cities. They are, after all, merely scraping by and surely deserve their place in natures grand plan.
So here is award winning artist Janet Melrose:

Sporting those 'famous' dungarees, I admire Janet's no nonsense and unglamorous approach to her vocation. I'm sure many artists will recognise this 'there's work to be done' attitude. Forget image, the work comes first.

"Spot the Fox", acrylic on canvas.
This painting was given a home in a heart beat. However there will be other foxes appearing in Janet Melrose's solo exhibition "A Still Life", as the fox motif is a recurring theme in her work.
"A Still Life" opens on May 5th, and I canny wait!

Have a great weekend all x

Labour of Love

Hello everyone

Sore hands from moulding the wire bodies, six months of solid knitting, countless balls of wool later, and 'The Hunt' was born.

'The Hunt' by Hannah Haworth.

I kid you not, the amount of painstaking work that has gone into this installation is mind-boggling. Hannah even made the sledge herself from found green oak. A true labour of love. It reminds me of a really gorgeous Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, 'The Wild Swans'. Read it here if you're not familiar with it:

http://hca.gilead.org.il/wild_swa.html

I'm not sure if you can tell from the images (look at Hannah's page on the website), that this is a large scale work.

However, its not just that it's visually impressive and satisfying to look at. The concept behind the work is equally beautiful and thought provoking; based on an old Inuit Folktale. All this from such a young artist (Hannah's only 21). I think Hannah's work is very special indeed and I intend to enjoy the precious time I will have with 'The Hunt'.

If you are passing you simply must come in to see and learn more about 'The Hunt'....it's not something you will see everyday! Then, once you've recovered from the excitement you will get an eyeful of some particularly fine paintings.

 Not sure it gets much better!

The Dog, Cat and Squirrel!

Hello all
I am itching to show you the new works that have arrived form sculptor Barbara Franc....they are amazing!

Before we do so just thought I'd show you who payed us a visit the other day:

TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright came in with her friend to have a look at Barbara Franc's "Sisters". The piece being based on 2 female members of the Cholmondeley family of whom Clarissa is a close friend. After a little look round Clarrisa homed in on sculptor Carl Newman's "Leaping Hare". She will be giving the piece to her friend who is the president of the National Coursing Association who, I am told, loves work featuring hares. However, they rarely find works that depict the movement of a Hare so accurately. Well done Carl and what a fab present!

Anyway back to Barbara's new work. I had been looking forward to getting these pieces for a while now. The "Alley Cat", being a commission, already had a home to go to, however we still have the dog and the red squirrel which I can assure you are well worth a look. Here's a quick look at their arrival:

"Red Squirrel" was quite easy to handle and happy to pose for the camera:

Pooch put up a bit more of a fight with his little bandaged legs. So cute:

Here he is in full glory

"The Little Dog Laughed to See Such Fun" by Barbara Franc. Barbara kindly sent a couple of images to us of "Alley Cat" in the making and I love the look of her studio, would like a good rummage around in there! See.....

The little beastie in the bottom right of the picture above actually ended up as part of the "Alley Cat's" leg.

That's one of the brilliant things about Barbara's sculptures. There's so much work and detail in them and you keep finding wonderful little details and decorative aspects. Her ability to give the pieces personality and character is also amazing.

Peek a boo!

So Farewell Then, My Splendid Stag.....

Some of you may remember a blog entry back in October about the amazing wire and recyled biscuit tin sculptures by the brilliant Barbara Franc.  I know I waxed lyrical about their quality and their beauty, and clearly I am not alone in seeing this.  Since first introducing Barbara's work to Scotland in October, a number of pieces have found a new home in these parts. 
The latest to move on to pastures new is Splendid Stag; that charming, ironic and handsome chap that has been greeting everyone as they come into the gallery over the last two months.
Last Friday, I delivered Splendid Stag to his new residence in the Borders - a beautiful converted Kirk, where he has the company of a fine Alsation and where he looks absolutely at home, standing guard over the lovely galleried hall.
Here he is, on the floor in the gallery, getting ready to be wrapped for the journey,
And here he is, in situ in his new home

Although you can't tell from this image, it really is the perfect place for him.
One of the things I love about Barbara's work is the painstaking attention to detail that is evident everywhere and which always add to the pleasure of owning a work of art.  For instance, we only recently found out that Barbara signs each piece by writing her surname in wire somewhere on the body of the sculpture...all you have to is find it.

In the case of Splendid Stag, it is on his neck, whereas on Little Donkey it's to be found on his stomach.  I have never seen this on a wire sculpture before, and we have had great fun looking for it on each piece we have had.
There are still a couple of Barbara Franc sculptures in the gallery, and I am delighted to be able to tell you that there will be more arriving in 2010.

Amazing Sisters

In October, some of you may remember a post about the amazing wire sculptures of Barbara Franc. They have proved hugely popular in the gallery, with Lounging Lurcher and Splendid Stag  already finding new homes, along with a commission for a lovely piece called Alley Cat.

So I thought I'd show you another piece of work from Barbara, a stunning 3D study made of recycled biscuit tins, each indiviually shaped, hammered and fixed to a heavy wooden board.  Sisters is a big piece, 161x81cm in dimensions, and it is truly stiking.

How stunning is that?  It is one of those works of art that you can look at for hours, continually finding something new to marvel at.  The stir it is creating in the gallery reminds me a little of how all thise people were coming in during the Festival Exhibition to paw over the Graham Flack painting, Saul - a mixture of fascination, awe and delight.  Here's an idea of the extraordinary detail:

Pretty incredible, I am sure you agree.
Sisters is the artists version of a painting hanging in the Tate Gallery called, variously, Cholmondeley Ladies/Sisters/Twins, the options being the result of it being by an unknown painter and there being no records of it's origins.  The painting, below, is believed to have been created circa 1600, and although very little is known about it, it is known to be have owned by the Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley - the wonders of the English language) family, and it is therefore assumed that the ladies are members of the family.

Barbara has always been fascinated by the painting, and you can tell that she really enjoyed creating this amazing piece.  And, when you look at the original painting, you can see how much attention to detail she payed, and how much her work is really an homage in metal.

Oh, one last thing: if any of you want to buy it, be aware that it is seriously heavy and definately needs a load bearing wall to hang on!  And I will need a lot of persuasion if you want help!