MG: When does your working day start and end?
SK: I’m an early riser … I’ve usually had the first cup of tea by 6am, but the work doesn’t often start before the first cup of coffee an hour or so later!

MG: When/how do you take breaks?
SK: It depends what I’m working on…which is usually more than one thing at a time. 
As a printmaker sometimes it’s obvious - ie: I get to a point in cutting where I want to take a proof to see what’s going on and then have a coffee while ‘contemplating’ results.
Sometimes it’s because my fingers have seized up (getting more frequent with age) and I need to change activity from cutting to drawing for instance.
Sometimes I come to an impasse - usually a point of indecision rather than displeasure, and need to do something different to let the idea take shape in my head …then I walk to the allotment or do chopping or weeding in the garden.
Sometimes the break is a reward - a self imposed deadline for a particular task for instance - get the drawing done on a piece of lino ready to start cutting and then I can make a coffee ! 


MG: What is your favourite kind of day as an artist?
SK: One without commitments, but one with purpose ie. an idea just starting - whether it’s starting the block or taking a trip to gather information and images for a new project.
The point when a piece of work is underway is always best.  There are nerves before starting and fears when coming to conclusions; but the middle bit is thrilling, full of promise and all encompassing.


MG: What marks a successful day?
SK: Starting or finishing a new piece of work.  Working all day on a new piece of work is what I love to do - any day doing that is successful.  Obviously it’s fabulous to be offered a show, or when someone buys  a piece of work … but the longer I do it, the act of doing is the only success that matters in the long run.


MG: How does the place you work influence you if at all?
SK: Always … I sit at a big window looking out at my garden. It’s a safe, quiet, peaceful, yet ever changing backdrop to thinking.  I live in a city but have privacy, space, light and lots of green outside.   I have Radio 4 on, and until very recently, a big beloved ginger cat at my side and try to remember how fortunate I am to be doing what I do.


MG: Where do you find inspiration?
SK: There really is inspiration everywhere … taking time to look  and draw never ceases to provide ideas and emotions.  I am drawn to being outside but an allotment or garden is equally amazing as a vast landscape. I like the connection I can find with a place; the mark of the human in the natural world.
Poetry also often inspires. My current obsession is Mary Oliver.


MG: When is your favourite time of day to create?
SK: The mornings are always best for me.  I have focus and energy for the creative stuff until the early afternoon. I tend to do the ‘admin’, the sorting , the wrapping of orders, the accounts etc in the afternoon if I have to!

MG: Does art help you in other areas of your life?
SK: It touches every part of my life. When everything or anything bad, sad or troubling happens I know I still have my meaning … being able to make keeps me getting up each day.  I tend towards the melancholy and try hard to see it as a positive trait when the rest of life makes me anxious or worried.  On a good day it gives me a belief and a necessary confidence for the other bits of living.

MG: What couldn’t you live without in your studio?
SK: A view / a table!!!  


MG: Do you have the opportunity to mentor or share your skills with young or new artists?
SK: I am a member of an Open Access Print Workshop in Leicester. Sometimes if I need more space I will print my linocut editions there. It’s a lovely environment where all sorts of printmakers also work in the space. I love sharing my process and talking around what I’m doing. To have someone else interested and being able to share is a privilege.
Thank you Sarah. You can see Sarah's work she has created especially inspired by Masham in A Particular Place exhibition


A Particular Place

Charlotte is a ceramicist from the Yorkshire Dales and works from her home near Masham.  She makes hand built ceramics using porcelain & stoneware clays, to create both functional and decorative items. She uses slab building and slip casting methods, before glazing and applying textures and patterns to her work by hand. These time-consuming methods mean that every single piece of Charlotte's work is unique. The inspiration for her work comes from items she collects, nature & the surrounding landscape. She transfers what she sees and collects into imagery & pattern to decorate her ceramics.

