New paintings and regular art updates.
I finally got into Cherished Chimneys in Longport, Stoke-on-Trent. Its an Aladdins cave of Chimney pots. Small, short, long, tall, fluted, straight, curved. Dark, light, terracotta, superb ceramics. The shop restores chimneys for buildings where the original pots have been lost, but also sells to the public who use them as ornamental sculptures and flower pots in their gardens. It’s worth taking a look if you are ever passing.
A roar of colour, even in late evening light. The triffids have arrived, my hanging baskets are blooming lovely and are growing blousier by the day.
It happens every year, they are not fully grown when I get them, but add water and they burst into life. Plants that I didn’t know were in them are staring to flower, fushias and long trailing pelargoniums. A profusion of colour. I’m probably going to bore you with more of this until the last lobelia dies in the frosts of December! Some of them will survive until spring as they did last year.
X
Purr, I like you
Purr let me sharpen my claws…
On your leg..
Purr, gimme food!
Purr, gimme water!
Purr, clean my litter tray,
Purr, let me sit here
It’s my computer now…
Purr, that’s a book?
Let me read it.
Purr that’s your food
Gimme some now!
Purr, I’m tired
Let me sleep on you.
Not your lap,
Your face!
Purr I love you
Purr yes I do….
I made these glass pieces in my friend Angela’s glass workshop. Now I’ve bought them to another friend who is going to wire weave round them and turn them into necklaces. Glass is fascinating. I now want to find out about stained glass and glass blowing. I’m only dabbling my toes into this craft but it’s great. I’m going to maybe get an enamel kiln but that’s another story…..
Loads of ripe cherries
High in the tree
Out of reach of human hands
But not from beaks you see.
Blackbirds, pigeons and magpies
Each have their fill
Of sweet red cherries
They have the skill,
Of flying high above me
Pecking at the fruit
Eating all the ripe ones
In their aerial persuit.
Sweet red cherries
Small and round and neat.
I go without
And the birds get a treat!
Brexit. Such a difficult thing.
I’m trying to work out how to explain Brexit and why I think it’s bad. So I tried to come up with an analogy and chose ice cream… Yum.
Imagine your country had a vote to take back control. The plan is to give free ice cream to everyone. There will be no rules except for ones we set ourselves…
Free ice cream everyone, yipee…
But the farmers are worried as they will get no revenue as the government want the ice cream but don’t want to pay the farmers. People won’t be able to get milk because it is all going on ice cream. Then we realise that if we keep our promise (it was democratic after all) children and adults will start getting obese. People will start getting type two diabetes. People will have an increased risk of cancer…
But it was democratic. The people decided, ice cream for all. Now we could do that, but because of tariffs on flavouring the only flavour available for poor people is synthetic vanilla, made in a non EU country, and to get that we must sell off our farms to that country. So we have all these problems, plus we won’t get subsidies that helped our farmers, especially in the parts of the country that suffer poverty and blamed the EU for it. The ice cream is made, but its not free, the EU won’t help (why would they?) and the ice cream industry goes into recession. Why would you vote for that? A non political party of the ice cream is started, and take seats in Europe, but their plans are very right wing, like insisting on only white ice cream, no chocolate. Things get worse… But 52% voted for it so it must be OK…? Right ?
Called in at the waiting room gallery in Longport to have a chat and look at the new work in there. I was interested in the memories of Longport exhibition, which was asking for people to write about things that they remember from there. I remembered taking my bike which had damage to the headset to a bike mechanic called Lance. I took the bike in, he lost it from his shop in trubshaw cross. I went back a few times, sorry no bike. I visited again, after a year he found the bike frame but no wheels! I ended up buying another bike, which was too large for me so I sold it and bought a second hand car! After a few more months the wheels were replaced, but too late, I was so unfit I never really cycled again. Apparently the repair man didn’t really think women mattered, so the bike was not important. Now I’m unfit and sad this happened about thirty years ago. I could have stayed well… But that’s life x
The waiting room is an interesting place, they have some good art in there, they are also working along with Longport Station, I’m looking forward to working with them x
This is the glass drop piece that I mad in Angela Ashtons glass workshop thy I put together last week. I think it’s turned out really well. I am going to put something on about some glass marbles and my smaller glass pieces later on, but I’ve been out since 10am and it’s almost 6pm and to be honest I’ve sat down and don’t want to move!
I love working with glass. I’m so glad I’ve started exploring it. Thank you Angela x
16 short stories and poems, 11 authors, 6 readers, 1 host. We all had fun listening to many and various tales this afternoon. I wrote three very short pieces which I think I have already posted on here. It’s great to hear people laughing at your jokes and punchlines.
More about the day to follow later.
X
Almost done. Tomorrow we do the mystery play. Museum scene, travel back in time, work in a pottery, get thrown out of your house, end up in the workhouse. Escape to go to school. A Sunday school performance, finale. Songs, humour, tragedy, history.
Penkhull Mystery Play event, Saturday 13 July 2019. Free event, starts in the church at 10am then on the church green from 1pm. Stalls from 11am. Lots to see and do… Sorry to keep going on about it!
Mallaband-Brown