Alissa lives in North Devon on the edge of Exmoor. She is a relief printmaker and uses both lino and wood printing blocks. Alissa prints the blocks by hand at home on the kitchen table burnishing the back of the paper. The ink moves from the block onto the paper, she runs a line along a kitchen beam and pegs the prints up to dry.

Amelia Stone is a Devon based jewellery designer whose stunning, functional jewellery has swiftly gained her widespread popularity. Born in East Devon she graduated with a BA in Fine Art from  the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff. Amelia then completed a Jewellery Manufacture course at the reputable Holts Academy in London’s jewellery quarter Hatton Garden and has never looked back.

Stone’s jewellery is delicate and striking; it is instantly recognisable through its iconic hoops and loops that make it both sturdy and intricate. Each piece is painstakingly handmade, evident by hundreds of fantastic and unique intricacies in the silver.

'Spending large amounts of time working outside, revisiting locations at different times of the year, my mark making is both gestural and energetic, reflecting my total immersion in the landscape.

Pushing the boundaries of printmaking techniques I am constantly exploring new ways of representing my ideas. The wide range of printmaking techniques and the innovative use of new and unusual materials satisfies my constant need to invent and make.

For my current project 'A Year on Dartmoor', I am visiting every one of the 365 square miles that make up the National Park. I aim to make a piece of work to represent every square mile.'

Anne’s style is an immediate painterly approach, with great energy and expression. Her paintings capture an emotion of feeling when confronted with the beauty of the natural surroundings. The depiction of place captures the interplay between light, shade. Her dramatic interpretations of the landscapes and seascapes are her response to the changing seasons, weather and light. Her sure use of the palette knife and brush markings present a vigorous impressionism. Anne studied @ Stockport College of Art, and after living & working in other countries is now settled in glorious Herefordshire, where she takes her endless inspiration from this abundant and historic county.

'I studied printed textile design at Middlesex Polytechnic in the early 80’s. When I graduated I began to design and hand paint my own ranges of bone china tableware. Then I worked under my maiden name of Doherty. I sold my work in Liberty and Thomas Goode in London, Henri Bendel in New York and as far away as Japan. I also designed exclusive ranges for Marks and Spencer among others.

More recently I have returned to painting, the root of all my design work, and now concentrate predominantly on still life. I work in oils and occasionally watercolour. I like to paint simple objects from my home and strive to capture their essence. I am particularly interested in light and reflection and naturally ceramics feature heavily in my compositions.

I live in Tunbridge Wells Kent with my husband and two children.'

'I work from my studio in the beautiful Mid Devon countryside. I previously studied under the renowned ceramicist Lisa Hammond MBE at Kigbeare Studios & Gallery, following my graduation in Contemporary Ceramic Practice (BA) Hons. During this period I gained a real insight and appreciation of working in a busy studio pottery and the skills involved in creating functional ware.

My range of work is subtle and understated, giving a contemporary look to a time honoured process. It has a 'still life' painterly quality, glazed in soft grey hues; this accentuating the simple forms and shadows that the pots cast.

I work in stoneware clay and fire in an oxidised environment. All of my work is made using a food safe glaze that will withstand everyday usage. I am continually developing my range to create a diverse collection of ceramics; everyday pots that can be used and enjoyed by all.'

Now stocking beautiful handmade leather products by Totnes artist Alice Wood. Alice graduated in 3D design from Loughborough University and set up byAliceWood in 2012 after years of working with leather. The design principle behind byAliceWood is that form follows function and that there is beauty in simplicity - natural organic shapes lend themselves to the soft tactility of the leather.

‘I studied at Bournville College of Art and have a degree in Printed Textiles from Loughborough College of Art and Design and a P.G.C.E in Art and Design.

With a background in printed textiles I love pattern, composition and colour. I now mostly create affordable works on paper in low editions that compliment both modern and traditional interiors.

I collect mid century vintage fabrics and this period of design has long been a reference point, but my primary inspiration is the composition and ingenuity of Japanese textiles, although I'm easily inspired by the world around me if I see colours and patterns I like. This year I turned my teeny tiny laundry into a dark room for exposing screens and I happily print 1950s English Rose kitchen.’

​

What is a screen print? (sometimes called a silkscreen print)

Screen printing is a process in which ink is forced onto paper through a fine mesh screen stretched around a wooden or metal frame, by pulling a rubber squeegee across it. Each colour is printed one layer at a time, in a predetermined order to achieve different effects.