MG: When and how does your working day start?
CM: I’m not a morning person but I always push myself to be in the studio around 9. I certainly prefer working in the afternoon and evening. I must always start the day with a good cuppa tea or two. ​ 

We are back this month with a bonus edition of 'What This Artist Does All Day' to shine a spotlight on another fantastic artist from our current A Particular Place exhibition, which runs until September 8th. This time we step into the daily world of Pam Grimmond, a North Yorkshire based printmaker whose intricate linocuts draw on the quiet details of everyday life - birds, buildings and the landscapes she walks through daily.




MG: When does your working day start and end?
PG: My first thought when I saw this question is that it’s not a 9 – 5 job! Then I remembered a quote I’d seen recently about being an artist is part of your identity, rather than simply your profession, and I thought, Yes, it’s who I am as much as what I do! So, in a way, what I’m trying to do is to define my working day. I’m thinking about my work all the time but the nitty gritty bit comes when I’m actually sitting at my desk upstairs in my studio, drawing or cutting a block ready for printing, or else downstairs at my printing press, actually printing!

MG: What is your favourite kind of day as an artist?
PG: I love printing. This takes some working up to: first I have to have the blocks ready to go, then there’s choosing and cutting the paper/s. I then prepare the press, ie. getting the registration ready, and finally, choosing and rolling out the different colours and so on, until the fabulous moment of removing the paper from the block to see what is there. Then there’s a whole new set of problems to think through! I’m totally working in the moment when I’m doing all this The mind can go off on a tangent of its own, planning and plotting other avenues to explore.

MG: How does the place you work influence you if at all?
PG: I’m lucky enough to have an old one up, one down outbuilding in our garden which I use as my studio. It’s also a utility room and there’s a bed settee upstairs, where my sister sleeps when she comes to stay in August. I love the peaceful atmosphere of my studio but especially in the Summer months when it’s warm and doesn’t actually need heating. Downstairs it’s always cool, except on the hottest days, but the double doors open onto the garden so I’m glancing out and seeing the flowers and hearing the birds. Obviously in Winter it can be quite difficult because the lino is hard and the ink takes quite a lot of rolling out. No one bothers me here as there’s a ladder to climb so people aren’t passing through. I like to have it quiet but sometimes I’ll have the radio on.

MG: Who are your biggest artistic influences?
PG: I used to pore through books on Edward Bawden as his linocuts are so well thought out and there is so much to learn. Also, contemporary printmakers such as Mark Hearld, Emily Sutton and Angie Lewin. As my work has progressed and changed I’ve enjoyed looking at the work of Mary Feddon, Jo Self, Gary Hume, Ellsworth Kelly and many, many others. At the moment, as my plant studies evolve I’ve been looking at the macro photography of Karl Blossfeldt and am feeling really inspired.

​MG: How do you define success as an artist?
​PG: This is a tricky one and it would be easy to say that success is defined by whether your work sells or not, whether it is popular. It’s hard to let go of that and sometimes it can feel like a lonely road, breaking out and trying new ideas, following new threads. My M.A. in 2018 really helped with this and in many ways, it taught me how to work by keeping an open mind and moving on, always being curious.

MG: Thank you so much for sharing your daily work life with us Michael.

​Do check out Michael's work in our latest A Particular Place exhibition.

MG: Does your daily rhythm change with the seasons?
JB: I have a large studio space at the back of my house but it's incredibly cold and draughty in winter so I need to speed up and take more tea breaks. In summer I have the door open to the garden where I can see only greenery and trees and hear a wide range of birdsong too.

MG: What couldn’t you live without in your studio?
JB: I have a large tray of tools to choose from including some very old and vintage hammers, tin snips and bradawls, but my most essential item is the 10 year old dremmel with its selection of tiny drill bits to make holes in just about anything! 
Bark, wood, slate, shells...
I am also hopeless without the radio and a regular dose of Radio 4 everyday
​

MG: Does your daily rhythm change with the seasons?

FW: In the summer I spend time at the allotment, sometimes really early in the morning, a lovely time to be there, or in the late afternoon or early evening. As there is less to do there in autumn and winter, I get my recorders out again. I am quite deaf, so these days I just play on my own. Cook, look at the emails, maybe finish off some work, then get on with my book, I read quite a lot, and am usually in bed at about ten. ​

MG: What couldn’t you live without in your studio?

