Food and Other Delights - an exhibition at The Old Passage Inn, Arlingham

Another delightful exhibition is currently on at The Old Passage Inn, Arlingham, on the banks of the River Severn, featuring work by artists who are part of the Walking the Land group.  Click on the link for The Old Passage Inn, to read about the restaurant and follow the link for Food and Other Delights to see some of the work currently on display www.theoldpassage.com

Strawberry Heart, a collage I made using US Stamps showing  fruit including strawberries has already sold, but limited edition prints are also available  - framed or unframed -   Please get in touch for further details..

Christmas Open Studio Sale on 7th December 10 - 5 - I Saw Three Ships

Another  opportunity to visit my studio before Christmas will be on Sunday 7th December from 10 - 5 and I will have a variety of Christmas cards on sale, as well as prints and original work both framed and unframed.

The title of my Christmas exhibition is I Saw Three Ships to tie in with the well known carol but it also has a very personal link.

The first stamp collages I made were the three ships featured in the poem Cargoes by John Masefield, the Quinquiremen, the Stately Spanish Galleon and the Dirty British Coaster.   I have prints available of all these three  but for sentimental reasons will never part with the originals!   Ships seem to have become a recurring theme for my stamp collage work over the years and I've produced quite a few!

Inspired by visits to the banks of the River Severn at Purton - known as the Ships' Graveyard, I made The Dispatch and the Severn Trow Norah, just two of the many ships' hulks now resting there. It's a great place to visit.  Britain's last remaining coastal steamer, the S S Robin, now restored and shortly to be opened a s museum and ehibition centre in the Royal London dock was another subject for a stamp collage, and recently I've also made my version of the S S Great Britain. Two clipper ships, the Sower (La Semeuse) and The Blue Lady have been named for the French stamps used in their sails .. there is a whole collecting area dedicated to this little definitive stamp and a book has also been written about it.

"I Saw Three Ships" is a Christmas Carol and each year I make a Christmas card to send to friends and  family. These have included an angel, a Christmas tree, a Christmas wreath, a robin and a dove of peace, and Saint Nicholas, whose own story as Saint Nicholas of Myra, a town in Turkey, included his performing several miracles, one of which featured using the wheat cargoes of three ships to save the starving people of the town.  

From Russia with love

As a member of Postcrossing.com, I regularly send and receive postcards.  Today this beautiful card arrived from Russia, from a lady called Natalia.  On careful examination, I found it is painted on birch bark - look closely at the background.  You can see more examples of this on www.artbirch.ru.  The website is in Russian but I think the painting is by Alexander and Tatiana Noryk.  The title of this picture is Chapel, Kizhi, 18th century.  

 Natalia thoughtfully put some interesting stamps on it and tells me that the wrought iron shown on one of them is an example of Kaslinko casting made in the town of Kasli in Chelyadinsk region of Russia.

Another card  from Russia shows a modern design but unfortunately the postmark has covered the artist's name - Rita ?? 

And my third piece of mail from Russia today  was from my friend Olesya who sent me a nice card with a Rose in an envelope  along with some interesting stamps for my growing collection