New paintings and regular art updates.
This is a stone carving I think? It’s on a building in Newcastle under Lyme. The building, a shop, has closed and other buildings around it are partially demolished. I hope this carving will be recovered and reused, maybe it will go to a reclamation yard? I think it’s probably an art nouveau design. I hope the business that was there is successful in its new home (there wee signs saying it had moved elsewhere.
I went out to Audlem yesterday to sing with our choir. Thankfully I got a lift there and back because I can’t drive that far.
We sang really well at the Music festival and managed to drown out a band that was playing across the road from us!
We had sung inside Audlem Methodist Hall for the first half and then outside in the garden for the second half. That’s where I saw this sculpture of two birds, I think they were doves, carved out of two tree stumps. I really would like to have a sculpture like this done in my own garden where I had to have a tree cut down because it was dying. I think whoever carved this is very clever.
Stone gatepost, in the shape of a pine cone. Covered in moss as it sits under the trees in the damp gloom. Where is the other one? I don’t know, didn’t see it? There is a path that runs past it to a tall tower. This is pierced by several square holes in its upper third and is labelled as the dovecote at Ford Green Hall.
The weather has been damp and gloomy for all of July so I don’t know what condition the gatepost would normally be in, but it looks spectacularly spooky at the moment. Walking along that path in autumn could be quite unnerving. X
Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was forest. Catching up with Sundays prompt. We recently visited Trentham Monkey Forest and in the entrance compound there are some sculptures including a mother and baby macaque carved from a tree stump. I’ve done a sketch of it for the prompt.
Lino cut cat from last year. The curve at the back could be from a snail shell. This is another technique I would like to pramore this year. I think I will try and create card sets, hopefully without cutting my fingers. You also have to remember to carve back to front or letters are the wrong way round. If you have ever tried this you can feel the carving tools slipping on the surface of the lino. You have to push quite hard to cut down into it but not too deep or you can split the lino. The kit I bought had a safety carving blade which is the safest way to carve. I look forward to doing some more.
I carved this pumpkin cat last year for Halloween at Etruria Industrial Museum. It is meant to be a black cat if it was lit at night. I think they used battery tea lights for safety. I think I carved three or four with different designs. Memories of a more cheerful time. I should say be careful carving out pumpkins. I thing I cut a finger slightly while I was doing this x
Doorway at the Thai temple. So beautifully decorated. Golds and greens, amazing patterns. The celebration was outside so we didn’t go in, but I would have liked to. The skill and artistry is outstanding. I imagine the sort of skills you would need to carve church screens, or old furniture. Those skills are being replaced by computers or 3d printing. But hand carving and painting adds something special. Not clean and accurate, but human and possibly slightly flawed. It is fine art. X
I know there are better carvings, but I really enjoyed creating this. We didn’t have posh carving tools, just a few knives. I’ve seen pumpkins where just the outer rind is carved away so you get a shallow relief effect. I like it but I guess you would have to use clay modelling tools?
Apparently wild animals can eat the remains of the pumpkin once its been use for decoration. I don’t think hedgehogs like them though? I’m not sure feild mice would like one carved like a cat? Anyway it was fun to do. And it works as a ginger cat, X
One of the problems with taking photos in artificial light with a smart phone is that you cannot always get a good exposure. My solution after trying to alter the contrast and exposures of these two photos was to use a black and white filter. Once I posted them on my Instagram account I used the filter on there which bought out more details in the photos.
Maybe I should have used a fill flash or changed the setting to manual but I don’t know if that would have helped.
I went to an Art lunch today with fellow artists. We had a spicy pumpkin soup and different varieties of cake plus extra treats that pebought along.
The lunch was held at the warehouse building at Etruria Industrial museum, Etruria, Stoke on Trent.
We were asked to carve pumpkins for an event this weekend at the museum where they will be steaming the Etruria Flint Mill beam engine between 11am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday this coming weekend.
The photos shown are my four carvings. A cat, a dragon, an abstract pattern and a sunflower shape. It was the most fun I’ve had for several weeks!
Mallaband-Brown