FW: As all my work starts with a drawing, I would be really at a loss without my pen and ink. I have a nice glass pen holder that a friend bought for me in Venice, it has been with me for twenty years now. 

MG: Thank you Frans, for giving us an insight into your day and perspective as an artist. I hope you have a fruitfully creative day!
​

Sometimes, when you’ve lived in a place for as long as I have, it’s easy to forget the rich history right beneath your feet. Masham, an ancient town with around a thousand residents, is brimming with historical significance. Walk through the streets, and you’ll quickly spot remnants of its past—like the Saxon Cross or the 12th c  Market Cross. But what’s perhaps less obvious is the creative, artistic history that runs deep in this small corner of the world.
For a town of its size, Masham has attracted—and continues to inspire—a remarkable amount of creativity. From renowned artists to hidden artistic gems, Masham has been a muse for many. Taking a virtual stroll through the town we can uncover some of its artistic treasures.

Reginald Grange Brundrit: A Royal Academy Artist
Start your journey behind The Café on the Square, where you'll find the gallery of Nolan Stacey. But just a little further hidden from view, is a very special artist’s former studio. This studio once belonged to Reginald Grange Brundrit (1883–1960), a distinguished member of the Royal Academy. Brundrit’s works are housed in prestigious collections like the Tate and the Imperial War Museum, yet his studio remains a quiet testament to his legacy in Masham.
Located in the garage of The Old Vicarage, right next to the church, Brundrit’s studio is bathed in light from a glass wall, allowing him to capture the light when painting. A memorial to Brundrit is placed inside St. Mary’s Church, right next to a stunning stained-glass window by Harry Stammers (1902–1969), a renowned artist from York. Today, Brundrit’s easel lives on, as Simon Palmer (1956–), another celebrated artist, now paints on it, inspired by the very landscape that once inspired Brundrit.
Palmer’s own works can be found in collections around the world, but if you’re in Masham, be sure to check out his Remembrance Piece displayed in the Town Hall entrance and a few at Bordar House Teas.
​

George Cuitt and the Follies of Masham
Just beyond the school at the top of Millgate, you’ll find the impressive Nutwith House, built by the accomplished artist George Cuitt the Younger (1779–1854). Cuitt was best known for his etchings, many of which depicted ruins and follies—a subject that was in vogue during his time. His fascination with ruins mirrors the work of contemporary figures like William Danby, who constructed the Druid's Temple just outside of Masham, and John Aislabie, responsible for the beautiful follies in Hackfall Woods.
The follies in the area became so famous that they even appeared on a green frog tea set commissioned for Catherine the Great of Russia in 1774. And, of course, it was William Danby who invited Julius Caesar Ibbetson (1759–1817) to Masham in 1804, commissioning him to paint parts of what is now the Swinton Estate. Be sure to visit the church to admire the striking stone monument Danby erected in his memory.
​

Julius Caesar Ibbetson: The Painter with a Complex Name
One of the most intriguing artists associated with Masham is Julius Caesar Ibbetson. While we know him today by his full name, it’s interesting to note that he despised his middle name and did everything he could to hide it during his lifetime. Born in December 1759 via Caesarean section after his mother slipped on ice, Ibbetson was a prominent figure in the art world and one of the many artists who found inspiration in Masham. His works are housed in prestigious collections, including the Tate.
Historians speculate that No. 9 Park Street—the cottage where Ibbetson may have lived—might even be the subject of his painting The Painter’s Family at Masham. He resided in Masham for the rest of his life (dying in 1817) and it’s said to be some of his happiest days.
​

Joseph William Mallord Turner’s visit
We know that Turner visited the Yorkshire Dales over many years, he travelled around the dales on horseback and did over 1000 sketches in the area. His sketch of Masham is dated 1816 and is in the Tate collection. There’s an online booklet available on his grand tour of the dales here https://issuu.com/welcometoyorkshire/docs/turner_booklet
​

