Somewhere new

Posted on January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Art gallery, Craft centre, Facebook, Gallery, Paintings, Serendiparty, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Stoke-upon-TrentLeave a comment

A new arts and craft centre offering a place to sell your work and also art workshops has opened in Campbell Place in Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent.

I had the pleasure to meet Phil today, who is running the Centre. He took some of my paintings to display. There are some interesting art works in there includung work by Phil himself. I think it’s great that something like this has opened in Stoke. It makes Campbell place a bit more interesting. Good luck to him and congratulations for having the spirit and enthusiasm to open up. Open Wednesdays to Sundays, it’s initially opening for two years. It’s got a Facebook page under Serendiparty arts and crafts centre. There are events and workshops listed there.

Daisy type flowers

Posted on January 17, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colour, Daisies, Flowers, Gardening, Photo, Plants, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Trentham, Trentham Gardens2 Comments

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One of my favourites. The centres of these are a multitude of flowers with petals round the edges (think of sunflower hearts). There are oxeye daisies and osteospermums, cone flowers, asters, all sorts of types and colours. Life in all its variations can be wonderful. This photo is of Rudbeckia I think, taken at Trentham Gardens in the autumn. What I like about daisies is the length of time throughout the year that they flower. They cheer me up.

Have you ever made daisy chains? We used to when we were kids. Pick a daisy and make a hole in the stalk with your fingernail parallel with the stalk, then thread another daisy through till the flower head is in contact with the stem. Then do again till you have a chain. (I’m not suggesting you do this, just how we did it, you shouldn’t pick wildflowers).

Panto scenery

Posted on January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on scenery boards, Art, Blogging, Design, Environment, Helping paint, News, Painting, Panto, Pantomime, Penkhull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

Blurry photos, we are doing Aladdin for our panto this year. Someone else started it but I then asked if I could help. It’s bright and breezy and as colourful as I can make it. Im not publishing this on Facebook so you are getting a sneak preview. This is the Act one scenery.

Widow Twankey is Aladdins mum. She owns the local laundry and here is the market stall she has in her village. Expect excessive silliness!

When this is finished I will be doing the scenery for Act two. That’s is of a cave in the desert. I might add palm trees. At least its got me painting again, I was a bit down but this has helped.

Just doodling

Posted on January 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Clay, Doodle, Fun, Great pottery throw down, Middleport, Pottery, Sketch, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

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What to do when you are watching TV and you want to draw? Wait for the ad break and draw something quickly.

I’m watching something called the Great Pottery Throw down where twelve potters compete each week to make the best ceramics. This week the challenge is to make a six piece coffee set with a caffitierre, two expresso cups and saucers and a toast rack. Really enjoying watching people design, make and fire pots. Watching clay dry and drawing… Fun!

9 for 2019

Posted on January 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #9for2019, 2019, 2019 roundup, 9 for 2019, Acrylic on canvas, Art, Artist, Clay, Easter island head, Life, Paint, Painting, Photo, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

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9 of my favourite images from 2019.

From top left to bottom right…

Dramatic mirrored image of a North Wales beach.

Lion I painted for the local lions charity.

Mural in a downstairs cloakroom. I can still climb!

Easter Island clay head I made at Etruria Artists.

My art stall at a craft fair.

The stray cat that we are looking after who needs rehoming.

Falcon works, two images of the pottery I painted last autumn.

Holding my green man painting and with my vase painting during my exhibition at Spode.

Finally, painting of a window with peeling paint, taken from a photo I took at Spode.

Little walk at Etruria

Posted on January 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Chilled, Cold, Cold wind, Etruria, Etruria Industrial museum, Industrial heritage, Life, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, WalkLeave a comment

There is plenty to see on a short walk in the area around the Etruria Industrial museum at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent.

There was a very cold wind blowing along the canal towpath so we only had a short walk. We took a look at the cygnets on the canal, they were on their own so presumably their parents have left them now. I wish we had taken some duck food with us. There were plenty of other birds about including ducks and geese, a rook or crow and magpies.

Some of the industrial buildings in the area are more visible now the leaves are off the trees. One of these is the tall chimney that is on the industrial estate behind Jessie Shirley’s flint and bone mill, which is attached to the Etruria Industrial museum.

One of the boats on the canal had smoke rising from its chimney, which made me think of hot tea and toast. We soon got back to our car, and put the car heater on to warm up. Brrr

The lake

Posted on December 29, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Busy, Fun, Leek, Light railway, Near Leek, Rudyard, Rudyard lake, Staffordshire, Train, Visit, WaterLeave a comment

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A view of late summer. Riding on the Rudyard lake light railway train, along the length of the lake. I saw this sailing boat over the other side. Too far away and slightly misty to get a clear view. I love the romance of the scene. Its a long, thin lake. Sheltered by hills on either side. Actually a reservoir for the canal system. I don’t think it ever gets stormy on there. No tides, no rise and fall of water, unless there is a period of drought. A lovely, if busy, place to visit.

It’s out in the hills on a little side road, we have cycled there down steep gradients when I was a lot younger. One road to it is very narrow, with passing places. The other is on the far side of the town of Leek and means an extra twenty to thirty minutes travelling to get there.

One day I will take paints and a canvas to capture the views.

Industrial archeology

Posted on December 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Black Country museum, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Middleport pottery, Pottery, Renovation, Reusing, StaffordshireLeave a comment

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Photo of Middleport pottery. The walls are stained with pottery clay. These buildings are now artisan studios. Make do and mend. Reusing old buildings rather than knocking them down. But it costs money to do that. Historical buildings are getting demolished, history is being destroyed. Old buildings that could be refurbished are sometimes left to rot. There is a place in Dudley, in the West Midlands, called the black Country museum. They have demolished old buildings, then rebuilt them on the site. Maybe my city should do the same. X

Dalek

Posted on December 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Childhood memories, Dalek, Froghall, Fun, Memories, Poem, Poetry, Remembering, Sci fi, StaffordshireLeave a comment

IMG_20130101_000120 when I was a child

I watched Dr Who

I hid behind the settee,

I was scared of Daleks

Monsters scared me

The Icemen

The cybermen

Fighting in space

And on Earth..

Dr Who

Sci fi hero…!

This model Dalek was at Froghall Station a couple of years ago, if not more. It was wonderful to see. It was radio controlled. In the original series they were operated by men pedalling inside them and moving the weapons by hand. Nowadays they can climb steps in the modern series by hovering above them. But not in the 1960’s. I watched this classic TV series from the start. I wish I could time travel back then.

July at Westport lake.

Posted on December 14, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cafe, Cold, cormorants, July, Longport, Sketch, Staffordshire, Staffordshire wildlife Trust, Stoke-on trent, View, Weather, Westport lake, WinterLeave a comment

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It’s good to look back at old drawings as the days grow colder and shorter. Remembering warmth and colour, the view from the cafe there, then a gentle walk round the lake. Watching the place mature over the years, the trees have grown up so tall. Now Staffordshire wildlife have taken over running the site there has been a programme instigated to improve the area and make it more wildlife friendly. I saw four cormorants perched on a man made island there a couple of months ago. I thought these birds were costal, but maybe they are coming inland like gulls.

Must visit again in the near future, maybe if it snows…. Then I can re draw this scene…

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Staffordshire