This blog might well be turning into my pottery log.... A new term of my pottery class has started and I had my first go at the humble pinch pot. A very quick and crude method of vestibule-making. A couple in this batch have fingermarks, which I think looked pretty good, I would like to try the same with a simple white and understated glaze.
I'm trying to get a good knowledge of glazes under my belt - I'm diligently making note of all the varieties of glazings I'm trying out. I have yet to find a combination which I love. I'll continue with lots of complex scribbled notes in my sketchbooks until I find whatever it is I'm looking for.
I jumped on the wheel this week and made three quite well-centred pots. Not bad for not having been on that wheel for a good 5 months. Here are my pinch pots... I made holes in the bottom using my favourite tool, that's so they they can become mini flower pots.
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And finally, this wouldn't be a pottery post without a mention of the teeth. I'm making a few every week, enjoying the three-step process, with my pottery course once a week, each stage takes a week to complete, and I have many teeth on the go at once:
1) Sculpt tooth shape > leave to dry
2) Smooth tooth with wet sponge and fire > tooth gets fired in kiln
3) glaze the fired tooth > tooth gets re-fired
4) One complete tooth!
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We have a project to complete this term - 'Cornucopia: the Horn of Plenty'. This involves writing Haikus and creating a 'fantastical form for fabulous foods' for the celebratory feast to mark Potstop's 20th anniversary.
We'll be inscribing the haiku on the form, and it will contain one of our favourite foods. I'm making a wide-open jaw, complete with teeth, holding fizzy sherbet-y sweets and a few gobstoppers. It's going to be reminiscent of that bit in Beetlejuice when the bowls come to life.
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BUT less scary. This reminds me of wonderful Harry Belafonte. Remember the song in that scene - 'Banana Boat Song (Day O)'? It's a cracker. So I'll ending this with his other mega-famous one - Jump in the Line. Bye!
I have always have been a big fan of drawing whilst listening. Some of my favourite things to draw have been born out of attending my old University lectures, pen and paper in hand. Notice how I am not calling this 'doodling'. That word, to me, is a bit lacklustre. It can be defined as:
Scribble absentmindedly.
Engage in idle activity; dawdle: "they could plan another attack while we're just doodling around".
I like to think my drawing has more of a purpose, an outpouring of something, a visual description of someone I am interested in, etc.Sitting with pen in hand can make me listen better, and also can help me from becoming bored. It's also one of my favourite things: productive. If I'm sat down, watching something, or someone - I feel much more at ease and able to relax if I'm keeping myself busy with something creative... of course I don't do this all the time as there is a need to just sit and be sometimes, but I do notice myself enjoying it more if I'm creatively stimulated in some way.This does come with a risk of becoming distracted by the drawing - paying it too much attention. Although that's not really a problem in my eyes. I welcome that, especially as I am trying to put more value and importance on drawing.This week I am volunteering as a Host Delegate at the International Conference on Culture Health and Wellbeing in Bristol, an Arts and Health South-West event. I am spending the beginning of this week ushering people around, telling speakers when they have one minute left of their talks, ticking people off lists, handing things out, being a friendly face, being a bit of a Bristol tour-guide and most interestingly, sitting in on lots of talks on a variety of subjects based around Health and Wellbeing, by lots of interesting speakers.And I have been drawing.Day 1.
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Day 2:
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A workshop on 'The Cancer Journey' and 'Dying Creatively' very interesting subjects, and I picked up a really interesting titbit: how we humans have so many ways of talking about death and dying, by getting it into conversation: 'drop dead gorgeous', 'dead easy', 'dead set', 'dead end', 'dying to meet him'. A way of making it a softer subject? So that when we have to deal with it, it's not something wholly new. We've been saying the words all along.Lots of words and sayings in todays drawings: 'Engaged in a collective endeavour' (I forgot the U!) 'Feeling is healing', a suggestion to say "can we talk about what it'll be like when you die" to the people around you, to prepare and engage with it. Another suggestion to 'talk about death in a funny way' - a coping strategy, and a good way to 'be' about it. The 'What Ever' is mine - no one said that! Onward to day 3!
Yesterday, paints out (wall paint, powdered Indian paint, lacquer, pencils, pins to scrape with and graphic pens) to make one very small painting for a fundraiser for Bristol's Cruse Berevement Care, to take the form of an anonymous exhibition, each piece A5. More about that here. Liking the words 'Top Notch' and wanting to write them everywhere.
