A miniature forest? No, moss and peeling paint on a windowledge at Spode Site, Elanora street, Stoke today. I like the look of it, but when I think of the deterioration to the buildings I realise they must be crumbling inside and out.
I took quite a few photos today, some of them seriously boring! I’m not sure how I will use them. There is a boring men Facebook page I think? I don’t know if I could post them there or if I want to. I might just post them to the peeling paint appreciation society and the moss appreciation society pages!
Just doodling, keeping my hands busy. I might find something to paint but I’m going to give up my studio at Spode as I can no longer afford it. I’m sad because it feels like quitting and I don’t want to but you can only do what you can do. I’m going to try and find a cheaper studio. In the meantime I have a lot of art work that I hope I can get sold. It’s time I had a sale. We will see what happens.
I just got back from a Claybody Theatre production, an Audience with Toby Jones. He’s the actor who recently appeared as Mr Bates (in Mr Bates versus the Post Office) the sub postmaster who was accused with hundreds of others of stealing money from the post office when it was actually the horizon computer system that had caused the problems. The ITV drama he was in really bought the scandalous treatment of sub postmasters out into the open.
He’s also been in the Detectorists, played Truman Capote, played Neil Baldwin in Marvellous and has been in many more plays, films and TV series. He also played Dobbie the House Elf in Harry Potter.
Toby Jones talked about his university experience, his further studies with a French drama school, how he went from wanting to be a director to being an actor. As he explained he doesn’t have control of what’s coming up. Actors are lucky to get parts and they have to go with whats available. He explained he’s not bothered about fame, and came across as a genuine and funny person. He had come to Spode in Stoke upon Trent to support Claybody Theatre.
His father was the actor Freddie Jones and had lived in Longton in Stoke-on-Trent. He had taken up acting quite late in life and Toby wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
It was a thoroughly interesting evening. I was so glad to have seen him in person.
Round window at Spode painted a couple of years, ago, the glass was held in a circular metal frame. I enjoyed trying to get a feeling of depth using deep shade, and perspective with the rows of bricks. I think they might be a bit exaggerated. I liked the way the concentric circles sink inwards and the shadows bend around the edges.
Just a dandelion sprouting from a brick wall in Spode, Stoke-on-Trent. I took this a few years ago. I added it to the ‘Peeling Paint Appreciation Society’ page on Facebook. It’s got wonderful peeling paint photos that are right up my street…..
I painted this teapot six years ago when I first moved into my studio at Spode. This is a medium sized acrylic on canvas. It’s from my imagination, and the flower design is based on the pattern ‘calico’ by the Burleigh pottery. I think its based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. I made the wooden panels up from my memory. I still have this painting at my studio at Spode.
It’s my neighbours across the corridor. I wish I had that view but my studio is window free, which means it’s easier to heat! A few people came in and said how toasty and warm it was. I sold a couple of paintings from there and a few miniatures in the makers market. But most of all I liked asking people if they were artists, or if they enjoyed it. I enthused to parents to get their children involved in art. It was a good day.
Saturday is the open Studios day at Acava Spode Studios in Elanora Street, Stoke. On from 10am to 4pm, studio holders open their studios to the public and also hold a small sale to try and sell some of their work in time for Christmas.
This is a chance to buy hand made arts and crafts at a local venue in Stoke. There are all sorts of work represented.
I will be in my studio to show people work in progress and also have some of my older work on sale.
Mallaband-Brown 