New paintings and regular art updates.
Just been making some more glass work. I used some more dichroic glass to add some sparkle and interesting effects. Now waiting to be fired by my friend Angela who ran the workshop. Hopefully they will come out nice and I can use them for jewellery. Each piece is about half the size of previous ones I’ve done.
This is a wall in the China halls in Spode. Water has got in and damp is creeping up the wall. The fire extinguisher and bracket is long gone but the signs remain. I love the red and green contrasting colours, and it’s clear where the wall has been rebuilt or pointed and the scars of its life, like scars on a face. The dereliction is like an aging body, cracking and damaged.
I love flaking paint, brickwork and seeing the history written in the structure. I love taking photos of it and trying to paint it.
Well, it rained. As you can see from the photos. Even so it was good to do the craft fair at spode today. I met some lovely people who were very helpful despite the fact I was having a bad morning. I’d arrived after very little sleep and getting up later than I intended.
It was lovely to hear classical music being played by a violinist, he was really good. Sadly I didn’t get his name.
I didn’t do that well. I don’t know if I was too close to the door, or if my art was not trendy enough. I sold a few things and some people took cards with my details on. I am shattered but happy. I may not have made a fortune, but made some good friends.
X
I think this is my last painting for the craft fair, I’m getting too tired. This owlet was on a calendar and I couldn’t resist painting it. I think it is so cute. X
I find painting feathers and fur difficult. You can’t paint every strand of hair, tuft of fur, or every feather but if I can get a good impression of the details, that will have to do.
Yes, these are all paintings I did over the last few days. Some are tiny, some are small and some medium sized. These are for my craft stall for tomorrow at the Hotel on Spode Site. I hope people come in and enjoy what will be on display and for sale. There are a lot of quality crafts and art which will be there.
I guess I had better get back to work and finish off what I’m doing.
X
I got this Brown Betty teapot from Cherished Chimneys in Longport in Stoke-on-Trent. Its a traditional shape and colour. Apparently they keep tea warm for longer.
Cherished Chimneys have a teapot exhibition in their building (they actually mainly sell reclaimed chimneys) we had fun choosing the teapot from them.
We had been in the Waiting room gallery across the road at a Macmillan coffee morning to raise funds for their cancer care support work. A very good cause. Then we went to Bread in common, an artistic cafe that bakes bread and also cooks vegetarian food on a Fridays. Then to the British Ceramic Biennial in the afternoon. All in all a very busy day.
Then when we got home I did a few more tiny paintings, but that’s another story….
A few shots of windows at Spode over the weekend. I might paint some of them. I like the geometry and angles. The touches of colours, in paints and environment. Looking out and looking in…..
When you take a photo of an old window under purple sunsets you can get something of an interesting hue.
Ink turns pink
Sky’s surprise
Window brightened
With sunsets flight.
Glowing purple
Violet hue
Salmon sprinkled
In the blue.
Glint of crimson
Sizzles over
Bleeding sky
Paints walls anew.
Usually I don’t include artists statements because I think my art should be self explanatory. However as I was exhibiting a painting about what Spode means to me, I said that it was about how Spode is now, that I have only been there for a few years. I also said that I wanted to include the history of the buildings and what was going on outside the building and how exciting I had found the experience of painting it.
I think it made sense, it’s difficult to know how long to make it and how much information it required.
One of the things we did at the Spode open days was encourage people to get involved and either draw pictures of spode, draw a design, or write what Spode meant to them on a card. We got a few responses. I think now they are there they may be more on Sunday. The idea was that people could respond to the art exhibition we are holding in the foyer from artists who either work in the building or who have been involved in other projects there or who previously worked in the factory.
Mallaband-Brown