Final few days of The Garden exhibition

If you're wandering Little East Street way this week, it's your last chance to catch our show The Garden at Northern Lights bar just below the South Lanes.   Here are a few snapshots of the work featuring work by photographer Ali Lewry, drawist/painter Anna Vartiainen.  

 

And with a tiny extension on the original show dates, we're leaving it there until the beginning of January.  Perhaps we'll see you there for some revelling on New Year's Eve...

Northern Lights bar is open from midday on Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm on Sundays and Monday to Thursday at 5pm.

Closing time is at midnight during the week, 2am on weekends.

Beauty just round the corner

We Magpies, recently migrated south to Brighton and Hove, are still in awe at the sheer scale of creative talent and brilliant shopping to be found in the area.  Spoilt for choice in the Lanes and Kemp Town with flea markets, art markets, design shops and craft stalls, I was even more delighted to find a little gem just near my flat, quite a way out of town on Portland Road in Hove.

Second Seed, run by husband and wife duo Paul and Alex Soden, combines skilled craftsmanship with a flair for creating great displays with well-chosen products.  With warm glowing lights and pretty objects enticing you in from the kerbside, the shop boasts handmade furnishings, accessories and gifts.  You can buy locally designed cards, old-fashioned toys, lighting, mirrors, all uncompromisingly well made and beautiful.

The jewel in their crown that really sets them apart is the wooden furniture created by Paul in the workshop downstairs.  Using reclaimed timber, and in particular long standing sea groynes from the south coast, he gives the wood a new life whilst creating unique bespoke objects.

Well worth a trip out of town centre to discover this local treasure.

Second Seed is at 94 Portland Road, Hove
http://www.secondseed.com/

Party at The Garden

Jolly good fun was had by all last night at the opening party for The Garden.  Thanks to all who came!  If you didn't make it you can still see the show upstairs in Northern Lights until the end of December.  Here are a few snaps from last night... Check out our facebook group to see the rest!

The Garden is open!

Somehow Two Magpies and new friend Seiko managed to hang new exhibition 'The Garden' with no disasters, nothing (too) wonky and all within 2 hours!  Amazing.  Pop in to Northern Lights (Little East St, Brighton) for a cosy drink (hot cider, yum!) and have a peek at our twisty trees, explosions of birds and insects, strange lurking beasts and dark and tangled undergrowth!

In the previous post you can see a few examples of Magpie Anna's work from the show and in the previous post before the previous post a few of Seiko Kato's magical, intricate collages.  Here are a few examples of Magpie Ali's photographs, also found in The Garden...

Tiger

Flying

Dress

Two Magpies ready to install and open!

Lots more work to be done yet, but we're looking forward to hang-time tomorrow.  All three artists will be at the opening party on Tueday 23rd November, 7-9pm, with extra work on show, cards and badges to buy. If you'd like to come just contact us and we'll send you an invite.

Here are a few more images of work going in the show, by 'Magpie' Anna Vartiainen.  All her drawings are pen on paper.  Many are inspired by her annual family trips to the southern Finnish archipelago, and others take a playful look at English scenery and pretty gardens, and how they become creepy, haunting places as night draws in.


Retkisaari (Picnic Island), 2009




Pine, 2008




Monstertrees, 2010

Seiko Kato joins our show

Thanks to a chance encounter this weekend at a little craft fair at Friends' Meeting House, the brilliant collage artist Seiko Kato is joining in our show at Northern Lights next week!

On her website http://www.seikokato.com/ you can browse her Victoriana-inspired collage, snipping up encyclopaedias and medical illustrations to build her fantastical creations.

We can't wait to work with her!  You can find her designs and jewellery in Brighton's North Laines and the Handmade shop in Kemp Town.

Final design

We decided on this grey version - a bit more twilight.

The Garden: New show at Northern Lights

Our new flyer!

New show!

The clock is ticking and tocking, and we have decided to do a show at almost the last minute ... but what fun would it be without a bit of a close deadline?  This time, it's our work we are focusing on, and we have 6 weeks booked at Northern Lights bar at 6 Little East Street, Brighton.

It's a Brighton bar with Scandi spirit, with a brilliant exhibition space upstairs.

More to follow ...

Magpie Sea Song

Finally here
by the glittering sea,
we begin our lives again,
us three.

It's bitterly cold
and the wind bites me,
by the glittering, glittering,
glittering sea.

Home Time

Here are a few (ok, lots and lots of) photos of the third Mill House exhibition brought to you by Two Magpies, entitled "Home".  Thanks to all our lovely artists for firstly applying and then getting their work to us on time and ready to hang, we really appreciate your involvement in our project!

Caroline Hancox's beautiful photographs lead us in!

Leila Bibizadeh's Tower Bridge

Ahem.  Magpie Ali Lewry's photographs (Moi)

Fiona Purves' lovely little doors, all in a row.

Satu Vartiainen's stunning Northern Light series

Magpie Anna's gorgeous tree painting Twist