The stories we bring to an exhibition

Sue is a familiar face at Mill Tye Gallery. She takes her time with each exhibition, noticing details and returning to the works that catch her eye. This time, she brought her husband Bernie.

She thought Bernie would appreciate the craftsmanship in Dan Hussey’s handmade chairs. She was right. Bernie had trained in boatbuilding and recognised the care involved in shaping wood. As they looked at the chairs, he talked about bending planks during his apprenticeship and studied the curves Dan had created.

Then Sue and Bernie had a surprise for us. Bernie revealed a miniature wooden wagon he had made himself.

We gathered around to look at its wheels, spokes and carefully shaped frame. Bernie explained that he had become interested in the agricultural wagons of the past through visits to rural museums and his family’s connection to farming. He had studied an original wagon at the museum in Stowmarket and read about traditional wheelmaking before making his own model. Each wheel was assembled from individual pieces.

For Bernie, part of the fascination lay in imagining the skill of the people who made full-sized wagons with the tools available to them. As he showed us the model, his admiration for their craftsmanship was clear. It was easy to see why Dan’s chairs had caught his attention too.

While Bernie’s story began with the chairs, one of Honor Surie’s paintings led Sue somewhere else entirely.

Standing in front of Misty Sun, Sue was reminded of the river near Langham where she played as a child. She spoke about her mother, who loved the natural world and could name the trees and wildflowers they saw on their walks. Sue remembered asking, “What’s that flower?” and listening to the answers. Her own lasting love of nature began there.

In the space of one visit, a chair had prompted a conversation about boatbuilding and traditional wagons; a painting had brought back walks with Sue’s mother and afternoons by the river. Bernie and Sue had arrived to see Honor and Dan’s work and generously shared something of themselves with us too.

That is one of the pleasures of welcoming visitors to Mill Tye Gallery. We can never know which detail will catch someone’s attention, or where a conversation might lead. Thank you, Sue and Bernie, for bringing your memories, your curiosity and Bernie’s wonderful wagon to share with us.

Captured Light by Dan Hussey & Honor Surie closes on Sunday 27th September at 4pm.