GarrettLife

On The Beach

2012-02-22T02:45:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd introduce you to what is (and has been for a long time now) my favourite song. On The Beach, by Neil Young, is up there with my favourite albums (probably still Veedon Fleece, by Van Morrison). This certainly has the best 'side' of any album, On The Beach, Motion Pictures and Ambulance Blues.... Wow! Anyway, i think I'll let the music do the talking. If you don't already know it please take the time to.

Ames Gallery, California

2012-02-21T03:39:00.000-08:00

Looks like I've found my new home! I think I could settle in there quite nicely.... and yes I clocked those Lanier Meaders face jugs... oh boy!

Sgraffito Fish Bowl!

2012-02-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

It's pottery!!!... I'd really lost my clay spirit recently. Struggling to get 2012 going, just about keeping up. I'd made a couple of things, but wasn't really feeling it. Had another collapsed slipped pot, but that was due to the slip thickening up and me not really paying attention!. Time just seems to fly by ... family time, career time, other experimental work etc, left very little time for the clay. I did start this fish bowl though. Now i made a right mess of building it, so I'll be amazed if it makes it to a finished pot, but it's acting as a useful prototype. The slip is still a bit thick, but i know if i get it right and sgraffito when the slip is still damp i will be able to get more detail and an extra layer of depth. I'm obviously intending to make more of these. I'll probably make simple deco ones and the occasional detailed one. I know how i can make them better now. Some may remember a doodle of a fish bowl i posted way back, well it's taken a while but i got here in the end! Still got a bit more work to do on it, but it's shaping up. Obviously it's not for actually keeping fish in! though i do like the idea of a pottery fish bowl... why spoil them with a view?!!

I also knocked this little chap up, with an unresolved cylinder. Thought I'd make a pen/pencil holder, with a couple of holes in it to poke a couple through his head. Fill him with lead!

Hopefully I'll have more pots soon. I've just been away from it for a while, but i know once i plunge back into it I'll be alright. I also, finally, have an offer of help to get me up to speed with firing this kiln that's been taunting me from the other side of the room... along with my wheels! better take that plunge and put in the hours... maybe you won't be seeing any pots from me in a while, just a pile of trashed clay!

Say It With Followers

2012-02-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!.... and of course I, erm, love you all.
(really i just wanted to use the pun)

...Following On...

2012-02-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

In case you couldn't be bothered to follow those links before, here's a little clip of Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley CA. I really love the mood of this clip... and even that guys voice! (I'm not a religious man) ... but hey, a little more love and forgiveness could always be used in this World right?...erm... amen.

Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder

2012-02-10T02:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a great little film on Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder, find half an hour, grab a coffee and take it in. We came across his Thunder Mountain Monument on our second big road trip in the States, back in 2006. Jakki was 6 months pregnant with Texas and we flew in to Vegas to see her Mom. Her Dad then met us there from LA and we drove up to Montana with him. It went from over 100 degrees in Vegas to snowing in Yellowstone, in the space of 2 days. We were happy to see the temperature rising as we approached Montana!

It was quite a big trip. Starting in Vegas, we went up to Salt Lake City, Utah and then through Idaho to Montana, where we stayed for about a week. Then we headed back to Vegas, via Idaho, Oregon (a little bit), Nevada and into California, LA then Vegas. We came across lots of amazing stuff on the way and some breathtaking scenery... and scary driving up in the mountains! We drove about 4000 miles in the 3 weeks, i think.

Anyway, Thunder Mountain Monument was a real highlight. We nearly missed it driving out of Winnemucca, Nevada. It just sits off the main road near the town of Imlay, so we pulled off and explored. It was cool and a little spooky! We didn't know anything about it at the time, but soon found out afterwards and discovered that great little film of him (real name Frank Van Zant) and his family's story. We came across so many places on that trip and accumulated more junk in the car with each town we stopped in! We're suckers for all this kind of thing. Even back in LA we were treated to Trappers Lodge, thanks to Jakki's friend (and amazing and highly collectable artist) Patrick Lee. His Drawing skills are stunning! We always enjoy hanging out with Patrick and Frank. We also went to find Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, but when we did it was closed.. never mind. There's a fantastic film of her that I've mentioned before, again on the fantastic folkstreams.net, go check out more of the films and discover something new! Then it was time for us to head back to Vegas, checking out the Desert Christ Park on the way. My god it was hot out there. We also foolishly, nearly ran out of gas (and water) in the desert!.. not very well prepared and not advisable... especially when one of you is 6 months pregnant... lousy father-to-be! Then we made it back to Vegas just in time to watch England's World Cup Matches!.. and get a 3D scan of our baby, incredible!
Anyway, I only meant to write a quick thing about the film of Rolling Mountain Thunder... so I'm off. That was our journey and i hope we can do it again sometime with the full set of the four of us.

