Welcome to the Cotymog Shed Blog
Colourful words along artful lines. Welcome to our blog, where Mary will be sharing news, stories, and insights into the world of Cotymog Shed. Here you'll find updates straight from the studio and garden, tales from the past, and a peek into the inspiration behind Mary’s
work.
WARNING: As the editor is a bit of a muggins, ie not very techie, you may find some repetition and deviation, but little hesitation, on these pages…
Fresh News from the Studio
Well, we did it! Hanging took far less time than we expected as Sixteen Gallery has one of those hanging systems which make it so easy. Not that I was technically involved -well, that’s what offspring are for, no?
It was a full on week, with visits from people as far away as Lands End, Manchester and Australia as well as many local stars.
We had great conversations and some nice solid sales where we knew our work was going to new and loving homes.
So many thanks to all of you for coming 🙏 and making it a fun thing to do!
Art, Books, and Stuff
Have we mentioned Art this month?
The artist duo, Viv Allbright and Phil Booth, ventured out of Cornwall to view Relative Values in Cheltenham and I was personally delighted that they took home my painting, INCREDIBLY TIGHTLY PACKED. As I was making the work, I had a sense of the forms packing themselves together in the same way that the fishing wives of Newlyn packed their fish into barrels, the oil running down those steep cobbled streets.
Do enjoy rambling through these pages. They’re being edited and curated more now that we’re in the swing of what is involved, although there’s always more to learn.
Share Your Thoughts and Experiences
A World of Artful Themes
Come and be drawn into our world, where we can explore together some of the themes which concern me, as artist, crime and historical fiction lover, ceramics collector, knitter, cook, sewer( as in someone who sews)
As we’re concentrating on our Cheltenham gig this month, I thought I’d pop in a word or two about the great little scene which is developing in Cheltenham, the Festival Centre of England! Cheltenham has two main parks which are separated by just one city block, less than a stone’s throw from the town centre. These house marquees now, throughout the summer, where are held various trade fairs. At the moment I think it’s the Science Festival. At some stage there’ll be the Book Festival, and so on. There is also a Fine Art Fair at the racecourse, and a Cricket Festival at Cheltenham College’s beautiful ground later in the summer.
If, like us , you use or visit galleries, Montpellier St, behind Rotunda Parade, and at right angles to the parks, is a fast-developing food outlet / boutique gallery / wine bar scene, with a wonderfully Regency period pharmacy and a brand new bookshop.
Perhaps small businesses will get a fillip in the next budget… who knows? It’s up to all of us to support them on a daily basis, and we’re also very lucky to have them still in The Heatons
No harm in living hopefully, eh?!
It would be really encouraging to hear about your similar loves/experiences, so please leave comments on the blog content as well as on my gallery pages.
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And if any of my work grabs you, and you'd like to purchase, please let me know and we can discuss.