The design for each colour is put onto a screen by a process of applying a thin layer of light sensitive emulsion, followed by exposure to UV light in a dark room. Areas of the emulsion covered by black remain unaffected by exposure to light. The rest of the emulsion will harden on the mesh. The unaffected areas can then be washed away leaving a design stencil in the screen through which ink can be forced to print onto the paper underneath. A separate screen is made for each colour. Colours are printed individually and left to dry before applying the next layer. A different type of print bed is used to print on paper or textiles, and different types of dyes and inks are used.

Clair is a jewellery and textiles artist from Tiverton who loves to experiment with an eclectic mix of colour and texture.

After graduating from Bristol School of Art as a mature student, Clair worked as a community artist in Bristol, leading workshops across the city including costume design for St Paul's Carnival and  several solo exhibitions of photography and jewellery. In 2010 Clair was commissioned to create permanent art work celebrating the history of Frenchay Hospital which has now been moved to the new Southmead site.

Now living back in Devon Clair uses her experiences of multicultural Bristol to influence her jewellery and textile work, especially in choices of colour and texture. Clair still enjoys teaching art in the community alongside creating her own work.

'Printmaking can be as simple as the potato cut we all did at primary school or as complicated as multi-coloured monotypes. However it's done, an original print is made by hand, uses many tools, age-old craft skills and knowledge of materials to transfer an image to paper from a prepared plate - a design etched into metal, for example. Hilary has given this complex procedure an added challenge by embarking on collaborative printmaking with Ysabel Winzar under their joint name "Compass Rose Press".
These Compass Rose prints evolve from discussion, shared sketching days and individual work until the nail-biting moment of inking up and combining plates on the press to produce the print. Separate plates, designed to complete a harmonious image, have been used in "Noctiluca" which takes its title from the scientific name of night-time phosphorescence at sea. Hilary's etching of a hurricane lamp is combined with Ysabel's dry-point and chine colle dinghy, set in a sparkling sea of "Diamond dust" on a dark sail-cloth inspired sea. The concept of the image may dictate a different approach: the intuitive  growth of a monotype, for example, where the print from one artist passes to the hand of the other to change and extend the picture, perhaps in an unexpected direction, until both agree that it is complete. This can be a tense procedure, requiring firm friendship, a steady hand and good sense of humour! "Frost at the window" started life as an etching by Hilary, printed in black. Ysabel poured life and colour into the dead sunflower head through several layers of transparent ink and a frosting of "diamond dust". The addition of Ysabel's window-sill vase (dry-point) sets the scene.'

Dawn Dance grew up in Cornwall and after completing an Arts Foundation course at Falmouth College she then graduated from Kingston University in 1980 with a BA Hons in Fashion and Textiles. After working as a textile conservator she went on to train as a gilder and antique frame restorer. She set up her own gilding and restoration business in Surrey and completed work for the antiques trade, National Trust and the Sultan of Bruni. Dawn also worked as a Lecturer, teaching a wide range of BTEC and City & Guilds craft and design courses at Chichester College of Arts, Science and Technology.

After returning to the West Country in 1999 Dawn became a Design and Technology teacher and trained in silver jewellery making techniques. She found her passion working with stones and metals.

“My jewellery is designed and made by me in my own workshop. My designs are influenced by the textures, colours and forms to be found at sea and in the landscape of the rugged South West.”

Delphine Jones is an Exeter based printmaker. She graduated in Graphic Design and Illustration at Exeter College of Art and Design and is a member of the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers. She has worked as a senior graphic designer in the education sector for over 25 years. Delphine is passionate about all aspects of printmaking and is a member of Double Elephant, a fine art printmaking studio, based in Exeter.

Delphine draws upon the natural world for inspiration, documenting the landscape through screen printing. Her limited edition prints are largely created with line and texture. By abstracting and refining her initial observations, her working process begins with a series of sketches, rubbings and photographic references taken from the Devon landscape. At her Exeter studio she then abstracts the scene redrawing the image using the textures and colours that she has referenced from the landscape. This creates a unique vibrancy and contemporary approach to her printmaking.

Ed Boxall is an Illustrator and Writer from Hastings, East Sussex. His whimsical original lino cuts, books and cards are now on sale at Lantic Gallery.

'My prints explore some of our most loved British animals and experiences of British nature in a poetic and surreal way. They explore friendships between people and animals, always with a touch of magic.'