Thunder Mountain Monument, Imlay, Nevada

Car as part on wall!!

The creepy figure under the tree, you could never quite see a face in the shade

Trappers Lodge, Pierce College CA (Patrick and Jakki)

These guys were about 9ft tall

Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley, CA

An overheated expectant mother!

Me, Zuma Beach. Wanting to hear some Neil Young!

Keeping it simple

2012-02-09T03:07:00.000-08:00

I'm really enjoying playing around with limited tools right now. I'm doing lots of drawing with just the lasso and pencil tool in photoshop. In fact it's how I'm doing all the work for the animation that I'm working on. I've used it in the past just for roughing some stuff out in colour, before then going on to draw it in pens, scan and colour up in photoshop. I've been tempted to use it for artwork, but now something seems to have clicked and i'm playing around with it more, maybe i'll print some out and redraw little bits in pencil and scan those in, so it's a bit more of a mix. I like how drawing with a mouse and lasso tool keeps me loose, sometimes i over tighten things up and lose some of that energy. I also like the fact it's really basic mark making. we've had computers around long enough now for people to have really pushed what images you can make and getting ultra slick, so it's nice to throw all that away and just use two basic tools. I like it anyway. Years ago i did a few of my favourite albums as minimally as i could, just 300x300 pixels, only using the lasso and pencil tool (quiz: can anyone name the last album with the brown cover?). I also have this idea for a kid's picture book which has been kicking around for a while now and i used the same approach on that too (well, i have about a dozen ideas, but don't get me started on the World of picture books!). I'll see where it leads me. Might just create a few personal images and leave it at that... who knows? Sometimes it's just nice to let the work lead you. Anyway, that's what's happening in my head right now.

The Death Of Winston Pickle

The REAL covers

300x300pixels x300dpi

Picture book sketches

While You Wait...

2012-02-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

A little blast from a few years back now, but it still makes me smile and the tune is catchy as hell, can't stop it coming out of my mouth. I like how Will Oldham ( Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) has gotten himself in it. There's quite some contrast between his music and Kanye's! Anyway, I've got lots i want to blog about, but never those moments to put it all together. I even started on twitter, never thought i'd say those words! I like seeing what others are up to, interesting stuff, but again I just haven't got into the tweeting yet. If you ever feel the inclination I'm @garrettworld. I've been pretty focused on a set of book jackets I'm working on and also trying to power forwards with the animation. Getting lots of that sorted and trying to finish writing the dialogue.
Just going to run through what i hope to get to blogging...so as to remind myself. Notebook interiors, sketchbooks, new studio, slipware fishbowl, Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder, animation etc etc etc.

Animation Project

2012-01-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Death of Winston Pickle from Griff on Vimeo.

Ha ha.... did it get you?! It's very rough at the moment, I've literally given Griff a picture, just drawn with a mouse and lasso tool.... and he's created this! It's a dark art, animation. I've had a loose idea kicking around for years now, but last year I found a focus and it became a lot clearer to me. Anyway last week i dangled the carrot in front of Griff... and he's off and chomping. Griff is fantastic animator, illustrator, film maker and blogger, he used to share our studio space before deciding to go the solitary route. A great guy... and a big guy too! (but i beat him for hair) We've been planning on making something together for a couple of years and were starting out with the idea of animating my 'Wish List' project... but then he decided to make his masterpiece instead!.. it's still being finished, but when he gets over the line it will be great! Griff's even touting it as a possible opener for his own film, which would be fantastic. Anyway, I'll keep you updated as we progress. As per usual it will be a little bit funny and quite a lot tragic. Welcome to my World!

Letterpress-Old School

2012-01-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

Tools Of The Trade

2012-01-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

God, i find January a tough month. Always have. Getting work done, combined with the usual blue moods, add a mind full of ideas and projects, formed over a Christmas break, plus the opportunity to review my work in general... how i make it, what i make it with etc etc... throw in bouts of family sickness ... boy, now i know why i feel all over the place, spinning wildly. Plus I've just started a possible animation ball rolling. I was hoping Feb would settle me down, but that's already looking fairly chaotic... and I'm moving studio during it. More of that later! Well, that explains my lack of blog activity!!
Here are just a couple of shots i snapped today, my tools of the trade. A pencil, eraser, pen and paper is all i really need. The top half are vital tools, the bottom batch are extras that come in handy. The other is my preferred notebook.. NOT sketchbook, those are separate. I'll cover them next week. These just have mutterings, shopping lists, day's chores, meter readings etc. I'll get some inside shots next week as well.
Have a good weekend!

