Most Coveted

Hello everyone,

A very Happy New Year to you all, and a warm welcome to our latest follower: it's great to have you with us.

Our Christmas Exhibition continues until January 23rd, so there's still plenty of time to come in and see a superb selection of work from some of the finest artists who show with UG.  There's too many great artworks to fit in one blog, so here's a wee slice.

Starting with: 

'Hummingbird Bowl', kiln-formed glass, by Jessica Irena Smith.
 And....

'Seated Woman II', oil on canvas, by Audrey Grant (you saw her here first, folks...).
Or, perfect for a grumpy January....

'Lead Balloon', sealed lead, by John Brazenall.
Or perhaps....

 
















'Steppe Sisters' acrylic on board, by Drummond Mayo.
And, perfect for the year 2012....

 
















'This Modern World', mixed media. by Megan Chapman.

UG is pleased to report that visual artist Megan Chapman is making the transatlantic journey to join us here in Edinburgh as we speak.  Megan will be present in the gallery from 3.00pm on Sunday 22nd January for an informal chat about her work, and we promise there won't be a mince pie in sight!  We look forward to seeing you then - feel free to email us for further details.

Speak soon.... 
  

Nancy The Greedy Bee!

Hello everyone

So as Hurricane Katia continues to give us a battering, I have been thinking about the poor wee bees even more of late.
Union Gallery's current exhibition, 'Plight of the Bumblebee' aims to raise funding for, and awareness of, the declining bee population. 20% of the proceeds of this exhibition will be donated to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust whose vital work you can read about here:
www.bumblebeeconservation.org

Instead of blustery winds and flattened barnets, I will attempt to transport you somewhere calm, warm and sunny. How about Nancy in France?

I will let glass making supremo Jessica Irena Smith take it from here, but first a quick look at her gorgeous bee inspired work:

'Bee Bowl I', kiln formed glass by Jessica Irena Smith.
The faded bee motif represents the decline in the bee population.

"I'm just back from France where I took on your challenge of finding a French bumble bee!  We were staying in Nancy, which is really beautiful (and an important city in the history of glass making), and has gorgeous parks.  I'd almost given up on finding a bumble bee in the park - there were lots of honey bees, but no bumbles - when I came across the lovely plump specimen in the photos!

 

He (or she?) was sitting so still that at first I thought he'd popped his clogs!  I think he'd just been a bit greedy and tired himself out (he was absolutely covered in pollen), because he eventually bumbled off to the next flower!

I've attached a few pics for you to see.  I know you'll be wondering how you can tell it's definitely a French bumble bee, but I'm sure this close up shot will leave you in no doubt....."

and.....

Alors! Je suis si plein je peux me deplacer a peine!

Hurry back for more busy bee action soon - next time they will be Assisi bees!

Time to buzz off!

Bird Watching

Hello everyone

So now we have done the fish, it's time for the birds.
And there are some stunning species in Union Gallery's Christmas Exhibition.
Lets start with an all time favourite:

"A Bird in the Bush" by Janet Melrose.
Award winning artist Janet Melrose painted this earlier on in the year, outside in her garden. She tells me that the subject of the work...Mr Blackbird....accidentally flew into the canvas! I like that story, a little bit of history about the painting's creation. The frosty blue pallete is very fitting for the time of the year!
Next:

"Green Still Life" by Suzanne Kemplay.
Mmmm. I rather like this painting. Months in the making, that's a hungry little bird in the foreground!
And:

"Sand Martins" by Sally Johns.
The actual birds are done in pastel, but you would be forgiven for thinking they were painted. The be-spoke round frames add to the curiosity factor.
And finally:

"Flat Pack Bird Cage" by Jessica Irena Smith.

Oh folks, this is something else and right up my street! The skill in the making process of this glass cage is quite staggering. Let me know if you want to learn more...prepare to be amazed!

Here was the exciting moment the flat pack arrived with Jessica....

Leaving you with this:

Posted in by lovely artist Ruth Addinall. Another Mr Blackbird, a favourite subject of Ruth's, is checking out the new arrival in the garden. You will be seeing more of Ruth's superb work in the New Year.

Have a warm and happy weekend all x

Impressive Vessel!

Hello everyone

Just wanted to bring your attention to this:

An 18C Imperial chinese Vase that Bainbridges sold a couple of days ago for a WHOPPING £51.6m (including commission).  That's a world record price for a Chinese wprk of art. To be fair, it's a very pretty vase, and I think it's almost as nice as Union Gallery's 'ugly jug':

Union Gallery's ugly/beautiful vase.....maker unknown
Although ours has authentic cracks and everything!
 As we all know, the Chinese economy is rocketing at the moment and collectors are very keen to repatriate important works....it's their history and culture.

Anyway, if, like me, you don't have a spare £51.6m kicking around, but you still like stunning creamics or glassware, then we have the answer:

  














"Flat Pack Bird Cage" by Jessica Irena Smith......a demi-fraction of the price for the Impressive Vessel and just as lovely.

EQUALLY IMPORTANT, you still have 16 days to come in and see (and hear) the Trevor Jones "Synaesthesia II" exhibition - and I can promise you it's well worth it.  I might even share a glass of Irn Bru with you, served in my Faberge glasses.
(Oh, and if any of you reading this can shed some light on the elusive Auldjo Vase, and help me reclaim my inheritance as Italian Nobility, you'll get extra Irn Bru)

Have a great weekend. 

Something New at UG

We are always on the lookout for new and different sculpture for the gallery.  I have especially been trying to find some really high quality glass work to display.  There is a lot of blown glass around, but I was looking for something a bit special, and I am really pleased to be able to say I have found it.

Jessica Irena Smith is a young glass sculptor from County Durham who has been introduced to us by artist Trevor Jones.  Having seen images of her work online, I knew we were looking as something special and, when she came in this week to show us her work, that was confirmed.  Jessica casts her glass bases in a kiln, using the ancient lost wax process.  Without going into excessive detail, this is very similar to the process of making a bronze sculpture, although somewhat more risky as you are working with glass.  To put things into perspective, a larger sculpture like 'Large Sheep Column', below, lives in the kiln for fully 6 days to ensure that the piece cools evenly and therefore not creating stresses in the glass.



















The glass is then hand finished, to create a perfect, smooth, beautiful finish, and then the small cast bronze scultures are added.  Jessica has the lovely little bronzes cast for her by a specialist foundry in Birmingham, and then hand finishes them herself.

So you end up with a sculpture of charm and humour, created with real craft and real perserverence.  The sheep are Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep which look somewhat similar to goats.  A trip to the Rockies, seeing these lovely beasts in their natural environment, proved to be the inspiration. 

We have 3 different examples of the series: the Large Sheep Column, above, and:

Small Sheep Column (a trio), and:

the brillant Wall of Sheep

The detail in the work, along with the quality of the finish, is really astounding.  You only have to look at Jessica's working drawings, which she has been kind enough to share with us, to get an idea of the toil and the creative process that is required to produce such beautiful figures:



I love these sketches... they are fun, but they also tell you quite a bit about the thought process and the work that goes into creating these sculptures.

I can't wait to see more of her work next year.