Each print is a handmade lino cut on heavyweight Fabriano Rosapina printmaking paper.

Gill Erskine-Hill lives in Bampton, Devon. She gained a BA Hons degree in Fine Art from UEA in Norwich before embarking on a career of teaching and painting. Gill taught art at East Devon College (now Petroc) for 20 years, while painting in her spare time. She has free-lanced since the late 1990s as a painter and part-time teacher. She says “I used to paint in watercolour and gouache, but for many years now I have concentrated on oil – it is lovely stuff and more forgiving than watercolour! I am primarily attracted to a subject because of the effect of light or weather, and the process of painting is always about exploration.”

Graham Evernden graduated from Maidstone College of Art with a First Class BA Honours degree. He worked for several years in London as a graphic designer before becoming a freelance printmaker and illustrator and now produces hand-made limited edition linocut prints as well as original oil paintings.

Graham has exhibited many times at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and won many awards for illustration, including the D&AD Gold Award, the D&AD Silver Award, the Gold Award from the New York Art Directors Club, the Gold Award from Australian Writers and Art Directors and an award from European Illustration.

Graham designed the range of china for The Royal Collection at St. James’s Palace, to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Hilary Soper is a painter and printmaker based in South Devon. Her work is rooted in a life-long involvement with the sea and coast and the home and garden, with many diversions to far-flung corners of the world, including Antarctica.

Dynamic colour and vigorous brushwork in her oil paintings is matched by a similar approach to original prints. Images are usually liberated from reality to match a particular mood. After work in higher education, TV research and the world of wildlife cruising, Hilarys first-love of painting has become her major workforce – spurred on by regular exhibitions and the company of artists.

Ian MacCulloch studied at Northampton School Of Art. He exhibits regularly in the UK and abroad. Ian works with a variety of printmaking techniques and enjoys the graphic qualities presented by etching and woodcutting.

Inspiration is drawn from the natural and man made landscape often observed in the evening or early morning when the low sun reveals hidden texture and detail. Many of Ian's prints are hand coloured in order to increase vibrancy and atmosphere.

Please visit the Gallery to see all prints in stock.

'I am a print maker with a passion for pattern and the absurd.  When I was 7 I won an art prize at school.  The headmaster held it upside down and I was ( quietly ) furious.

I live in the vibrant city of Bristol in an untidy house with my family and 2 elderly blind cats.  I have a loft studio where I can shut myself away and I create my prints at the wonderful Spike Print Studio, near the waterfront.

I grew up in Germany, Cyprus and Buckinghamshire and studied Surface Pattern Design at Leicester Polytechnic, graduating in 1987.  I have been a freelance designer since then and rediscovered screen printing in 2004.  I exhibit my limited edition screen prints at galleries throughout the country.  I have also worked with clients that include Ikea, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis.

Career highs have included spying one of my card designs on the Royal desk during the Queen’s Christmas Day speech, spotting my print during an episode of Coronation Street, and having a design printed onto chocolate.

I like to run, sing and dance, not all at the same time, and my current crush is that chap off Poldark.'

Jacob Bodilly produces functional and beautiful pottery from his workshop near the tiny hamlet of Greenham on the Devon/Somerset border. Jacob Grew up in Tiverton and first studied ceramics at Exeter college. Later he studied Ceramic Art at Cardiff University and went on to apprentice at the world renowned Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall.

Since finishing his training Jacob has made a successful career making both functional, and beautiful studio pottery. Jacob specialises in wood ash glazed stoneware and also produces porcelain.

Jacob’s work is unique and highly collectable. His maker’s marks are registered in the ‘Potter’s marks Dictionary’.

This is an example of Jacob’s work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.

Jenny Barron lives in Watchet in West Somerset. She was born in the West Country to a horticulturalist Cornish father and an art loving Russian mother. She grew up in East Africa and later The Isles of Scilly and Somerset.

Jenny studied textile design at The Central School of Art in London.

She worked designing textiles and wallpapers, mainly for the American market with Chelsea Textile Designs. Jenny then produced illustrations and designs for kitchenware with Wilscombe Melamine in Somerset.

In 1988  a series of paintings of  rare Magnolias submitted to the RHS won a Silver Gilt medal and led to a first solo show of paintings.