Out On The Weekend?

2012-01-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

Well, this tune will be playing plenty over my weekend. It's a great album, go out and buy it. Yes, it wears it's influences heavily on it's sleeve, but who doesn't want a mix up of CSN, Young, Floyd etc. Perfect! Love Jonathan Wilson, great stuff.

Family Paper Cut

2012-01-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

Meet the family... well, kind of. I wouldn't say they are exact portraits!.. but there's something of all of us in there. It was a quick burst from my memory bank to create the paper shapes. Oh, and our eyes do actually open! it was just me being lazy. Sometimes with these things i lay them all out and get it 'right', but in the process of removing and sticking, bits drift and it's amazing how a slight tilt or angle can change everything. This was another of my gifts for Jakki.... lucky girl!! she was happy though.

Salvation Mountains

2012-01-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

As i already posted, I made a couple of prints for Jakki of the Salton Sea and Salvation Mountain for Christmas. While i was finishing them we found out that the mountain's creator, Leonard Knight, had been taken into a care home and the future of the Mountain is now at risk. "There's a coincidence" i thought. Anyway then i open my presents Christmas morning and get this from jakki. She thought "that's a coincidence" too! funny. The Mountain must have been on both our minds in the run up to Christmas. It's great and i know the stress she went through trying to make it, bless her. It never got totally completed in time, but it doesn't matter to me... made by loving hands is always going to be good. They have all now been added to our kitchen walls.

Jakki's lovely paper mountain

my version

other kitchen bits

Salton Sea Map

2012-01-06T03:56:00.000-08:00

I posted a while back about wanting to create an illustrated map and speculated that i might do the Salton Sea. Well I did and ended up personalising it to cover our trip we made around the 'Sea' and in doing so added a present to Jakki's Christmas haul. I enjoyed the process, even if it did take longer than it looks!
I then decided i liked the little Salvation Mountain, so made that into a separate print. There's more to this whole story and hopefully I'll get around to posting it soon... need to take a photo first. For now though i thought I'd share my art.

Country Pots

2012-01-04T04:29:00.000-08:00

I found this beauty just before Christmas, so i treated myself to it, a present for myself. Yep, treated myself and spent all £12 of my own money! I know, i couldn't believe it either. I even had the cheek to knock it down from £15, well it did have a crack! I love this pot, the shape is just beautiful.

The one thing i don't know is where it's from. I'd love to be able to figure it out... if anyone can help, please let me know. The bottom picture shows the roulette around the pot where the glaze ends, there are also two bands of the same roulette just below the rim. It's about 42cm tall and 30cm wide. It's a proper pot. Love it. It's the first real, country working pot that i have. I never see many around down here, it just tends to be pancheons that folk want way too much money for, or old little flower pots.

Oh... and Happy New Year to you all! I've been off the radar for Christmas, but i have been following all your blogs, i shall have to get back into the swing of it and post some comments. I also need to make some pots soon. My inlaid slip experiment didn't quite work out, I'll get some pictures up soon. I had 'issues' with trapped air bubbles, as i scratched back they revealed themselves, leaving empty indents.

It surely is a learning curve! going to put in some time on the wheel too, that really needs some focus this year.

Round Up of 2011 and Big Thanks!

2011-12-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

2011, has very much been about getting pottery things in place and learning as much as i can about the pots i want to make... most of it from the incredible potter's blogs out there. Thank you all for regularly posting about your methods, processes and thoughts, they have been invaluable... and i know I have some folk to go to in my times of pottery need. Biggest thanks go to Matt (that's Grimmitt for those of you not up to speed!), for both just being there whenever i have a question and also giving me so much information so freely, when i know he's had to figure a lot of it out for himself! A top man and great potter... "thanks Matt!". Also Ron and Tracey, Stateside, for always checking in and supporting, no matter how amateur my piece!.. and not forgetting Doug Fitch for helping kick off my pot making by stumbling upon his blog and following it for a year (and working back through his entire blog history... every post.), before thinking pottery was something i should actually do. Doug if you happen to see this, don't stop blogging and thanks for all your shared pots and knowledge.
Anyway, It will be interesting to see what 2012 brings (well, we host the Olympics for one, so expect some Olympic pots!.. not your traditional souvenir junk i'm guessing.)
Thanks to everyone who has ever commented or continues to do so... you folks know who you are.
I'm very fortunate to have you all hovering behind me.

If it seems like i hardly mention Illustration on this blog it's because i don't! I've explained why in previous posts.... not wishing to upset clients, waiting until work has been published, not being able to give too much away etc. Also I'm living it all the time and so this blog gives me some space for my pottery thoughts. Don't get me wrong, i could write some epic posts on the good and the bad of this industry... but why would i do that?... and who would want to read it?? I did have a thought of eventually splitting off into a purely pottery blog, but this one seems to be doing a pretty good job!

