HERE, there and everywhere this autumn in York, artistic all-rounder Rory Motion will be juggling four hats as artist, compere, poetic musician and bingo caller in the week ahead.

From tomorrow morning, he contributes to Smile!, an exhibition of drawings, illustrations, cartoons, paintings and comical sculpture at the Pyramid Gallery in Stonegate.

On Wednesday, he hosts a charity night to mark 15 years of Pyramid, introducing Kangaroo Moon, a Somerset Celtic dance/trance band with Australian roots, and York composer and guitarist Peter Byrom-Smith in a fund-raiser for St Leonard’s Hospice at the Hospitium, in Museum Gardens, from 7pm to 11pm.

Two nights later, Rory could not let Friday the 13th pass without taking his unusual but popular beat group Rory Motion and The Travelling Libraries out of the wild side of Fulford and into The Winning Post on Bishopthorpe Road at 8.30pm.

First up is Smile!, an exhibition of light-hearted and humorous artwork that will be for sale from 11am tomorrow until November 30, with half the gallery commission on sales on the opening day going to St Leonard’s incidentally.

“Terry Brett from the gallery sent me an email: I’d met him here and there and I knew he was aware of what I did, and I’m very pleased to have been asked to take part,” says Rory, who will have seven new pieces on show. “I’ve mainly been doing text work, so there’ll be four verses from I’m A Hippy, and I’ve also done An Interesting Day Out In York, the one with the elephant.”

Alongside Rory’s satirical views of the world will be work by the American-born York humorist Linda Combi, former Punch cartoonist Ian Jackson, who offers an irreverent take on Winnie the Pooh and Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger; and Pyramid regulars Paul Smith and Jane Muir, whose speciality is 3D ceramic characters. Mychael Barrett, Corinna Rothwell, Trevor Price, Garry Jones and Jazmin Velasco will be participating too.

Next comes Rory’s debut appearance at the Hospitium on Wednesday. “It’s a beautiful building, so I’m delighted to be performing there in aid of St Leonard’s,” he says. “I’m really impressed by what they do at the hospice – and I’d like to die with dignity too…just not on Wednesday night!”

Compere Rory will be in comedian/poet/tree impressionist mode that night. “I’ll do a little set, well, probably quite a large set as Terry’s asked me to do 40 minutes – and yes, I still do tree impressions. In fact, I’ve added the Lombardy Poplar to my repertoire, and it’s so good, people can’t tell it’s an impression. I had a couple of people trying to cut me down last week; I don’t mind a bit of pollarding but that’s too much,” he says.

Next Friday, November 13, will see the release of the latest scare-mongering blockbuster, 2012, the year when the Mayan calendar will end for ever on December 21: hardly the perfect Christmas present for mankind that year. “Basically there are only about 1,145 shopping days left, full stop,” says Rory, who recommends you read his blog page, My Life As A Artist, on rorymotion.com for more thoughts on this apocalyptic subject.

“Because Hollywood likes to deal in fear, and because they’re releasing 2012 on Friday the 13th, I’ve decided to put on a gig that night in a deliberate act of counter culture to lure people away from the premiere and give an alternative, optimystic vision of the future.”

Next Friday’s gig will be the first to feature The Travelling Libraries’ new twin-guitar attack of Ry Veeter and Dave Reckoning, alias Pete Mitchell of York band Los Yobos. “We’ve got him on loan for an undisclosed fee,” reveals Rory, whose night would not be complete with a free game of non-erotic bingo as he re-activates his skills as a bingo caller from his long-gone cabaret nights at the De Grey Rooms.

“It’s very similar to normal bingo except less erotic. The question is: how do you make bingo less erotic? Basically you’ll have to come on the evening to find out how I manage that.”

So be prepared for twin guitars, bingo prizes and a vision of the future next Friday when Rory will reflect on the personal significance of 2012 and the Mayan P45 to the world. “As regards sensitivity to 21.12.2012, it will be Rory’s 25th birthday that day, having signed on the enterprise allowance scheme on 21.12.87,” says the man his family, friends and five-a-side football colleagues know as Andy Evans.