Since then Jenny has exhibited every year at her home in Watchet, sometimes as part of the Somerset Arts Weeks and also in galleries in the UK, most notably the Medici Gallery in London and with Wolsely Fine Art in the Cork Street still-life exhibitions.

The Artist has had pictures selected for the RWA and The Discerning Eye.

Lantic Gallery is privileged to be one of the few galleries in the country to have sculptures by local Artist John Maltby for sale.

John Maltby has been working in clay for over 50 years. He was born in 1936 and today is one of Britain's most respected and collected sculptors. The artist studied sculpture at Leicester and Goldsmith's College, before working with David Leach at Bovey Tracey, whose imagination and philosophy had a profound impression on him. In 1964 John set up his own workshop in Devon.

Having trained with David Leach in the Anglo-Oriental tradition the artist realised on reflection that he had little identification and interest with the great ceramic traditions of China, Japan and the East and was more familiar and excited by Western Artists - Picasso, Klee, Moore, Nicholson and Wallis. Maltby's work has gone through several distinct stylistic periods taking him away from functional pots towards the making of more individual sculptural pieces.

Maltby has received numerous awards for his work. He is a member of the Craftsmen Potters Association of Great Britain and the British Crafts Centre and is an adviser to the Leach Archive at the Holbourne Museum in Bath.

The artist's work is widely represented in a number of public collections including the V&A in London and others in Edinburgh, Aberystwyth, Belfast, Exeter, Leicester, Italy and Germany. He has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe and USA.

Of his recent sculptural work Maltby says "the flexibility of idea and image can be explored more freely. Constraints of function are no longer present and I feel newly liberated from some of the limitations of the ceramic tradition; but I hope that those skills of the 'Leach' tradition (so hard won!) can be assimilated into and contribute to the vitality of the work".

The subject matter of much of Maltby's work is inspired by the English tradition; our landscape and our weather, our myths and legends with figures of kings and queens and family groups appearing most often.

'The figures themselves - mostly queens, kings and angels, seem to represent a pure and ideal world and radiate great dignity….They are imbued with a cautious love of life' - This makes Maltby's art timeless, deeply human and at the same time comforting.

'I first came to live on Exmoor about 40 years ago. After studies in art and porcelain restoration I worked as a designer/decorator; photographing at weddings and parties. I travelled extensively before returning to settle on Exmoor with my husband and son.

Here I continue to explore my passion for the wild Exmoor landscape, in particular my fascination with Beech Hedges. This has to some extent become a trademark of my work. I use ink and watercolour and more recently photography – a graphic interpretation of the surrounding countryside.'

‘I make wheel-thrown and press-moulded tableware from high-firing clays: functional and simple pots, which are meant to be used every day. Eating, drinking, sharing create the intimacy between the pot and its holder, and change the average into special. I consider myself an honest craftswoman: my pots lack deep philosophical thoughts, but they offer the joy and love with which I made them.

The shapes are light and comfortable to hold; it is very important how the pot sits in the hands, and how it relates to the food served in it. The simple forms together with the regularity of throwing provide the blank canvas for my patterns.

My decoration techniques all involve carving through or scraping back: this method of hiding away first and then slowly and meticulously revealing the pattern beneath is the strongest connection between my pots.

Inspiration comes from various sources: the heritage of my motherland, Hungary and its traditional folk pottery; the country’s hilly landscapes with their softly waving silhouettes, the wind as it blows the meadow grasses and flowers. My landscape architect background adds the love for regularity, order, intricate details and plants.’

‘I paint distant views of a landscape peppered with buildings. Water or valleys may divide the dwellings yet they are all connected by the echoing shapes and restful hues of my palette. A foreground detailed with wild flowers accentuates the perspective planes and graphic lines suggest paths and boundaries. 

​My Polish heritage surfaces in my work; my naive, pattern-based painting evolving from the folk art tradition. A recent exploration of the homelands of my family has inspired my latest body of work. Tracing the steps of my forebears I saw the simple wooden houses, once brightly coloured and decorated and heard stories of wolves and forests, the winter freeze and storks in Spring. These visual images now enrich my simple and almost fairy-tale landscapes.

​I studied at St. Martin's School of Art in London and received a travel bursary to study Fine Art at the Warsaw Academy of Arts in Poland. I have worked as a graphic designer, illustrator, textile designer and FE tutor. My clients have included M&S, The Observer Magazine, Harvey Nichols, The Sunday Times, Usborne Publishing, the BBC, Liberty and Macy's.’

