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 Marys 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
We plan to bring you fresh news here, straight from the studio, the garden, and suppliers, as well as stories from the past, ancient and modern... in fact, anything we think might interest you.
We hope you have had a very happy relaxing start to the year and that you were able to enjoy our Joy-full interview.
This months interview was a bit delayed, - these northern climes play havoc with our breathing systems and both Tim and Mary were smitten by an unidentified bug. But we’re heading for some sunshine, we hope and have brought you a true love story in time for Valentine’s Day. Hope you enjoy reading it
It is still lovely to welcome a branch of our favourite bird family to our northern garden. Yes, the parakeets are still here! When they’re flying into the ☀️, their wings light up from below and are truly golden and rosy underneath. I know some people feel they’re likely to deplete our population of native birds but there’s no sign of that happening, yet. We will keep our eyes on them, we promise.
[Hedgehog house appears still to be unmolested. Hopefully we’ll have a resident 🦔 one day]
Wow! Apparently over 100 of you, dear readers, have visited this site since it opened at the beginning of August! Thank you so much for your support. 🤗
And if you know anyone who might enjoy it too, please pass its details on.
The first Cotymog interview with Vanessa Jones has been much enjoyed by you.
A 2nd interview was posted in early October with Mary’s hand mulling paint designers, Reg and Emma, from Devon, who gained some traction from you and others.
And then we brought you Heidi Knight, potter, also from North Devon, with a tantalizing glimpse of her Japanese-inspired wares.
And now we bring you Joy in December!…Joy Sacalis’s lovely expressive work was the January attraction!…
And this time it’s the work of Manchester painter (and bricklayer) Ian Cooper.
We’re still trying to work out how to archive the interviews.
If you have any hints on how we might achieve that, please do tell!
STOP PRESS!
Do keep a lookout on relevant Social Media platforms for info re a real arty treat for all in May!
Mary, daughter Nicky Millington, and son Geoff Harrison, will be showing at 16 Gallery May 7- 13
Art, Books, and Stuff
Have we mentioned Art this month? Well, we managed to get to see Michelle Leigh’s wonderfully painterly show at Salford Art Gallery just before we succumbed to the second half of whatever bug attacked us!
The artist duo, Viv Allbright and Phil Booth, are here venturing out of Cornwall this week as Phil’s one-man show opens in Halifax this coming Saturday. If youre not au fait with his brilliance, both thematic and technical, then I suggest you go along and familiarise yourselves with it. It’s strong stuff : bold, large scale wall pieces , smaller table pieces, intricate bronze medal pieces - all bearing the influence of landscape both Cornish and Japanese. A Yorkshireman born and bred (but don’t let that put you off!), Phil has a deep affinity for the ruggedness and also for the rhythms and delicacy of Nature in the wild.
As we’re concentrating on Light and Love, we have a truly Love -ly piece for this months Artist Interview, in INTERVIEWS…
Do enjoy rambling through these pages. They’re being edited and curated more now that we’re in the swing of what is involved, and it’s great to know that we have so many happy readers. Speaking of which, Mary’s deeply into Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s book,
TO SPEAK FOR THE TREES, and Tim is enjoying STEEPLECHASING, one writer’s passion for our English churches. Both available from
Sherlock & Pages, of Frome in Somerset, Mary’s favourite stockist! Long Live the Hedgerows!
Image top right is a detail from one of Mary’s small pieces FALL i - to be exhibited in Cheltenham in May 2026 @16 Gallery
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…), but speaking of food - we’ve found a new eatery on the Moor,. Called Cure Bistro, we’ve found it a soothing and happy place, kind to our pockets as well as to our stomachs!
We’re sad to see Juno go - times and tastes change and coffee shops seem to be easiest hit.
Perhaps small businesses will get a fillip in the next budget…
No harm in living hopefully, eh?!
It would be really good to hear about your similar loves/experiences, so please leave comments on the blog content as well as on my gallery pages.
Feel free to share this blog on your favourite social media.
And if any of my work grabs you, and you'd like to purchase, please let me know and we can discuss.