Had a really good day out yesterday - it managed to pretty much include all of my favourite things...
Started out at Marsden Rocks down near South Shields - the tide was well out so Fred went climbing sea stacks and I sat drawing in the rocky cove - the sun was shining, the sky was almost completely blue - it was a very sheltered spot and I sat quietly in the warm sun studying the rocks and then a cormorant came and sat beside me. It suddenly realised I was not an inanimate object and moved away to sit on a rock shelf about 3 metres away. I spent the next 20 mins trying to capture it in a drawing none of which were particularly successful so I went back to contemplating the sea and waves and watching the clouds start to form over the sea. Theres nothing quite like having a whole cove and surrounding vista shared only by a lone cormorant.. not another soul in sight - so restful.
Its all very interesting to hear about the discovery of Gravitational waves - Dr Fred is very excited but give me a good northumberland coastal wave any day, the endless variations constantly moving across the cove were mesmorising. Again difficult to capture with a simple ink pen but inspirational nontheless.
Later we walked down the coast to look at the Souter Lighthouse but it wasn't open - it was hard to remember it is mid February - it being one of those rare spring days where the sun (in sheltered spots) was glorious - we definitely had colder days in the summer...
Then we went down the coast to the National Glass Centre - we were almost disappointed as when we arrived there was a large notice declaring the centre closed due to heating failure - we resolved to walk across the glass roof and see what it looked like from up there and have alook at the ships, This was a good idea as in doing so we realised the cafe was open so we headed back down only to find they had opened the gallery with a an apology it might be chilly. After a nice lunch we had a wander around. Its very interesting but the best bit by far is the glass blowing demonstration. Two very skilled chaps doing extremely clever things with molten glass...
The ovens are heated to 1150 degrees to keep the glass molten and workable so it was very cosy in there. Chatting to the guys afterwards they said that it could take decades to get to the level of skill they had just demonstrated, it was impressive the way they shaped and added and layered the different colours to the glass and then made this incredibly long thin tube with a hole right the way through it - this was going to be used for decoration on future pieces.
The rest of the gallery was full of lovely objects both contemporary and traditional- a very varied display of work using glass, ceramics and some interesting other artwork.
This piece representing an air stream caravan by Alex Stisser made with blown glass and silver foil.
The Exhibition included some interesting paintings done with Clay slip and canvass giving an interesting texture that these photographs don't do justice to by Robert Dawson.
there were some lovely ceramics as well my favourite being these vases by Lara Scobie I just love the gold inside the bowl.
After another wander along the beach, collecting driftwood, as the sun set it was very pretty but soon dropped quite cool so we treated ourselves to the fitting end of a good seaside day - award winning fish and chips and then met up with some friends to see some excellent live music in Newcastle city centre.
Cant really ask for a better day - sunshine, beach, gallery, good grub and music!
Started out at Marsden Rocks down near South Shields - the tide was well out so Fred went climbing sea stacks and I sat drawing in the rocky cove - the sun was shining, the sky was almost completely blue - it was a very sheltered spot and I sat quietly in the warm sun studying the rocks and then a cormorant came and sat beside me. It suddenly realised I was not an inanimate object and moved away to sit on a rock shelf about 3 metres away. I spent the next 20 mins trying to capture it in a drawing none of which were particularly successful so I went back to contemplating the sea and waves and watching the clouds start to form over the sea. Theres nothing quite like having a whole cove and surrounding vista shared only by a lone cormorant.. not another soul in sight - so restful.
Then we went down the coast to the National Glass Centre - we were almost disappointed as when we arrived there was a large notice declaring the centre closed due to heating failure - we resolved to walk across the glass roof and see what it looked like from up there and have alook at the ships, This was a good idea as in doing so we realised the cafe was open so we headed back down only to find they had opened the gallery with a an apology it might be chilly. After a nice lunch we had a wander around. Its very interesting but the best bit by far is the glass blowing demonstration. Two very skilled chaps doing extremely clever things with molten glass...
The ovens are heated to 1150 degrees to keep the glass molten and workable so it was very cosy in there. Chatting to the guys afterwards they said that it could take decades to get to the level of skill they had just demonstrated, it was impressive the way they shaped and added and layered the different colours to the glass and then made this incredibly long thin tube with a hole right the way through it - this was going to be used for decoration on future pieces.
The rest of the gallery was full of lovely objects both contemporary and traditional- a very varied display of work using glass, ceramics and some interesting other artwork.
The Exhibition included some interesting paintings done with Clay slip and canvass giving an interesting texture that these photographs don't do justice to by Robert Dawson.
After another wander along the beach, collecting driftwood, as the sun set it was very pretty but soon dropped quite cool so we treated ourselves to the fitting end of a good seaside day - award winning fish and chips and then met up with some friends to see some excellent live music in Newcastle city centre.
Cant really ask for a better day - sunshine, beach, gallery, good grub and music!
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