Kate was born in Truro, Cornwall in 1970 into a family of Artists. After completing an Art foundation course in Plymouth in 1989, she went on to graduate from Bristol Polytechnic in 1992 with a BA Honours Degree in Fashion/Textiles design. Since then she has developed and flourished creatively as an artist, moving on from her beginnings as a knitwear and textile designer to her current position as a fine artist. Working from photographs, sketches and memory she creates beautiful images based on scenes from the Devon and Cornwall coastline. She has an abiding passion for colour, fabric and texture, which is key to her unique collages. She uses handmade paper, card, pastel papers, cotton, denim and silks, all hand cut, torn, frayed, shredded and burnt to create an image executed with great dexterity and precision. Other ingredients found within the pictures are often sourced and collected on walks in and around the actual location such as lichen, bark, leaves and feathers. Using these organic materials give an authentic quality to her work. ‘The excitement of finding new materials is immense. If you look closely and study a leaf or a piece of bark it becomes so many other things, a rugged cliff, tree or a ploughed field for example. The colours, lines and textures are already there. The ordinary becomes the extraordinary’. It is this innovative approach, attention to detail and the intricate application of the materials that make her work so unusual and exclusive. Kate has fulfilled numerous commissions, has had work exhibited at various exhibitions and galleries throughout the southwest and has produced originals for the DeMontfort Fine Art Whitewall galleries which are nationwide. She was elected as an academician at the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in march 2013 and became one of their Trustees in 2015.

Kay Morgan is a contemporary designer maker who trained in Constructed Textiles (knit, weave and tapestry) and now makes leather bags, purses and jewellery.

Kay makes every item herself from the garden studio of her Bristol home.

Kay’s work is based on a love of colour, texture and pattern. She adores combining all of these elements to keep her pieces truly unique.

The artist  uses leather working techniques and tools along with her textile training to produce unusual, colourful and fun jewellery.

This is an example of Kay’s work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.

Growing up as the daughter of an artist, the smell of turpentine and oil paint has been a constant presence in my life. I am so grateful to have lived in this creative environment and to learn how a subject can be portrayed, recreated and made into a beautiful piece of art work.

I work in oil or watercolour. Each of these mediums offers its own unique qualities and challenges. I adore the richness and texture of oil paint. I equally enjoy watercolour for its translucency and the way it surprises me with unique and interesting effects. I love to create depth in watercolour by painting many layers.

I have the privilege of living and working in a stunning part of Mid Devon. It is my passion and a constant source of inspiration for my landscape work. I am a mother and part time farmer with my husband, as well being an artist. A great deal of my work is individual commissioned pieces. I really enjoy working with my customers to bring their ideas to life.

Leo studied at Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall.

He now lives and works in his home town of Minehead in West Somerset where he has his studio/Gallery.

Leo has won the “Evolver Prize”, has been a prize winner at the A303, Millfield & Ilminster open exhibitions.  He has shown at the RWA and had paintings in “The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2012, 13, 14 & 15” and the “Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour” at London’s Mall Galleries.

Les Grimshaw lives in Plymouth. His jewellery is unique, organic and timeless. Les specialises in contemporary jewellery and creates designs using silver, rose, yellow and white gold, often incorporating diamonds and other precious stones. Les has a reputation throughout the UK as a jeweller with creative integrity and over the years has become renowned for his skilled craftsmanship. Lantic has a large selection of the jewellers rings as well as necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The Gallery arranges commission pieces especially for Weddings and Engagements. 

Lester Halhed has moved from a life of graphic design in London to a life of painting in Devon. He studied graphic design at the Glasgow School of Art, moved to London and found work on the Beatles’ animated film “The Yellow Submarine”, and then worked as a graphic designer for Thames Television. His atmospheric paintings, mostly in watercolour and gouache, are inspired by the mood and drama of nature in the West Country and Scotland.

Lily Faith has grown and developed organically since, Lily graduating with a first in Surface Pattern Design from Swansea Metropolitan University in 2008. With a passion for colour and texture and a desire to embellish everything, her work explores different materials and outcomes. 

“My love of colour and pattern is informed by my surroundings. Having grown up in and around Devon, natural form inspires my collections, I can never come home from a dog walk empty handed. But also travels afar have established a catalogue of sketchbooks that I later glean for information.”

