New paintings and regular art updates.
Mid November and there are still yellow daisy flowers growing. They may be a weed plant but I don’t care, its just good to see nature breaking through the old tarmac and concrete.
Taken near Etruria Industrial Museum, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent. Photograph taken on my smartphone.
Over at Etruria this morning to do a little bit of filming for a request for funding for Etruria Artists. I only had a couple of lines to say but it took me ages to get it to sound natural. I don’t know whether we will get the funding but it was fun doing the film.
The request was for money to pay for equipment to prepare clay for people to make pots out of. I think I had to say a clunker and a whisser but I can’t remember….. The idea is if we run a clay workshop outside the participants can keep within their own bubbles and keep socially distanced. We might get the grant, will have to wait and see.
Painted a year or two ago. The derelict pottery at the back of Portmeirion pottery. I love painting bricks. Most of the windows are boarded, and the Falcon symbol is on the end of the building. Painted in Autumn, acrylic on canvas.
It’s still standing but I think I will take some more photos of it before long, it’s worrying that it’s not being maintained or restored as far as I know. I guess it might be taken care of one day, but I’m not sure when.
It’s a lovely little cat with yellow and black decoration. It’s only small, about 7 inches tall. He’s smart and adds to my ornaments on the mantlepiece. Emma does larger cats and lots of other objects. The ceramics have designs that are reminiscent of Clarice Cliff pottery from the 1930’s.
Emma Bailey ceramics is based at Middleport pottery in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Check opening times as the pottery is open at the moment.
Its aa little thing, but my painting of the Burslem Riot is on the back of a friends book. She’s in the newspaper today and you can clearly see my image on the back of her book. The problem is the article is about the local dialect which she writes about, not about my painting. So I guess I can’t complain. But my images do crop up and I don’t get recognition. I should have put something up where they are on display (in the now closed Leopard Hotel in Burslem), but I didn’t think about it, and then I didn’t organise it, and now it’s all locked up. Thinking if putting a letter through the front door infroducing myself as the artist who painted them. I hope they don’t get ripped out!
One thing about living in Stoke is that you get to see beautiful pottery. For instance these tiles may be simple for or wall decorations, but they signify the creativity of the City.
You visit the Potteries Museum and art gallery, in the city centre (Hanley), you will see amazing beauty and talent in the history of the city of Stoke-on-Trent.
A whole history and creativity that has gradually dwindled as austerity has crippled the country. Manufacturing has reduced, has been driven offshore by costs, and although some had started to return, the current situation has made things worse again. Life continues…..
Welcome to Spode studios. I have to admit I have not been in since the March lockdown. My reasons? Covid19, fear of catching it or passing it on if I do catch it.
The corridors are usually quiet, but you don’t know who’s there. I should call in, but now I’ve started an online course my available time has reduced. I need to make a timetable. To work out when I should go in. I have good intentions, but as they say about them, the road to hell is paved with them. I guess I’m really a bit down and still recovering from my tonsillitis. Yuk.
After twenty four hours and over 13000 votes Penkhull’s flag finally won out over Tiree in Scotland by 51.5% to 48.5%. So very very close. I couldn’t resist going on twitter every few minutes to check what was happening, through most of the night! It’s silly but I’m very proud of our little village in the city.
The flag institute who ran the poll was amazed at the number of votes that were cast. The lead swapped backwards and forwards between us and Tiree. A wonderful feeling to have actually won!
In February we were in the local pantomime. It was Aladdin. I also painted the scenery including this cutout of a cast member who had gone through a mangle and had to come out flattened. You would think it was easy. But have you tried painting feet from the back as well as the front? I took photos of the front and back of the person but the feet looked odd? I should have placed them like Charlie Chaplin perhaps? I hope life starts to return to normal and we get to do another panto soon! Oh yes I do! Oh no you don’t!
My idea was the to middle one. As you can see the Cockerel and the oval were strong influences on the final outcome.
This year the flag has already won the Vexillological Flag institute FA Cup of flags and on Tuesday we are in the final of the Flag institute World Series of flags @flaginstitute #WorldSeriesOfFlags (Hope I got the @and # right?) The competition /vote is over on Twitter from 11am. We are up against a lovely place called Tiree.
X
Mallaband-Brown