Exhibition notice:
Small Works
by Sarah Riseborough
In The Pringle Room at Old Gala House, Galashiels

Private view Friday, 14th May- please get in touch for details
Exhibition opens Saturday 15th May and continues to Sunday 27th June

Th paintings are a mix of oil, acrylic and pastel and a range of style and subject matter. There are a handful of brand new small paintings and the rest of the collection a range of seascape and garden work.
Galashiels is worth a visit, and I do love the drive from North Northumberland, through the Borders towns to Gala- I will be there on the night of the preview, it would be lovely to see you there.

I've made a bit of an error, put 'Mon 24th Nov' on an awful lot of invites, for this show, causing a deal of confusion.
Solution: 2 special openings, Monday & Tuesday!
Linda laughed, when I told her.
'Just as well,' I thought; since we'll be sharing the exhibition space for a whole week...

Exhibition in Edinburgh is imminent; visitors most welcome to the preview- please drop me a line and let me know.

I've not made many new paintings, have a lot from earlier in the year that haven't been viewed. I gather my collegue, Linda, is painting like a demon.

I'm having some of my canvases framed by a framer/paper conservationist in Wooler, Vincent Lomenech. He and his Wife, painter and print-maker, Olivia Lomenech-Gill are embarking on a print-making studio and framing workshop on the industrial estate. I think this is so exciting! A step towards a real cultural hub in North Northumberland. I wish them both well, hard-working people that they are.

Meanwhile, I am making my way slowly, but surely, through commissions. I want them all complete before Christmas so I can play, a little, in the new year. I haven't written anything much for ages, or taken forward painting projects. I find myself involved with alot of dancing; workshops, classes, demos and have not resisted the temptation to join in the annual village Christmas performance.

Meanwhile, the sun, it shines on the golden firs, or the mercury trunks glow through the mists and I try not to grind my teeth, greedy to capture the scene before it retreats for another year. I just want to do everything.

And manage a fair proportion of loafing while I'm on...

BTW intended to write about the Spanish Painters exhib in Edinburgh, then the National Gallery exhib, featuring the religious painting that inspired so much fevour and blissful contemplation in Medieval Europe...

...did anyone see them?

I hit the wall, this week, realising I cannt be in two places at once (see earlier post) and succumbed to a 'wobble' this afternoon.
I am, only hours later, a woman transformed- I am sharing the Hexham exhibition so can flit to the art fair and do my share of standing, at the stand:
The Moot Hall exhibtion from 1pm on 28th Sept-October 4th is now a joint exhibition, featuring

Jewellery by Lucy Clayton

Textiles and paintings by Margaret Kenny

Paintings and Ltd Ed Prints by Sarah Riseborough

Normally we'll close at 5.30pm, but for Friday, when we'll open till 7pm and Sunday, we'll close at 4pm.
Lucy's website is in my links list, Margaret's work is on the 'Crossing Borders' website; flick through my online catalogue on Flickr, again in the links page.
Thank you, L & M
And, a 'Thank you' to Linda, who illuminated me in the terminology of the internet. My www.sarahriseborough.com now should point to this blog, rather than a 'broken link' message, as the website floats, inert, in cyberspace, for the moment.
Friends, matey, that's what counts. Cash is useful, friends are invaluable.
Soon,
Sarah

I've just got work into an exhibition at The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles. It begins on 20th Sept and ends 5th October. I'm submitting 3 abstract works. The Moot Hall exhibtion, in Hexham, begins on the 28th October. (running almost parallel with NewcastleGateshead Art Fair). Life is quite exciting, at the moment!

Oh, and, doing some preliminary sketches for commission work, as well as finishing work on the easel...

Inter-dimensional matter transporter...

..well, across the North East will do; I've double-booked. Call me greedy, but after I booked The Moot Hall in Hexham for an exhibition from the 28th Sept to the 4th October, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to have work at the NewcastleGateshead Art Fair, at The sage, from 1st-4th October.
Give a choice of puddings, always prefer a little of each, quite frankly.
I don't actually have to be at Gatehead all the time; both Mick Oxley (whose gallery is to host my work) and collegue Michelle Milburn propose to attend, all the time- only, it's daft not to show my face, it being such a good opportunity to network, and more importantly, to help!
I am at the preview, for sure, so it would be lovely to see anyone who makes the night. I will have some tickets. Get in touch if you want some. Or, come along to Hexham, it is pot luck, I will be there some days, or it will be my good friend, Tanya, (who, I suspect, will represent my work better than I).
And, of course, if anyone comes up with a matter transporter in the mean time, let me know?

Pre-London art fair 'do I really know what I'm doing?' doubts are banished, no time to worry about that anymore, wrap those piccies, write that 'to-do' list, lose the the 'to-do' list and write it out again...

He says, 'stop worrying'.

Oh, okay, then, ooh, that's better; wish I'd thought of that. I am, apparently, making a big deal out of the driving- coming from a man that needs sat-nav to find which shelf the pepper grinder's on I think it's a bit rich-

Drop in and see me- stand B5 at Untitled Art Fair Chelsea Old Town Hall- there's a preview on Friday, then open Saturday and Sunday- I can email tickets, info, etc. or google 'untitled art fair' and grap some tickets from the front page of the website.

I'm looking forward to the experience, to showing my work to a new audience, to feeling the London buzz, to too many Costa coffees on the way down, and seeing some lovely folk when I'm there.

Meanwhile,

I decided not to participate in the Art Tour this year; a difficult decision as I've had an open studio event twice a year since 2002. I felt I was getting into a rut and with hindsight, the summer deadline didn't really suit my pattern of working. I decided, if my thoughts about the forthcoming event were less than positive I should give it up; for the moment, at least.

Saying that, I'm having my own little 'thing' on the 10th & 11th of April, a smaller scale do; give folk a chance to see the work I've been producing lately-

Because I have been working. Nothing like a deadline, is there? Where the absence of Art Tour left a space, opportunities have arisen. First, I booked space at an art fair; Untitled has been sending info since it began, and I bit the bullet, despite my fear of driving down to LDN myself, fear of driving back myself, car still packed to the rear view mirror- all the doubts, excuses have been swept away; I'm exhibiting on the May bank holiday weekend. We shall see how that goes.

My second opportunity is an exhibition at Stark Gallery in Canterbury. I dimly remember sending envelopes of images and information out last year without any response from the galleries I contacted; till now, that is. The 10-15 pieces of work have to be at the gallery before May 3rd. Life has just got exciting. I do have a lot of pieces of work at home- I do need, I feel, to send a cohesive collection of paintings so I'm signing off to go into the studio; but not before mentioning UKYOUTH with whom I'm exhibiting 4 canvases (or is it 6?) at the end of this month...and a commission.

I'm not complaining, you understand, just (gulp) saying 'bye for now'!

My website will hopefully be back up soon, too.

OOH it's all me, me, me...

I had a dream- woke up with the sensation there, behind my eye lids:
In an exhibition; a woman,a critic, I think, or a journalist, was standing in front of my work.
Her face was very close to mine. She was waiting for me to finish what I was saying- moaning about- I presume, arty things.
She said' But, That's what I love about your work, it has relevence!'
I say 'But it has no relevence.'
I am awake.
Dreams sometimes have a magical quality to them, I think; Like being a visitor to some world, with only a 2 zone pass; Places, images, symbols remain mysterious, often seductively so, and i will ponder on a dream for days...
And sometimes they are akin to being told, by a stranger, that your skirt is tucked into the back of your knickers.