Currently Lily Faith is exploring a series of wreaths and sculptures, all adorned with intricate hand painted and printed birds, these are a play on the drawn line, and the silhouettes in hedgerows, and how these can invoke quiet contemplation of the outside. 

‘In my recent work, I have been creating imaginary scenes filled with the patterns of nature inspired by both the Sussex countryside and the diversity of life I found whilst travelling in Africa. I am interested in looking at details of trees and plants, Indian textiles and bird encyclopaedias, and merging these sources to create, wall-paper like patterns that celebrate the English decorative tradition.

My latest prints have been hand-made in small editions in Brighton, using the techniques of lino-cutting and screen-printing. I use special printmaking papers from the UK, France, Japan and India.

Within my work as a whole, I use nature as a metaphor for human emotions.

Oh yes, one more thing … I quite like birds.’

Luna’s beautiful contemporary prints bring a feeling of harmony and joy in nature. Living at the foot of Exmoor in Devon Luna takes inspiration from the landscape. Walking, drawing and photographing her surroundings in all weathers and seasons.
Her original limited edition linocut prints are made using high quality oil printing inks and fine Japanese paper; made to last and be enjoyed into the future.
She had success in 2016 winning the Devon Open Studios emerging Artist Award. In 2017 her Exmoor landscapes travelled to New York for a first group show in the USA. Luna is gathering buyers and collectors both in the UK and Internationally.

'I studied Fine Art Painting at Falmouth School of Art and Design in Cornwall, there I became inspired by artist's such as David Jones and Cecil Collins I saw mystical and spiritual life in their paintings of the landscape.

After Art School I continued my own fine art practice, as well as working professionally within the arts and raising a family.

In 1987 I settled in Devon and now live at the foot of Exmoor a wild and wonderful area that is home to the rare native breed of Exmoor ponies, Red deer and native moorland birds.

As a child I drew the birds that visited our garden, I walked the fields of my grandparents farm, excited to get outside every morning to explore. Wildlife and the rural landscape have inspired my work since my days as a student and a sense of wonder at nature and the joy of drawing and painting outside continues to move me. The images that I make are always rooted in something that I have seen, a pattern in the weather, the rolling moorland grass, a group of Exmoor ponies, I hope to depict these sights with a freshness and spirit.'

Lynsey Pickwell lives in East Devon. The artist enjoys the practical process of creating unusual marks, textures and images using a range of printmaking techniques. Traditional lino cut relief printing, intaglio, etching and embossing are used.

Lynsey rarely goes anywhere without her doggy companion and muse who is a great inspiration for her work. ‘As any dog owner knows our animals are a constant source of amusement and fascination – the way they unconditionally love and find fun & comfort in the most mundane objects.’

Oil based quality printmaking inks are used on 100% acid free cotton rag paper to ensure the quality and longevity of all Lynsey’s original pieces.

Archival quality reproductions are also available.

Megan is a Tiverton artist who works directly from the model, once they strike a pose she works with great flair to capture the playful essence of the character.

Megan spends much time painting in Sardinia where inspiration for colour and subject are found. Her recent powerful portraits capture the earthy and vibrant hues of the country. Megan exhibits at Galleries across the country.

Melissa began designing jewellery nearly twenty years ago from a room in her Perthshire home. Now based in Devon, she has a new work space in which to create and be inspired.

Over the years the enterprise has travelled with her from Cornwall to India and Africa and inspiration has come from the stones found on Cornish beaches, the stunning colours of Rajasthan, the gentleness of Kerala, and the back streets of StoneTown in Zanzibar.  She loves the creative and bold use of colour seen in remote parts of the world, as well as the soft balance found in nature.

This inspiration is channelled with an intuitive and artistic eye to complement and enhance pieces designed for each season. The seeds of some of the most successful designs continue to be drawn from a wealth of life experiences and from the astonishing breadth of different colours, shapes and markings on the stones she works with.

There is always something wonderful in the world to inspire a new piece of jewellery.

This is an example of Melissa’s work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.

My Bear Hands is run by jewellery designer Sally Holyoak.  She creates all her jewellery by hand from her home studio just outside Bristol.  

With a background in illustration, narrative is a recurring theme, and collections are often based around characters or stories from classic texts.  Sally works with a mixture of creative technologies and handmade processes to transform her drawings into jewellery.  The result is subtly playful, the unusual imagery being set off by the choice of simple, classic materials.

