Where was I?

Posted on July 6, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on hardboard, Blue, Design, Minton, Ochre, Painting on hardboard, Pale yellow, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Red ochre, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Tiles, WhiteLeave a comment

An attempt at a Minton tile and my own design in minton colours, both for the mystery play. The one based on the minton design was hard to get right. It’s a bit wobbly. The second one has a bit of a Tudor rose feel to it. I started with the outside on the Minton copy and the inside with my own design. Im not sure it works, but when you put them together it makes a nice pattern. Hopefully they will like it for the play.

Most of the rest of the day was spent rehearsing and recovering from last nights show. These days I get tired more quickly. It’s annoying. Tomorrow is another rehearsal day. Only a week to go till the play.

Finished Friday

Posted on July 5, 2019July 6, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on calico, Backgrounds, Life, Methodist Chapel, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Willow patternLeave a comment

I finished this painting of the old Methodist Chapel in Penkhull. I added some details including cobblestones reflecting the sky colours. The Chapel was built in 1836 about six years before the church was built on the top of the hill. Then of course I started something new.

This is a large image of a willow pattern platter. I’m a bit further on with it than this. I think I won’t be able to finish it till next week.

After this I went to sing at the church for the One night only show.

Tiny painting plan

Posted on July 3, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Busy month, Makers market, One night only, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Rehearsal, Spode, What's on8 Comments

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Here are some of my older tiny paintings. I have a bag of about twenty matchbox sized canvases to paint in time for a makers market at Spode on 28 July. I’m still in rehearsals for “one night only” on Friday night and the Penkhull Mystery play on the 13th. Busy busy busy…

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Scenery painting

Posted on June 27, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Backdrops, Calico, Life, Painting, Penkhull, Penkhull Church, Penkhull mystery play, Scenery, St Thomas's ChurchLeave a comment

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.

Penkhull Mystery Play

Posted on June 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 13 July 2019, Art, Circus skills, Drama school, Fun, Good day out, Humour, Music, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Scenery, Tower of musicLeave a comment

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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.

Penkhull sunset

Posted on May 31, 2019May 31, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Church, Colour, Evening, Light, Penkhull, Photos, Red, Stoke-on trent, SunsetLeave a comment

The sunset reflected on penkhull Church. I’ve altered the exposure on these, increasing the red or changing the background clouds. The top two are closer to the original pictures, but not as bright as I saw. This is because your eyes accommodate to the light levels, letting more light in by opening your iris in your eye, making the pupil wider. The trouble was as I increased the brightness the sky just disappeared into white, so I tried changing the colours in the curves section of my photo editor.

Minton exhibition

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bret Shah, Ceramics, Hans van Lemmen, Minton tiles, Penkhull, Pottery, Pressed tiles, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Stoke-upon-Trent, Tile press, TilesLeave a comment

Tonight we went to the opening of an exhibition based on Minton tiles.. This is being held at the Winkhill Mill at Swan Street in Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent.

Bret Shah and Hans Van Lemmen on have produced a book of patterns based on designs by Minton tiles. Also in the exhibition are examples of tiles. There are 3d printed tiles where the different patterns are built up as layers. You can wear glasses that obscure your vision so you see as if you are visually impaired The 3d tiles give you an idea of the shapes used on the flat tiles. There is also a chance to see tile presses where dry clay dust is used to produce blank clay tiles. However the mill is also looking ar producing encaustic patterns on the tiles.

Later we visited St Thomas’s Church at Penkhull. The floor of the church is covered in minton tiles in the area by the altar.

Titchy play: Monster

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Comedy Sketch, Creative writing, Dialogue, Environment, Fun, Humour, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Playlet, Sea, Seaside, Stoke-on trent, Titchy theatre, TravelLeave a comment

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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

Remembering Mothers

Posted on March 26, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Creative writing, Mothers, Mothers day, Painting, Penkhull, Penkhull Village Hall, Theatre, Titchy theatre, WritingLeave a comment

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It’s mother’s day here on 31st of March but I won’t be celebrating it as both my mom and mother in law passed away a few years ago.

What I do have is these two paintings of them to remember them by.

They both had their troubles and difficulties but they were both strong women and I loved them both.

Instead of going to a mothers day lunch or tea I’m going to a theatrical event called Titchy theatre.

I’ve written a couple of small conversations for two or three voices and the people running the theatre event will be reading them out. The Titchy theatre started at Penkhull Mysteries but is expanding to two performances a year. People were asked to write something for the performance. If you are free on Sunday the 31st and want to come up to Penkhull Village Hall please do. Please get there for 2.30pm. The show starts at 3pm. Spaces are limited.

The boatband

Posted on February 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Band, Boat and, Cajun music, Creole music, Fun, Humour, Live music, Manor Court alehouse, Penkhull, Sea shanties, SingingLeave a comment

After the panto we went over to the local alehouse where the boatband were playing. They play a mix of sea shanties, cajun and creole music together with other 20th century music. Listening to them playing guitar, fiddle, trombone, accordion and washboard was great. One of their members is missing but I only took one photo before my phone went flat. There is always a request to sing during the interval so I sang “molly malone”, but because I had got really tired from the panto performance I could not remember all the words and had to be prompted… How Ironic…!

Anyway that was a long evening. Not sure when I will get up in the morning. The panto continues on Friday (today) and Saturday.