YVETTE MARTIN BA MA RCA

"I’m an environmental sculptor/painter and printmaker. I did my foundation course at Bournemouth, my BA at Loughborough and my MA in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art in London. You can view samples of my work here.

I bought the gallery in 2006. My aim is to select quality local artists who produce unique inspiring items – ones that brighten your life and home, give you a priceless glow and pleasure when you look at, touch or feel them. Not just a gift but the best present of the year, objects that embody the passion of the artists that create them.

Anything can be ordinary but, just occasionally, there’s someone who can make a button necklace that’s just brilliant, an artist who adds that one fleck of white to a painting that makes it sing, a potter who turns a mug that becomes the only mug you ever want to use to start your day; a sculptor whose skill at portraying not just an animal but that expression that takes your breath away, makes you literally cry in memory of a lost presence; a ceramicist whose daring use of color transports you to distant memories of Guatemala and Africa but is still totally rooted in the red Devon soil.

It’s these moments of magic that are the hallmarks of genuine quality. We have over 50 varied artists and craftspeople from Devon and the surrounding counties in the gallery at all times; they all deserve recognition as valued assets of the region.

For me, The Arts Gallery is about pride, it's about walking through the door and being inspired, enlivened, awed and invigorated by what surrounds me. It’s about valuing the unique, and providing an outlet and peace of mind for artists, so they can concentrate on what they do best. It's also about satisfied customers, who get a whole lot more than a mere object, they get pure creativity. I want them to understand just how truly valuable that is.

Works and commissions I have undertaken include a four month residency in the Forest of Dean, being the third member of the international snow carving team in Ottawa, Canada and in Milwaukie, USA. I’ve produced work in the Natural History Museum grounds, (chosen as the image on the front cover of Royal College of Art Show Catalogue), Epping Forest, The Horn of Plenty, The Mythic Garden and Delamoor. I’ve been designer at the Eden Project on landscape and building projects and have designed an environmental art centre for an audience of 300.

I travelled extensively through Europe, Africa, and South America, lived in France for seven years, and am now settled back in Devon while my two children complete their education. I have three main businesses, the gallery, my holiday lets and a relocation business."