Art Holiday Travel and Vacation information for Northumberland

Northumberland is a county in the extreme north-east of England. Covering over 5,000 square kilometres, its county town is Morpeth. With the decline of coal-mining and ship-building, the region has become increasingly more dependent on tourism. The region of Northumbria is located in the North East of England, bordering Scotland to the North, North Yorkshire to the South, Cumbria to the West and the North Sea follows its Eastern coastline. With a varied and diverse landscape, Northumbria’s miles of sandy beaches are contrasted with wide-open countryside, rolling hills and valleys, whilst boasting some of the most spectacular urban sites in the country. Such a varied landscape has produced a plethora of attractions to visit.
Newcastle Gateshead is just about to open the biggest modern art gallery outside London, called the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts; and Gatesheads's new Millennium Bridge has wowed 'em all over the world. We're big on public art. It's easy to groan at something quite so worthy. But ours has managed to attract the interest of thousands of people - probably because we've chosen big and likeable artworks. The first icon is Gormley's Angel of the North at Gateshead. It soars over the A1 and is already a symbol of homecoming for local people. The Angel is world-class and could tempt a place to be an artistic One Hit Wonder. Not Northumbria - for example, there's a sculpture walk along the Newcastle Quay, telling tales of the Tyne's history. Or there's the Blue Carpet outside Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery - a sparkling glass pavement, shimmering in the evening light. Or there's the Bottle of Notes in Middlesbrough commemorating Captain Cook in the most un-eighteenth century way. Our arts' all about accessibility - you always get it first time!
And spirited interest in visual arts goes beyond big chunks of metal. The UK's National Glass Centre is in Sunderland. It holds exhibitions of contemporary glass, houses craftspeople working in stained and blown glass - all in a building made entirely of, yes, glass. But, like everywhere else, it's never pompous: proved by the Wearside tongue-in-cheek that called the Glass Centre's restaurant ... Throwing Stones!

David Fry Ceramics Studio
David Fry has been working in studio ceramics for over 30 years, and is now one of the UK's leading studio potters, creating unique and collectable pieces of work. He is inspired by the glazes and forms of the early ceramics from China, Japan and Korea. He has spent many years studying and working out recipes for the ancient glazes to which he added his own intuition to increase their depth and beauty, achieving layers of colour.

Blackswan Courtyard 69 Westgate Road Newcastle Arts Centre
Northumberland England
studio ceramics, glaze, glazes, ceramics, colour. - David Fry Ceramics Studio