It has been a privilege to have been supplying my work to Gallery Tresco on the beautiful Isles of Scilly since 2018. It is undoubtedly one of the finest galleries in the U.K. outside of London although maybe not obviously so from in it's humble outward appearance - it is a conversion from a Pilot Gig shed - but in the quality of the work it displays and it's amazing location on the beach in a sub-tropical paradise.
Gallery Tresco with one of my Scilly Cow Sculptures
The Isles of Scilly are an outstandingly beautiful archipelago of islands lying 28 miles off the coast of Land's End in Cornwall U.K. comprising over 140 islands and islets, of which 5 are inhabited. The main island, St. Mary's is partly inhabited by my family - my mother was born and grew up there and other family members remain - and so happily lay I claim to being 50% Scillonian! The islands are known for their flower industry; the first daffodils and narcissi of the year arrive in the U.K. from the islands. This is an industry my relatives once took part in.
Grandad, Granny and Auntie June picking daffodils
Gallery Tresco (and Tresco Island itself) is property of the Duchy of Cornwall and a place I have been admiring on my visits to the islands ever since I was an aspiring young artist. I remember marveling at the amazing art on show and hoping that one day I could be an artist as accomplished as that and exhibit in a gallery like that. So it was more than a little exciting when I was approached on my stand by their gallery manager whilst I was exhibiting at British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate in 2018 - made all the more significant because of my personal connection with the islands! "Could you make a collection of personalised work for the gallery?" she enquired - you bet I can!
Isles of Scilly - a sub-tropical paradise!
And so I was kindly posted a large box of collage material - magazines, flyers, maps etc., with which to decoupage the locally themed sculptures that I created exclusively for the gallery so that customers could literally take home a piece of the islands. As you can imagine, shipping to an island can be tricky, so the gallery were good enough to make up a couple of strong crates to be sent back and forth, one of them so large they could house a giant paper mache cow (pictured below).
Isles of Scilly themed decoupage on a Scilly Cow!
I sincerely hope that my relationship with Gallery Tresco continues for a lovely long time!
I have plenty of ideas for new and improved sculptures that I would like to offer as well as still having quite a large pile of collage material to work with...and of course it's a great excuse to visit my family and the islands more often! The gallery operates seasonally and re-opens on the 7th March. I am just posting off a fresh parcel of goodies so you can see my work there alongside other fabulous artists throughout the year!
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