Some more updated photographs of my studio space in Stokes Croft, Bristol. How good it feels to move things around and feel more collected to the space and fresher within it.
It's this weekend! I've been looking forward to it a long time. This is the most exciting Bristol event of the year for me, since the first time I went - when Michael Jackson had just died. Me and Lucy dancing outside Dad's Cabs with the man who was amazing at dancing and everyone's flirting with each other and asking you to dance or dancing on you.
What a surprise I got driving past Eastville roundabout. The best place to find poppies in Bristol. Hundreds and hundreds of poppy plants. I did ten minutes of picking, took them home and filled half of the Sunday paper and an hour of my time lining them up to be pressed for the 3 months they need before they turn beautifully translucent.
Another batch for my poppy collection, part of my ongoing poppy project. I have been doing this for 5 years now and have thousands. Soon, it'll become something but for now I am happy with the collecting and meticulous pressing (each petal needs to be completely flat and intact).
I recently taught some workshops with Light Box for World Mental Health Week. We chose Broadmead Baptist Church as our location, which is a lovely space - right in the centre of Broadmead, and has the cheapest room hire in the city. It's not too 'churchy' and some of it is quite beautiful.
Mmm Harissa Paste, good with lots of things, expecially in pasta sauces and with tun in a nice crispy jacket potato. I buy mine from Lichata & Son in Bristol. only 95p! What nice colors and images!
I had a fantastic day out with my brother’s family at the Explore Center in Bristol. It’s so interactive and playful, and the observatory show was great, I finally can name some of the stars! I brought my camera and photographed some quite strange things during my visit; views in mirrors and through microscopes. Button-pressing, long exposure in the fiber optic lights, virtual volleyball and a face in a machine.
Here are some pictures from Barfoot and Duggan's exhibition preparation. We're displaying the lists hung from thread from the tall ceilings of Centrespace Gallery, Bristol. And also inside a canopy. There are articles on the walls and displayed on plinths; letters from list donors (including letters of 'no donation' from the Queen, Prince Charles and Armando Iannucci.) We will be asking for list donations throughout the week of the exhibition, to add to the show.
*Exciting News*
'There's More to Life Than Lists' is going to be a featured exhibition in the 'Spotlight' section of the October issue of A-N Magazine. How exciting! I'm predicting lots of people through the doors of Centrespace!
I had such a great time at St Paul's Carnival on the 4th July. Dancing in the street to Michael Jackson, dirty songs with funny lyrics, I didn't get any food! Everyone in Bristol as one, great atmosphere and connection. Can't wait till next year.
Views from the roof of my studio in Stokes Croft. You can see over all the rooftops, it's one of the highest rooftops, apart from the tower-blocks. I like the roof a lot, apart from the pigeon bones and poo.
I have enjoying the abundance of snow here in Bristol. I have made six snowmen in total. Look at these skinny necks. These two are five days old today. And also pictures is a beautiful lady which Mia and I sculpted, complete with lipstick and mini-snowball hair.
I went to the Supertoys exhibition at Arnolfini for the second time this Friday with my family. There is a workshop where you can take apart old toys and make them into hybrid new ones. Amazing. Crab-Girl is mine and Dino-Scull is my nephew Ben's.
Finally, i have decided to get a studio! This may not look like much, but once i lay some white lino flooring down, put some shelves up and get my stuff in there, it will be just the kind of space I need! This is so exciting! It's in Stokes Croft Studios, right in the center of it all. Shared with lovely people too. I move in tomorrow!
I am working on the things I'm going to sell at Carboot Circus. So much to make, and it's limitless - I can make as much or as little as I like. Feeling like this is not the thing i want to be making, but knowing that it's not far off.The aesthetic is simple, but i am keeping to the three important elements of the things I make;
Accumulation obsession
Color importance
Labour intensity
So that's good! Thinking about studiospaces - There are possibilities of finding a free one here in Bristol, run down buildings and disused basements. If i had the space, i would make the big, messy and scary things.
So the first creative venture i went on since moving to Bristol was to paint a mural on someone’s garden wall. It felt great to be back into it, and I am so pleased with how it looks. I’m thinking that this may be the start of something - i would love to continue painting murals.
It’s not quite the ‘real’ stuff - as in the things i was doing during my degree, but that’s OK, it’s nice to be simple and just focus on aesthetics, which is a big focus of my work really.
There is more to come - i was taking a few pictures on my tripod, so i am thinking of making a little animation of the process.