When story telling isn't the focus, Sally loves experimenting with new materials and techniques.  ‘I work with brass, resin, silver, wood and silk among others, and use casting and laser cutting to bring my designs to life.’  Sally aims to create jewellery that is contemporary and wearable with an element of fun.

Natalie Rymer trained as an Artist at Wimbledon School of Art in London studying a degree in Fine Art and Painting. She lives with her husband and two children on the borders of Kent and Sussex.

Natalie delights in painting distinctive landscapes depicting the tranquillity and beauty of the English countryside seen as blocks of colours, patterns and shapes. Her imaginative eye for colour leads her to use a warm, rich palette. She uses numerous painting techniques to develop a variety of surface textures.

Nancy Pickard was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1963. She was raised and educated in the Channel Islands and then at the Central School of Art, London and University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. She moved to West Cornwall in 2002 and made her home in a 200 year old converted Wesleyan Chapel. Nancy is now based in Buckfastleigh in Devon.

An all-round artist who cannot be categorised – painter, artist, jewellery maker, sculptor, ceramicist – Nancy finds the history and landscape of the region a great inspiration. Her sculptural jewellery is made by enamelling onto hand cut pieces of silver. Each piece is unique and she never makes two pieces the same.

This is an example of Nancy’s work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.

'Drawing informs all my work. Landscape & a contemporary view of the natural world are a permanent theme. I use pencil, charcoal & graphite to make rapid, expressive sketches, which then feed into studio/print work. The excitement lies simply in that: connecting eye & hand. Making the mark on the paper.

An art school training led on to a professional career as an illustrator/designer working with national newspapers & magazines in London & Cambridge. I relocated to the Southwest in 2004 & membership in 2009 of Exeter’s DE Printworkshop kickstarted a second career. From 2012 I have worked as a Director & tutor at this lively & supportive studio.

Print, despite it’s traditional base, is open to manipulation & subversion. Current work involves using unusual materials & tools – drawing, cutting, scribing & peeling back the surface of the printing plate, an approach I’ve also begun to use in layered drawings.

In 2017 I was elected into the Devon Guild of Craft in the discipline of printmaking & also as an Associate member of the Southwest Academy of Fine & Applied Art.'

Rod Hare lives in Bickleigh, Tiverton. He attended Bourneville College of Art and Design to study ceramics with wood and photography. This was followed by a Degree in Industrial Design at Birmingham College of Art and Design.

Rod since became involved in commercial sculpture and 3D signage – work includes lions for Banks Brewery, the king for Greene King Brewery, eagles for Eagle Star Insurance Company, National Lottery signs and award winning book hoarding for Kings Road, London.

Rod also worked on restoring a number of figureheads, HMS Raleigh, HMS Royal King William, HMS Cambridge (Queen Victoria) and the restoration of the Calcutta - a 4 metre high figurehead that was shown in the Folk Art exhibition at Tate Britain.

Alongside this the artist has continued to work on his own sculptures as and when possible. These include raku fish that sold in a number of galleries in the South West and 3D sculptural chairs. Rod's current work is a development of the fish and marine themed ceramics, using stoneware clay, objects of interest and wood.

Exeter based company Ruby Cubes uses unbleached 100% white cotton rope to thread together a collection of beautiful planters, bowls and dishes. The soft palette in natural tones looks contemporary and modern in the home and makes an exquisite gift.

This is an example of work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.

Rupert Brooks lives and works in rural Devon at Black Dog Studios. The Artist grew up in an environment where the arts were part of everyday life and were encouraged (his father is marine painter Robin Brooks) At the age of 16 Rupert won an Art Scholarship to Blundell’s School in Tiverton and went on to study painting and art history at the University of Wales, Aberyswth, graduating in 1997.

Black Dog Studios takes its name from the little village of Black Dog where Rupert lives. After graduation Rupert returned home to Devon to focus on painting, concentrating in particular upon depicting the human figure and portraits. He is also a renowned painter of still lifes.

Rupert has gradually been building a reputation for his painting throughout the West Country and further afield. He is a regular exhibitor at the Mall Galleries, London; selected shows include the Threadneedle, Discerning Eye, Lynn Painter Stainers, Royal Society of Portrait Painters and The Royal Institute of Oil Painters Exhibitions.

In 2014 he won second prize in Artist and Illustrators Artist of the Year award. Rupert has won both the David Messum Prize and the Marine House Gallery Award for paintings shown with the South West Academy (SWAC) before becoming an Academician in 2013.

