New paintings and regular art updates.
Feeling blue.
Can you see a face,…?
Head tilted to the left, a streak of light catching the nose?
My friend saw it first, where I had roughly painted the scenery for the show. Random brush strokes that created a male face…
My hubby’s face? Not scary, good to feel I had unconsciously incorporated him! He was an enthusiastic actor in the shows. Glad he was there apparently in spirit. X
So many people did this, cast, crew, stall holders, hula hoop lady, helpers, Ukelele band, Titchy Theatre, red cross, church people.
We had fun, and when I got home I was too tired to puty slippers on!
Well done Penkhull, Stoke on Trent
We had a blast didn’t we?
20th Anniversary of our Mystery Plays!
Since I’ve been talking about the Penkhull Mystery Plays I thought I’d share an image of our flag and information about it from the flag institute:
Flag Type: Village FlagFlag Date: 7th July 2018Flag Designer: People of Penkhull with Philip Tibbetts and Graham BartramAdoption Route: Popular VoteUK Design Code: UNKG7540Aspect Ratio: 3:5Pantone® Colours: Green 355, Yellow 109, Blue 286Certification: Flag Institute Chief Vexillologist, Graham BartramNotes:
The Penkhull Flag is a community flag proclaiming the unique identity of this district of the City of Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire).
Penkull is a hilltop village and conservation area within the city boundaries, with strong links to the Spode family.
Josiah Spode I lived in Penkhull, close to his famous Spode pottery works, while his son Josiah II developed the village as a dormitory suburb.
The Penkhull Flag features a golden saltire nowy charged with a blue oval bearing a golden rooster.
The green field evokes the rural nature of the village.
The saltire recalls the crossroads at its heart, while the blue central oval represents classic Spode tableware.
Meanwhile the rooster draws on the weather vane of St Thomas’s Church – a commonly used emblem in the village.
This winning design was chosen by popular vote, achieving just over 35 per cent of the poll, and flew for the first time as part of the Penkhull Mysteries event.
I’m playing an Imp in the Penkhull Mystery Play, I have one line (and a few more as the narrator). It’s not obvious I’m an Imp, I just have to shout out “my name is Jakobah” , push a rock across a cave mouth. Then shout “goodbye”. There were more lines but they were cut because the play was originally one and a half hours long so it had to be edited. Maybe this is another case of measure twice, cut once! Anyway I hope to do so some more painting later x
Two of our (literal) stars of the Mystery Play at rehearsal today. They are only young but they have some acting knowledge, I hope they will enjoy the experience, they certainly had the enthusiasm! Things are gathering slowly but it is getting there and I hope the audience will enjoy the play. Not long to go!
Hubby played a prophet in one of the Mystery Plays a few years ago. It was outside but his big booming voice could be heard by the audience sitting on the green. He could project his voice over the traffic noise. If he had been bought up in a more middle class environment I’m sure he would have been an actor. But mental health meant he struggled to remember all his words. We also did the local amateur panto together. He got a pretend Oscar one year for most enthusiastic entrance (or something like that). He was a marvellous, memorable man.
I’m involved in the Penkhull Mystery Plays and we had a read through of the whole play yesterday. I just decided to doodle what I think the main baddie in the play could look like. Her hair is a tangle of flowers and weeds and twigs. Sharp faced, but without the beak of a nose and hooked chin of traditional depictions of witches. She’s more punk than ancient. I could imagine piercings and tattoos too.
It’s been a few years since we did a full mystery play, but we are trying to put something on for it’s 25th anniversary.
We’ve lost a few people along the way through health issues and retirement, but there’s still enthusiasm there we just need to mine for it!
Currently we are looking at putting on a days entertainment but costs are staring at us, everything from insurance to road closures, hiring the hall, making props, writing scripts, organising stalls and first aid, morris dancing and a tug of war. Singing and playlets. We may miss out the play itself, it’s up in the air.
Social media helps connect us. I hope people are listening. We have an old Facebook page that was last posted on in 2019…BC…brfore covid…. Fingers crossed people get involved.
Photo is of out Johna and the whale play in 2016
Might set up a go fund me page.
My legacy is my art. I have painted for years. I hope that someone wants them when I’ve gone.
I was involved in painting several murals over my time as an artist, but sadly most of them have been destroyed in one way or another. I painted a mural in the stairwell of the Unemployment action centre in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent just after I finished college. Then we found the building was going to be demolished. So myself and a friend got permission to go in and take photos. Unfortunately the photographs came back blank. The film had not been attached to the spool and was not exposed!
Then I painted some murals with a council art group. Over a few weeks we worked on a school canteen (alien/ sci-fi landscape) a ward at a hospital (images of Stoke-on-Trent to aid elderly patients memories), and a memorial for the 1914 to 18 war. All of these were demolished.
Finally I did twelve murals at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. This took me the good part of two years on and off. The painting above was a mural I did of the Burslem riot of 1842? I researched it and a lot of the characters were based on local Burlem residents and people who worked at or frequented the Leopard. All of the murals were destroyed in a fire that burnt down the hotel.
I have also painted scenery for the local pantomime and Mystery plays, but I don’t know what has happened to them.
What is the legacy you want to leave behind?
So if this isn’t my legacy what is? All the paintings and artwork I have created over the years since I was a child. Not all of them still exist. Art turns out to be quite ephemeral in some ways. But I’ve sold enough that, if no one wants the ones I still have, the rest have gone to new owners. Even if they were to appear in charity shops, I hope that some do find good homes.
Me a couple of years ago painting banners for our mystery play we did. These are pictures of the willow pattern from Spode that I was copying for the performance. We hold it on a Saturday towards the start of July. Unfortunately we could not hold it last year and only had an online event this year. I hope it’s reinstated when things get better.
I’m so busy with college work it would have been difficult to make the time but I love doing this. It makes me feel part of a community. I also miss all the friends I have through being part of it. X
Mallaband-Brown