New paintings and regular art updates.
My friend Kate has made this mask for the mystery play. I’ve got to paint it up to look like my hubby.
It was about 30 degrees centigrade this afternoon when we were rehearsing. I think it must have been really hot and uncomfortable in the mask. Hopefully the weather will be fine and mild when we do the play in a fortnight.
X
I’m doing some backdrops for the Penkhull mystery play. I have calico to paint on, rather than static flat paintings that I usually do. This years backdrops are going to be rolled up and dropped down for the appropriate scenes.
Today apart from painting two willow pattern birds on papier mache I painted an eight foot by four foot backdrop of the church.
The problem was seeing the church through the trees. These mature lime trees have grown tall in the intervening years since the Church was built in the 1840’s. The backdrop is minus the trees. There was apparently a quarry and marl pit at the top of the hill which eventually filled with water and was a duck pond before it was filled in. There was a school on the land before the church was built and it was rebuilt at the top of Trent Valley Road (now the village hall). At the alter end of the church on the outside there were pigsties. I think these must predate the church.
More information about the village of penkhull can be found in books by the local author Richard Talbot.
More painting news will follow when I paint more.
X
A minton tile design turned into 3d by Bret Shah
Penkhull Mystery play is on again this year. This is the 15th year that we have held it up at Penkhull Church Yard and I’ve been asked to publicise it.
Penkhull Mystery Play is being held on Saturday 13th July. The play starts about 2pm.
The play is based on a book about the children of the Potteries and how a family’s life changes from working in pot banks, being forced into the workhouse to the building of the first school at Penkhull in the 1840’s.
There will also be Harpers Titchy Theatre with stories written by locals, stalls, a circus skills workshop, a tug of war competition, a tower of music, a music morning in the church and lots of other activities. This is one if the largest community based art events in Stoke-on-Trent.
It would be great if you can come along.
Today was all about making and painting things for the Penkhull Mystery Play this year. I reused two boxes from previous plays. I was asked to paint them black and then to use gold and yellow paint for the decoration.
The idea was to create boxes which would look like they had been decorated with Chinese lacquer. I didn’t know whether the idea would work, but it seemed OK.
Other work to do include sticking paper plates together to make them strong enough to be passed between 50school children and painting two large papier machè birds that represent the birds on the willow pattern plate.
One box has a landscape on the top of it, the other has a circular coin like shape on the top.
I wrote three little plays for the Titchy Theatre yesterday. They were read out at the show. I will post them here one a day.
Monster (tourist to reporter – look south or some such channel)
Reporter : so where did you see it?
Tourist : down by the quay, you know, the harbour?
R: and was it big?
T: well… It was as big as a boat, no… A ship
R: what did it look like?
T: er…. It had glowing all over it
R: what sort of lights?
T: Well… Yellow-ish. Like Glowing yellow eyes, and I think it had huge teeth too!
R: why?
T: it seemed to have a grill or something over its mouth, but you could see light shining through… You know… Glowing like an alien?
R: did it make a noise?
T: yes, a very low humming, and a metallic, clanking noise.
R: so…. how do you feel?
T: very scared. I’ve never seen anything like it before
R: can I ask you where you’re from?
T: oh yes. Stoke-on-Trent
R: so … Have you ever been to the seaside before?
T: oh yeah. You know, magaluf, Malaga, Ibetha.
R: and there was nothing like this there?
T: No… Just always sunny, and at night we went off and partied… The other thing I remember is this long wailing noise! I mean, it was foggy, so I could only sense the looming figure the Monster…. .!!
R: OK. Well…. We checked with the Coast Guard… .
T: Yeah??
R: the wailing noise was from the lighthouse foghorn.
T: Oh
R: And the big, dark, lit-up ship thing.
T: Yes?
R: Was a car ferry…….
Christine Mallaband-Brown
Five public houses, one private house and a Christmas tree…. What do they have in common? We went Carol singing around them with the Penkhull Mystery singers last night.
From wassail songs, Latin carols, ancient hyms and fairytail of New York… We sang so much last night. Its becoming a local tradition to visit all the hostelries to sing to the locals and collect funds for the Penkhull Mystery play in the summer. Its a difficult way of doing it because it relies on the number of people in the pubs and we outnumbered everybody in each of the pubs. But it was fun! Singing the Holly and the Ivy in four part harmony, or Good King Wenseslas with the men and women split into parts. And we sounded good. We are becoming more balanced as a choir. More choral.
After the New Year the choir splits back up. It’s made up of members of two Choirs and other members who just get together for this. But the cameraderie will remain.
I’m looking forward to next year when we do it all again.
X
Looking on Facebook, memories pop up from years ago. These pictures were taken in July 2013. I’m not sure if I did all of them that year. I may have painted over an old one from a year or two before.
As on other occasions harvest was one of the themes. Also the industrialisation of Stoke on Trent, when canals were dug out and bottle ovens and kilns were built. I even had to paint a public house. (With working door!)
I’m not sure how many years I have done this for and its always a bit of a rush job, or my health hasn’t been good. But I feel so much part if my community that I won’t say no.
I would love to do more, make the flats more intricate, more like murals. But at the end of the day they are only on display for a few hours, one day in a year. Just as long as the scenery helps tell the story…..that’s what they are there for.
X
Penkhull Mystery play day was hot and sunny. I missed the music morning in the church, but managed to watch the flag raised on the village green. The flag was chosen from a competition that was whittled down to 4 combined designs. The flag that won had the cockerel from the weather vane on the church on it, then an oval to to represent the roads up to the green and around it.
Next came Penkhull village brass bands playing popular and beautiful music to the crowd sitting on the green in front of the church.
There was also Morris dancing by Black Dog Molly, and a Hurdy Gurdy man playing ancient tunes, and a bower of song where anyone could come along and sing or play music.
It was time to get changed and ready for the play. I snapped a shot of the scenery I have been painting, but couldn’t get photo’s of the mystery play as I was in it! It went well and we had fun singing and dancing for the entertainment of the crowd. In 20 minutes a group of children were transported back in time, became farmers, were involved in Waterloo, were injured. Had a child, were evicted and had to live in a hole in the ground. Went through the first world war, then became Suffragettes, and eventually returned to the present.
Once the play was over there was time to get changed and listen to the Penkhull ukulele band, and watch the tug of war competition (only two teams entered from the same place as the other teams were too busy watching England play in the world cup.)
Finally I saw some short playlettes written for Harper’s Titchy theatre. This was performed as readings for two or more voices. It was very entertaining apart from being drowned out by loud musuc from the pub. (Half time at the England game).
It is a great credit to the people of Penkhull to do this so well each year. I heard up to 400 people help organise and volunteer for this community arts event .
It’s no wonder everyone is so busy at this time of year in Penkhull!
Mallaband-Brown