August 2016 Newsletter
Fairness is a subject I often find myself writing about; probably because it’s one of the things I’m most affected by in life and therefore clearly need to learn to accept most. Seeing how ‘unfair’ the world can be, especially to the most helpless in our societies, can drive me to distraction at times.
It’s at times like these my paternal instinct to ‘fix’ things kicks in (see June’s ‘Superman’ newsletter). But as I get older, I’m starting to understand the difference between making a change and being the change.
The latter sounds like some new-age, life-coach jargon (which clearly many have poached) but Buddhists and many spiritualists have been living by those rules for generations. Being the change, though, holds immense responsibility if undertaken literally.
If you believe as I do that who we are being has more impact on society than what we say we are being, then to be consistent in the way we act is a huge responsibility. It means that if at any time we are not being self-less, supportive, loving and giving, etc. in our thoughts and deeds, we are in fact investing in and therefore creating the opposite… every given minute. Phew!
So in even thinking we are not being our best, we breed fear, which in itself creates fear. So to uphold this remit, we must then believe in ourselves and humanity (hence the header image)… which is hard at the best of times. And that’s where this immense responsibility lies. It’s one of the reasons I try to avoid reading newspapers a watching the news. The media do make it extremely difficult to retain faith in our race!
One thing I do know is that I’ve achieved more by being the change rather than making a change. And what’s better; the former creates the latter. So despite falling off the wagon on many occasions (would you believe I’m not perfect? ;0-) I decide to get straight back on, time and time again. Because I believe that’s the only stagecoach out of this one-horse town.
OK, so what’s been happening in the best gallery of all (probably)? We’ve had two astonishingly successful exhibitions. First with Robin Mason and over this last weekend, Mike Hindle. There are a few left of their pages, so check in there to see their beautiful collections.
Both Claire Henley and Jenny Aitken have their exhibitions in August and I’ve already had a sneak preview of their collections… Schamazeballs! They will go live the day before their openings (Claire 12th – 14th Aug… Jenny 19th – 21st Aug) so put those dates in your diary to get first dibs!
We’ve had more work in from the inimitable Ben Taffinder, David Gray, Andrew Allanson, Joe Armstrong, and Julian Mason. And if you’re lucky enough to be in the village, you’ll get the chance to view the astonishing works from our mystery artist (sorry, we can’t let you know about him until September!).
Now, before I continue, I want to let you know I succumbed to the charms of a new artist this month. I’ve not specialised in Still Life works before, but when the lovely Penny German contacted me with her incredible skills, I just couldn’t resist.
Don’t take my word for it. Pop in and see her page. The first sold in 3 days and her other works have been exceptionally popular, so I hope you’ll agree, she was a steal… welcome, Penny!
Tom Marsh came down on Saturday and left a fantastic new collection, painted just for us. I think this fella’s the BOMB, so do yourself a favour and pop in and give them a gander. Smashin’ fella, too!
And lastly, the huggable Mary Allen came in at the beginning of the month with two mind-blowingly good new pieces, so have a gander on her page before someone snaps them up. And to finish off, that splendid Stephen Higton came down to paint for us in early July. He left us some corkers (nothing new there) so make sure you surf to his page soon.
So there it is, folks. I truly hope you can get down to see the new gallery soon and enjoy the last two Fisherman’s Shelter exhibitions of this season. Be great to see you, as always!
Till then, keep happy and healthy, folks.
Mark
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July 2016 Newsletter
I found my week last month with my Alzheimer’s suffering father one of the most difficult in a long while. I’m not looking for sympathy here; taking a week out from my cocooned, privileged life is nothing in comparison to his partner’s 24/7 care…
…but the complexities of emotions that I felt during that week were staggering… read more.