Thursday 3 July 2014

Buying pressies for the folks - Newcastle Arts Centre and The Milkhope Centre


22/2/14

End of the half term saw me on the hunt for birthday cards and presents because myriad members of my family have Spring birthdays. Having left himself off to go watch rugby at O’Neill’s, I parked the car ( a £1!) outside The Newcastle Art Centre and had a gluttonous hour to myself. 
First of all I visited David Fry’s pottery shop, where he was holding a class, tucked in the far right hand corner of the cute little courtyard where I have dreams of enjoying a summer cup of tea, then down through the art supplies shop and finally into the proper arty shop.

I have found my heaven – or at least one of my paradises!

Cards by top selling artists like Angie Lewins, Quentin Blake and Mark Hearld found their way into my pile.  Likewise cards from that jewel, The Natural History Museum.  I had a ball. 

Next I found another little silver pewter spoon, crooked like a twig and decorated with an oak leaf for my mum to add to her collection and I visited one of my favourite local pottery ranges, the green and white spotty one, produced at Saltburn.  Mmmm, love it!

They had some nice glass things too but not exactly what I was after but the girl said that the Laing gallery in town might have something so I’m thinking that’s another little afternoon visit…

Couldn’t face the traffic and the road system in town so went home via The Milkhope Centre run by the Blagdon estate because they have a gallery too.  I was on a roll.

The Milkhope Centre is a collection of small business housed in renovated farm buildings made of our local, warm, yellow sandstone and we mostly go there for our meat because they have an award-winning butcher’s shop stocked entirely with local organic produce, meat and veg. However, today was ART day; the sky was a panorama of sudsy white and grey, the sun was out and I was high on my plan to get the family sorted with presents.

I knew the gallery had recently expanded into one of the other units but wasn’t expecting the tall ceilings and sheer amount of pictures, cards, glass and general arty stuff.  It was a feast. Upstairs I found a favourite picture of harvest fields by someone called Walter Holmes.  I’ll look out for him again.

No luck yet finding the objet in glass but I still have The Laing and Sunderland glass place to do… so that’s another day!

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