The north of England is home to some of this country’s most exciting writers and on Saturday, March 14, three of them, Natalie Haynes, Stephen May and Helen Cadbury are welcomed to Ropery Hall for Readers’ Day.
“Whether you love reading or have always wanted to find out how writers get published or what goes into researching a book or if you just want to hear great stories from those who write them, join us for Readers’ Saturday – a chance to get to know these three terrifically entertaining writers in the company of fellow book lovers,” said Liz Bennet of The Ropewalk
Presented by Northern Accent, a new series of literature events, Readers’ Day is an amazing chance to watch presentations by all three writers and participate in in-conversation sessions looking at all aspects of writing, not to mention the chance to chat to the authors over lunch and a cup of tea.
Natalie Haynes’ first novel, The Amber Fury, has already garnered rave reviews from her peers including Lionel Shriver. Writer, broadcaster, reviewer and classicist Natalie was once a stand-up comic and has judged the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2010, The Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2012, and the Man Booker Prize in 2013.
Another author with a debut novel, To Catch A Rabbit, is former actor and teacher Helen Cadbury’s. Partially set in York the book was joint winner of the Northern Crime Award.
Stephen May is a novelist, playwright and TV writer and his third novel Wake Up Happy Every Day was published a year ago. His first novel, TAG, published in 2008 won the Media Wales Readers’ Prize while his second novel Life! Death! Prizes! was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Guardian Not The Booker Prize.
Hosting the event is James Nash, one of the North’s foremost poets and writers, who works in schools, runs workshops with writers’ and readers’ groups and hosts events.
The event, presented by Northern Accent runs from 10.30am until 3pm and the price, £18, includes a buffet lunch and light refreshments.
Throughout the summer in the Box Gallery we are showcasing work from makers who are influenced by the sea.
Featuring in Coastal are ceramics by Tregear Pottery from the Isle of Wight, Rebecca Harvey from St Ives, Pru Green from Essex and Dianne Cross from Yorkshire. A new collection of work by Tony Bellars of King’s Lynn brings a bright splash of colour, looking at his fishing boats and gulls you can almost smell the salt air and hear the unmistakable cry of the gull.
This month in the Box Gallery we are celebrating everything nautical with a range of makers from around the UK. Their pieces aim to represent the fun of the ocean and the curious creatures that live within it.
We have a range of ceramics and prints to transport you back to the seaside or give you gift inspiration for that perfect someone who is never far from the beach. So why not come and visit the Craft Gallery today and start your holiday early with a piece from our exhibition, transforming your home into your very own seaside escape.
Here are just a few of the pieces we have on offer in the exhibition.
You are probably wondering why we have a boat within the Box Gallery exhibition!
Not only does it match this month’s nautical theme in the gallery it also promotes Barton’s Heritage Open Days and the free tours taking place from September 14 to September 22 in the neighbouring Barton Haven Shipyard.
Don’t forget to book your free ticket today along with many more events on offer at The Ropewalk.
Selected by Rob Moore and Melvyn Petterson, this biennial exhibition aims to show the best of our region’s printmakers.
Situated on the rugged south coast of the Isle of Wight, Tregear Pottery produces a beautiful range of handmade stoneware pottery. Each piece is made from fine white stoneware clay. The work is hand decorated in a variety of designs – all drawing their inspiration and influences from the exceptional beauty of the surrounding landscapes.
Trained in Kyoto, Japan, in porcelain throwing, Neil’s passion for pottery has seen his work travel across the globe. He continually pushes and challenges the work at Tregear Pottery, refining glazes, developing new designs and expanding the studio. Neil has been awarded with a number of grants, international show selections, and other accolades for the quality of his work. The work is sold in several galleries and shops on the Isle of Wight as well as many well-known outlets across the mainland and now at The Ropewalk. Come in to the Craft Gallery during the month of June and admire the coastal bliss that Neil Tregear’s pottery creates.
Noted brings together artists Lou Hazelwood and Sarah Pennington for the first time, as they negotiate similar interests in the mechanisation of music and roles of women.
Hazelwood’s piece in progress ‘La Boheme/I’ve Got Her Disease Inside My Head’ transposes pianola scores to playable music boxes working with the oppositional themes of the female bohemian and hysteric.
Pennington has constructed a series of new sculptural observations and print works through a combination of historical research and material experimentation with player piano rolls and remnants of piano mechanisms.
This exhibition showcases the initial findings of their separate but related research into, and interventions with, the structures of pianos and pianolas, and social situations surrounding their key periods of use.
If you are interested in following these processes of exploration as they continue to unfold, please visit www.facebook.com/Noted
Rachel Morley creates unique felt items by hand using the wet felt method. The natural colours and shapes of the Scottish coastal landscape have inspired the Pebble range or Doorstops, Cubby Bowls, Cubbyholes and Pebble Pods. Rachel experiments with wool fibres from British breeds of sheep to take advantage to their varying qualities. As a contrast, Rachel enjoys the challenges of felting with a broad colour palette to create the colourful range of bowls.
Rachel’s aim is to elevate felt craft to create innovate products for the interior, echoing organic forms of the coastal landscape. Her fine art background brings a very sculptural feel to her work which is tactile and evocative.
Rachel has a Fine Art Degree and Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Feltmaking. She is a member of the international Feltmakers Association and Design Nation. She is a supporter of the campaign for Wool and member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Rachel works from a studio in Hickling a village situated between Nottingham and Melton Mowbray. Come in to the Craft Gallery during the month of May and admire the Scottish bliss Rachel Morley felt pieces create.
