Private View

A couple of days ago Margery suggested we should bring some greetings cards to the exhibition. We therefore selected a suitably themed batch from the factory we began in August 2013, and took them over this afternoon in preparation for the evening’s Private View.

Driving through Beaulieu on the way to Bitterne, we followed a large Travis Perkins lorry, which was forced, at regular intervals to come to a standstill in front of us,

Donkeys on road

in order to manoeuvre round donkeys on the road.

We did, however, arrive in good time to help Paul and Jutta Manser, a talented painter and wood engraver, to complete the hanging.

Every wall, including that on the stairway of this little house devoted to an art gallery, is utilised to the full.

Prints and albums

The ‘before and after’ albums were displayed on a cabinet surface beneath one of the walls.

Cards

alongside the albums was a rack of greetings cards.

Shady path printTable top print

Prints 2Prints 3Rain on Nasturtium leaves print

Other prints were to be seen in every room.

Prints 1

These, and others, were being prepared for placing in racks for when the exhibition opens to the public tomorrow.

As can be seen, Paul has done a splendid job mounting the exhibits.

Paintings 1Paintings 2

It has been an honour to share space with some of the excellent paintings,

Snails

and works in other materials in this event.

Plants

There were many generous donations of plants and seeds, with which to raise funds for Southampton Public Libraries.

Later this evening, Elizabeth booked a table at The Fishers Pond public house in Colden Common. We arrived on time. The reception we received from this member of The Vintage Inn chain was so appalling as to be insulting. It is far too late now for me to be bothered to detail this, although Elizabeth will be writing to them. Needless to say, we left, and drove on to The Fox and Hounds in Fair Oak, which could not have been in greater contrast.

Meals at The Fox and Hounds

There I enjoyed a mixed grill; Jackie, a burger; and Elizabeth, bangers and mash. My sister and I drank shiraz, and Jackie chose coke.

70 comments

  1. “so appealing as to be insulting”

    I can’t even think of anything that’s appealing and insulting at the same time. Maybe Donald Trump, at least to his followers? 🙂

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  7. Kudos to Paul, he did an outstanding job. Everything looks fantastic. That plate of food, is that yours or for the entire table, Derrick? 🙂 I noticed you mentioned Southampton Public Libraries are you a Southampton Saints fan?

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    1. Thanks, Jill. I expect Paul will read this well deserved comment. Actually, I had one of Elizabeth’s sausages as well. Unfortunately The Saints use the wrong shaped ball

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      2. No they don’t: It’s Saracens, WASPS, London Irish, etc. who do (they’re rugby teams, Jill*!)

        * and others of you not au fait with this odious practice (you can tell who was forced to play it – however briefly – at school!!! Marked me for life… )

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  9. Derrick is not a football fan. He would be appalled to be associated with this sport. Not appealing for our Del! Great photos, very appealing.

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  10. I am glad to see that the donkeys are still at large 🙂 I like your earlier post about the making of the cards and laughed at the traffic story. Thanks for the preview of the exhibition. I am sure it will be a great success.

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  11. Here is the art report: All paintings, prints, photos and handiworks like snails were outstanding, Derrick and other contributors!
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 (4 ****’s)
    The meal looked delicious at second place. Too bad the first location was not appealing.

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  12. The gallery looks great. What a nice selection of prints and paintings and other art, not to mention the seedlings. I bet lots of people will greatly enjoy your photos.

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  15. Paul did do an excellent job of the display and sorry your were disappointed in the Fisher’s Pond [there’s always one to ruin the mood, isn’t there?]. That Bangers and Mash looks very inviting!

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  17. Beautiful exhibition! Great snail art. I like the donkey picture. I like all pictures and art in this post 🙂

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    2. The snails, which are galvanized steel with ceramic “shells”, were only exposed to the public [not here] for the first time last weekend. They’ve been on show at the blacksmith’s premises, at Chichester Cathedral (I guess not on the altar!! I presume a craft fair), here at “The First” Gallery, and are due for a prestigious 5-day craft/garden fair at the Royal Horticultural Society’s HQ at Wisley, Surrey, and then the potter’s own “Art in the Garden” event, locally. They were going to make 50, but decided that “no-one would be interested” in snails, so made only 30. We had a frantic phone call from the blacksmith this evening, after we’d ordered another 6, saying “please don’t promise any more to people, or we won’t have enough for our RHS event”! They’d been to the cathedral and rescued all they had left before they sold out,
      The potter fires her large kiln (for stoneware – which is usually frostproof, as these are – fired at a much higher temperature) only three times a year, and the next firing is not until Autumn. They’d assumed they’d get back all the exhibited piece unsold, so have enough for their big event. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  18. Thanks for the private view and I hope it all goes splendidly! I enjoyed seeing the other work too and the plants and seeds are a great idea.

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  19. Oh, what an exhibit! And what a great cause. (I do love libraries.) Too bad the first place didn’t work out. Onward to the Fox and Hounds.

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