‘Pottery mirrors the qualities I look for in life: creativity, being connected, simplicity, being centred, solitude and joy.

The tableware I create connects me with the joy of cooking. The organic quality of the tableware enhances the life of the food. Food and Clay emanate from the same source.

Working as a potter is similar to working in the kitchen. When baking bread, I use similar tools to those I employ in my studio. As I knead the clay, my hands move in the same way as they do when they touch the dough.

The feelings I get when firing my pots in the kiln reminds me of putting bread in the oven. In both cases, you will find me waiting for the result with a mixture of excitement and impatience.

I create three main designs -MERRY MUSTARD (a rather smooth, bright and joyful tableware) WHITE IMPATIENCE (a rustic, earthy crockery, matt) and GREY COINCIDENCE (a sculptural selection of pots each with a unique texture and artistic appearance, for use and decoration)

I work in my studio in Bradninch, Devon’.

Based in the Cotswold countryside Sam Wilson creates bold linoprint designs inspired by her printmaking and illustration background. With designs such as Owl & Fox, Running Hare and Through the Fields, Sam has created a range of rustic homewares for the Modern country home.  With her husband Mark and a growing team they run the expanding business together.  

Working from her hillside studio in the tiny hamlet of Saintbury, just below the Cotswold Edge, Sam has sheep at her window and a hedgerow full of blackbirds. “ I’m  so lucky to live in this beautiful countryside.  I love capturing its essence through my work.”

Made by small firms in the UK, including textiles from Lancashire and ceramics from Stoke on Trent, Sam is passionate about keeping up her links with the British manufacturing heritage.

Sam & Mark are delighted to have won the Home Retailer category, in ‘country Homes and Interiors, my Country Business Awards 2017’

'I trained at The Slade School of Fine Art in the Seventies then as an art teacher and I worked in secondary schools in Essex,  Cornwall and Devon before starting to pursue my own art full time. I now live in North Devon where I draw trees and woods on a large scale with fine artist’s pens and use scans of the drawings to produce high quality giclee prints. My original drawings may take up to a month to complete.'  

Steve Manning is a Devon Printmaker. His inspiration comes from the changing landscape, field patterns, colour (particularly Devon’s red earth), movement , shape and big skies. Birds regularly appear in his prints as he believes they lend an image movement and dynamism.

Sue Gardiner is a felt artist from Ashill, Devon. She makes exquisite hand felted birds carefully set on beautiful pieces of wood. 

Sue was brought up on a farm in Devon. She studied Wildlife   Illustration at Dyfed College of Art in Carmarthen, Wales. Initially painting wild flower and insect illustrations in watercolour, but now enjoying making life size needle felted native birds.

'Needle felting begins with a small bundle of carded wool and is gradually formed into a basic bird shape using a barbed needle, which tangle the wool fibres together as you jab the needle in repeatedly, becoming firmer and more condensed. Further layers are added to refine the shape and add the colours to create a life like representation. It is a very slow ,but pleasing process!'

Teresa’s work is rooted in the nature and effects of landscape and seascape through changing emotions, movement, light and colour. Living in Cornwall and visiting the coastal paths and moorlands has filled her sketchbooks with drawings. The visual language used reflects the constant connection with the elements through daily walks. From initial response to a subject, after observational drawing, the imagination takes over and instinct and intuition produce compelling canvases which in the end are as much about the paint on the surface as about the place that inspired them.

Since moving to a new studio  in the Ocean Studios complex at the Royal William Yard Plymouth new work has been concerned with Bronze Age discoveries on Dartmoor. Teresa has created paintings in a response to the grave of a young girl excavated only a few years ago, along with her artefacts of beads, belts, baskets and her bones. Who was she? A princess, a wise woman? These questions and her name will never be known, but breathing the air that she breathed and making work about the place she was found has resulted in a compelling body of work.

Teresa gained a BA 1st class honours degree in painting  in 1996 and has since worked full time as an artist, exhibiting in galleries nationally and internationally.

Tilly has been making pots for almost 30 years, starting at art school and then working in Japan, following the footsteps of Bernard Leach. She discovered first hand the respect that the Japanese hold for craftwork made with expertise – ‘the material guides the maker’; and the glazed domestic earthenware she produces shows that these Japanese standards that she holds as her ideal have been reached.

This is an example of Tilly’s work, please contact the Gallery for items currently in stock.