Artist, Makers & Friends 

Jake Attree

Born in York in 1950, Jake began his artistic career there before continuing it at Liverpool College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. His practice then was founded on an engagement with the world through drawing and continues to be – so you might say he demonstrates a modicum of consistency. He has worked with a number of galleries in London – Michael Richardson Contemporary Art, Hart Gallery and Messums – as well as a number in the provinces and abroad. He is currently delighted to be working with Thorns Gallery in Ryedale, and equally so to be involved in this initiative at Sliding Water.

Ruth Beloe

Ruth trained at the Charles H Cecil Studios in Florence – a fine art school modelled on the ateliers of 19th Century Paris – where, over a period of three years, she studied portrait and figurative drawing and sculpting using the ‘sight-size’ technique. Back in the UK, Ruth opened a studio in Ely and began accepting portrait commissions in charcoal and clay; she then worked for a time in an artists’ foundry to better understand the processes and practicalities of lost wax casting for bronze. Attracted by the different visual challenge it presents, over the last 15 years Ruth has painted in oil, returning to Florence for short periods to develop her technique. Ruth simply paints things she finds beautiful, from everyday items to a spectacular costume or view. Working mainly from life, she paints directly onto a linen panel with oils; every new still life, flower, every landscape or interior at a particular time of day, creates a new and fleeting image and with it a new challenge. Most recently, Ruth was appointed Artist in Residence at Fairfax House.

Judith Glover

Judith Glover Hull-born and Edinburgh-raised, Judith Glover is a ceramic artist specialising in hand-built sculptural pieces in the studio pottery tradition. Now based in York, her ceramic work is often inspired by still-life painter Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964), the seascape paintings of Joan Eardley (1921-1963) and the landscape work of John Piper (1903-1992). In a previous life, Judith worked as an academic lecturer and researcher; during those decades she learned the basics of ceramics in evening classes. It is only since she left the academic world ten years ago that she has developed her practice – exhibiting and selling her work in galleries and in York Open Studios. Judith’s work is produced very slowly, mostly using the age-old technique of coiling. From start to finish each piece takes around six weeks, working each day on one or two at a time; consequently she produces only about fifteen pieces each year.

Harold Gosney

Harold Gosney Harold is an artist and sculptor. He completed his Foundation at Grimsby School of Art in 1954 with such success he was offered a place at the Slade. In 1960 he returned to Grimsby to teach, and there his interest in sculpture deepened. Harold has worked in wood and copper with favourite themes being birds, horses and the human form, as seen in the beautifully executed drawings he makes when first planning a commission. Harold also developed a unique technique for working with sheet metal in three dimensions, exemplified by the life-size Horse and Rider, now permanently on display at Normanby Hall. His work, whilst not overly realistic, aims to consider the essence of the subject. As a rule, Harold does not sell his work. We are therefore delighted to accept for sale a rare sculpture, Reverie (study), for sale to raise funds for the Friends.

Sarah Hall Baqai

Sarah grew up in North Yorkshire and trained at the London College of Printing in Graphic Design; typography and letter forms remain significant in her work. After working in Andalucia in the 1990’s, she began experimenting with papier mache and sculptural forms inspired by various fiestas held throughout the year. These led to major commissions for large scale installations in London fashion stores. In recent years her work and interests have led to further commissions for Kew Gardens and at Giffords Circus (Glos) where Sarah made props, developed her sign-writing skills and spent time behind the scenes drawing & painting the performers. Her work has been widely exhibited in the UK, France, The Netherlands and the USA. At our Private View, appropriately on November 5, Sarah will present a work inspired by the only known surviving image of Guy Fawkes.

Julie Mitchell

Julie’s creative foundation was honed at the Central School of Art where she studied ceramics. Throughout her career she continued to develop her skills through drawing and painting, blending technical precision with artistic expression. While working in a design practice, her passion for visual arts grew, leading her to explore different media. Eventually she progressed to oils, finding a new avenue for her creativity. Julie now works with oil on canvas, focussing on Italian landscapes and studies of olive trees, all painted from life, as well as still life compositions. All feature the exploration of shadows.

Robert Mosley

Robert has been drawing and painting for 35 years and has shown his work in galleries and open studios in London where he lived for 25 years before moving to North Yorkshire. He is now represented by Sliding Water here in York. Robert uses a range of different media – charcoal, ink and oil – on both paper and canvas. His bold, gestural marks build into work that is both figurative and non-figurative, sometimes minimal but other times detail and layered.

Rosie Ramsden

Rosie Ramsden paints in oil from her studio in North Yorkshire. She makes sense of her environment with loose, delicate abstract brushstrokes. Her works attempt to capture the brief moment before movement; a fleeting shadow over deep woodland, moon emerging, figures embracing, petals falling. She seeks the familiarity of dreamt-up pathways, fast and melting skies. Her layering of paint imprints the ever-morphing rural landscape around which her studio sits, bringing hay, sage, rust, heather, acid, peach and late-evening blue into most of her work.

Sarah Raphael Balme

Sarah studied at Chelsea College of Art and has exhibited widely across the UK and in New York. Her paintings depict a dreamlike world of vibrant colours and symbolism; a myriad of creatures and figures from another time inhabit a world of opulent interiors and wild gardens bursting with life. The work has a sense of narrative reminiscent of folk art, depicting a captivating world of storytelling and mystery. Influences are eclectic; boldly-patterned Indian textiles, the long-forgotten inhabitants of 18th century portraits, milagros folk charms, creating a visual language that is original and beautiful.

Ilona Sulikova

Ilona creates contemporary pieces of art in the form of large spherical vessels. Like many ceramic artists before her, she draws on centuries-old traditions, interpreting the intricacies of patterns in the natural world to create visually arresting and stimulating pieces of work. Her pots are hand-built, using a combination of coiling methods. They are then decorated with copper and under-glaze colours. In order to achieve fusion between the patters and the spherical form, all the pieces are raku-fired and fumed in sawdust.