The Secret's Out
Nick Jones goes 'beyond the pale' on a voyage of artistic discovery in Northumberland
Seahenge by Rose Ferraby
BILLY OCEAN first sang "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" back in 1985. It resonates still.
For years Northumberland was beyond the pale; too cold, wet and windy, too remote, and too unknown to be worth visiting or, worse, living in. Of course this was exactly what Northumbrians wanted everyone to think!
Now, for better or worse, the secret's out. That said, the challenges remain. When Mary Ann Rogers took on a run-down farmhouse out in the wilds south of Cheviot, a single mum with two young children, she trusted that her innate creativity as an artist would see her through hard times. It did. It wasn't long before she teamed up with other Northumbrian artists to open their studios.
March Hares by Mary Ann Rogers
Now nearly 20,000 loyal admirers of her work are grateful. I see why she has such a following, including those in far flung corners of the globe longing for a touch of the old country. Delicate watercolours reflect the beauty of landscape, wildlife and traditional farming surrounding her, the result of hours looking, waiting, watching; be it fox, pheasant, hare or hound. Canny with it, her work translates perfectly into ceramics, rugs, and bags. Even throws; you can wrap yourself in her art.
Down on the coast at Alnmouth, the Old School Gallery has an intriguing, varied exhibition programme lined up for spring and summer, starting with a joint show (from April 3 to May 4) by Kate Sampson, ceramicist, and the illustrations and paintings of Tabby Booth. Kate is inspired by the natural world and folk art. And Tabby? Mythology, mysticism, the sea, folk and outsider art, and interiors.
Next up, the paintings of James Needham, from May 8 to June 8. He captures sensitive, intimate moments of human beings being human, and dogs being dogs.
And then? Rose Ferraby, from June 11 to July 13. One look at her website and I'm entranced, especially by "Curlew!", an animation made with children of Nidderdale in Yorkshire. Absolutely delightful! Artist and archaeologist both, her work is trans-disciplinary, drawing on research and practice in archaeology, geology, ecology and art.
And so to Wooler, where composer John Casken is also Artistic Director of Wooler Arts. Concerts in May and June feature folk, jazz, choral, orchestral, vocal and piano. The venue, St Mary's Church, shoebox-shaped inside, creates a perfect acoustic. John's latest CD, "Uncertain Sea", out on the Metier label, features choral music with strong Northumbrian connections, including settings of poems in dialect by Katrina Porteous.
Giving Flodden a wide birth I'm heading across the Tweed at Coldstream to Greenlaw, ancient capital of Berwickshire. My destination? The stable block at Marchmont House, home to the Hugo Burge Foundation, established in his memory and to continue his vision. Their new "Dent in the Universe" fund reflects Hugo's belief that great art makes the world more interesting and beautiful. It will support an ongoing programme of permanent public artworks across the United Kingdom.
The first beneficiary is Andy Goldsworthy, for "Gravestones", a memorial to his wife, on a spectacular site near Thornhill, north of Dumfries, commemorating the elemental exchange between the living and dead, and between us and the land on which we live.
If I've whetted your appetite for more Northumbrian culture, let me recommend "This is Northumberland", a beautifully produced and illustrated annual publication, together with a monthly newsletter and regular posts. It aspires to be a source of knowledge and inspiration about the county's places, people, events and traditions.
The latest issue includes pieces about the Burning of the Wolf, central to the Allen Valleys Folk Festival; Becoming a Puffin (aka Tommy Noddy) on the Farne Islands; Wood-fired pizza making at Embers (in Embleton, where else?); and Cinema on the Border, about the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, coming up from March 20 to 22, pushing the boundaries of cinema in directions it, and you, might not have imagined.
www.marogers.com/ www.woolerarts.org.uk
www.theoldschoolgallery.co.uk/
www.hugoburgefoundation.org/ www.thisisnorthumberland.co.uk www.bfmaf.org/