Priscilla Warner: The Forgotten Illustrator
Just a short walk along Park Street brings you to Priscilla Warner’s (1905–1994) house. Warner, an accomplished author and illustrator, spent her later years here with her brother. She was also the head of the Art Department at Ripon College and was well known for her commercial illustration work. But what many don’t know is that Warner also created some beautiful, lesser-known paintings—many of which still adorn the walls of Masham today.
​

Discover Masham’s Artistic Legacy
If you're fascinated by Masham’s artistic heritage and want to dive deeper into its history, you’re in luck. Local artist and history enthusiast Ian Scott Massie offers private tours of the area, sharing his knowledge of Masham’s creative past. 
Masham’s rich tapestry of art and creativity is woven through the lives and works of these remarkable individuals. From the Royal Academy to the etchings of the past, the town is a living museum of artistic achievement. So, next time you’re walking here, take a moment to stop and look around. You might just see the inspiration behind the works of some of the most talented artists in history, right here in Masham.
​

This is a very common question here!

There’s not one answer but here’s a short summary.

Masham Gallery is in a rural area of the Yorkshire Dales and much of the wall hung work we sell represents that in some way. It’s not always literal but we are interested in the atmosphere, the wild, light and landscape that surrounds us throughout the changing seasons. We are keenly interested in stories, all sorts of stories, and so many things are displayed with stories and much of the work has a narrative feel about it. It’s good to know how a work has come about, the inspiration and tale behind it. When an artists work has these connections we feel more drawn to it and know we can do it justice here.

Every year we choose a number of themes for exhibitions - in 2024 for example we have “The River Runs Through” and “The Midnight Garden” both referring to nature and the cycles of the weather and the year. The artists that show in both exhibitions won’t necessarily show work that is literal rivers or gardens but you will see their interpretation of the titles. 

We like to have long term relationships with artists if possible, so we will often look at the artists we know first and invite them to participate in a show if it fits their work. We also come across artists all the time at open studios, fairs, instagram and by recommendation. Every year we approach a few of these too. We look for work that’s really well crafted, where the artist knows their style, has a consistent pricing, is presented beautifully and has something really special about it. We also like to work with really lovely humans and that’s a really big part of it too. We look for people who are mutually supportive - we want ideally to be able to share each others successes and stories. We get applications from artists to sell here all the time and very very occasionally one of those will be shown, but unfortunately many of the applications are sent without much reference to Masham Gallery.
​
There are a few areas which we know a lot about, and over the years we have come to specialise in a bit - one of these is printmaking. At the moment looking around the walls I can see seven different types of printmaking! As for subject matter we tend to avoid seascapes, we don’t sell many urban landscapes or much purely figurative art. We don’t tend to sell photography or digital art so much, and we’ve never found a textile artist that works really well here  - but we never rule anything out. 


So if you’re an artist here are a few top tips for applying to a gallery:

• Ask if and how the gallery likes to take submissions - everyone is different.
• Choose a gallery that shows work that you admire from artists that you like. 
• Choose one that aligns with your values. 
• Never cold call / doorstep with work.
• Have a number of good photos of your work.
• Make sure your website /social media is up to date and represents you well.
• Be sure of your style/s  - don’t rely on a gallery to tell you what sells.
• Make sure you’re not already represented by a gallery, or you do events that are close by.
• Make sure you have a clear and well planned price structure that includes commission and is consistent everywhere you sell (whether that’s on your own website, at a fair or through a gallery).
• Check how the gallery represents the artists they show - do they use social media, have an online shop, do art fairs?
• Make sure you have really good records and delivery notes for your work
• Make sure your faming and presentation is showing your work to it’s very best.

If you would like a more comprehensive friendly hand up or support in your creative business our Artist Mentorship programme might be right for you: https://www.happyhousemasham.com/artist-development-mentorship.html
​

I still try and balance my time between my artwork and running the gallery, and there’s still plenty to learn. Put it’s a privilege beyond words to still be doing what I love after 30 years and now I am proud to be both an artist and a businessperson. 

​Josie Beszant February 2024

​