Festive Four: Lucy Burley and Jill Hudson

Lucy Burley

Lucy’s striking bottles and vases have been firm favourites with Byre Gallery visitors since she first showed with us back in summer 2016, and we’re delighted that her uplifting work continues to feature in our exhibitions. Lucy’s ceramics are partly inspired by the still-life paintings of Giorgio Morandi; and she strives for the simplicity and quiet conveyed by his pictures of groups of bottles and other vessels. Lucy wants her pots to have the same sense of being in family groups, related but non-identical as she seeks to achieve balance and harmony of form and colour. Whilst at college Lucy formulated a smooth, semi-matt earthenware glaze and uses this as a base to which she adds oxides and stains to obtain a spectrum of colours both subtle and vivid. Lucy is based in Farnham in Surrey and creates her beautiful ceramics from her garden studio.

Lucy's Festive Four are: Jill Hudson: Yellow Field How could I not choose a Jill Hudson? I love this painting - the exciting sky, full of movement and drama, contrasting with the peaceful landscape.

David Muddyman - Maker Heights: Winter. The colours in this are so beautiful and appeal to me on a very instinctive level. “Colour is a power which directly influences the soul", according to Kandinsky, and “the more abstract is form, the more clear and direct its appeal", and those sentiments definitely apply to this painting.

Clare Lloyd - graduated bead necklace, teal blues & greens I chose this because it embodies many things that I love - the colours are my favourites, and the graduation; it looks immensely wearable as well - beautiful and useful.

Carin Lindberg - Aquamarine and Green Tourmaline studs why not have two gorgeous stones instead of a matching pair? Again these appeal to my love of colour; wearability; slightly quirky.

Jill Hudson

It was a still life of a squeezed lime that first drew our attention to Jill Hudson’s stunning paintings. She first exhibited with us in spring 2018 and has become one of our most popular artists. Based near Saltash on the Cornwall/Devon border, Jill makes the most of the countryside - and the coast - on her doorstep beautifully capturing the world around her. She does much of her work en plein air, completing larger studies back in her studio.

Jill’s Festive Four are: Lucy Burley - yellow bowl. Just because it's just such a lovely form and a glowing yellow, you just look at it and think...ooh happy.

Phil Atkin/Pewter sky - Salt and pepper set - Again, beautiful forms and shells are such sculptural objects anyway, these would look striking and very pick-up-able on the shelf even when they're not in use. I love to spend time at the beach, whatever the time of year, and sea swimming has been a large part of that for a while now. Cornwall, the sea, the beach, these little objects encapsulate all of that and are such a lovely way to bring that wild, special feeling of the coast into the home, especially in a year when we haven't been able to get to our favourite places so much. I love the quote from William Morris, 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful'

Teresa Dunne Scarf - 'Rosehill' What can I say, I love a bit of green and pink, and it's all the more special to know a little more about Teresa's practice, and how each colour scheme has been a response to a particular place. I'm a lover of wool and a keen knitter and have even started to spin recently, so the process of making is so interesting for me, and I know it's a labour of love. Having something hand made is so much different from machine manufactured, it just makes is so much more personal.

Lucy Spink, cuff, hammered silver. I love the beauty of jewellery but hardly wear it myself as it would end up covered in oil paint or caught up in things. Things that I do wear , generally stay on, full stop. They kind of become a part of you. This bangle is subtle and beautiful and, practically speaking ...easy to wipe clean. Something to make you feel special even when you're having one of those - I don't look good, I don't feel good- days. There will be another two of artists choosing their Festive Four next week.