Sussex Inlaid Slip

2011-12-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

I was in the Hastings Museum with my boys last weekend and managed a minute or two amongst the pots. They have a decent collection of Slipware and due to our location there's lots of Sussex pottery with its inlaid slip decoration. Very beautiful. For the non-potters out there, you press the printers type into the damp clay and the fill the impressions with the white slip coating (obviously it doesn't have to be just printers type, you could even carve a design into the clay surface). You then scrape back the surface slip, so that it only remains in the impressed letters. I think it's about time i followed my local tradition and tried one out and updated the designs for 2011. Not sure what to do yet, but the bottle/flask based on the leather one might be a good place to start. I need to ask a couple of friends if they have suitable printers type i can borrow for the job. It's hard to find much info on these pots out there on the net... or I'm looking in the wrong place! We'll just have to see where it leads me. Anyway, here are a few pictures and if you live in Hastings or nearby, i suggest a visit to the Museum and reconnect with your town and it's history... it's a lovely little place to spend an hour.

Slipware Piggy Bank

2011-12-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick one to fill in the gaps. The pig money box has been sgraffito'd for a while now, but thought I'd stick a picture up as a record. Hopefully I'll figure out what the hell I'm doing with this kiln and get some fired in the New Year. I'm dealing mainly with my illustration work now and sorting Christmas and kid's school plays etc. I hope to make a few bits, try a few things out... and if i get the new wheel up in place i'll be making and trashing as many wobbly pots as i can! Hopefully 2012 will be the year when it can all come together and i can get some actual pots out there into the World.

As you may also see i made a fatal sgraffito mistake on the EE's, thought i was scraping away the slip outside the letters and then... oops! That's why i like working on the computer.... apple z every time.

Still, now it 'adds to the character'!!

Snowman Boiler

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

What do you do when your boiler's old, dated, on it's last legs, practically an antique?.... well, it just needs cheering up!... I'll get another 10 years of service out of it now.
I saw the kids paint and a paint sponge/brush sitting there winking at me and the round pilot light window the same size... and well, now it's festive (luckily for Jakki it will just wipe off). Shame, I'm getting used to the happy chap. My boys loved it, they couldn't get their heads around how it wasn't a whole new thing I'd installed, just a few dabs of paint.

You Know The Economy Is Bad

2011-12-02T03:04:00.000-08:00

... When you see this great offer! I had been wondering when they'd get some more in.
You have to wonder what goes through the mind of someone that thinks this sign was worth the effort.

Hands and Tools

2011-12-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

I came across this and thought I'd share it. It warms my heart to see such stuff. It's nice to know there's still people using tools. Hope for humanity! Now, I'm pretty useless at DIY, it has to be said. I like to think I can make most things in a creative way, chisel and wood, clay and hands, wire and pliers.... as long they don't need to be of use to anyone or serve a function!.. doesn't hold out much hope for functional pots does it?? I would love to be able to use all these tools though, i really would.

Creative Kids

2011-11-29T04:47:00.000-08:00

.... and is that such a good thing???
Yep, this is what i came downstairs to last week. Tennessee really went to town with the green, it was thick behind his ears and on his head, at least Texas was a bit more restrained. It came off eventually... though I'm sure there's still some tinges of green!

Art in Clay

2011-11-25T06:26:00.000-08:00

... I nearly forgot. I made the trip to Art in Clay, Farnham, last Sunday. I managed to have a chat with fellow blogger Margaret Brampton and it's always great to see pots in the flesh rather than photo's on computer screens (and potters in the flesh, though wearing more than just a fine glaze). Margaret had a fine selection of pots, great sgraffito and Margaret was very generous with her working ways, which we beginners always appreciate! I came away with a great mug, "thanks Margaret". It was also so nice to hear that she had taught herself, figuring it out as she went along. To begin with, i thought i might be making a slightly mad leap into clay, but reassuringly I've discovered several who just got the clay bug later on and got on with it. I guess Mary Wondrausch is about as good an example as you can get for a late starter potter!!

I learnt something else on Sunday... don't take 5 and 3 year old boys to ceramic shows!! I can't say it was the most relaxing way to spend a Sunday... "ARMS AND ELBOWS IN!!".... "IMAGINE THERE'S AN INVISIBLE LINE.. WAY BACK HERE!!".... "JESUS!!'..."DADDY CAN'T AFFORD IT IF YOU BREAK IT!"... "IF YOU BREAK IT, AT LEAST MAKE SURE IT'S SOMETHING I LIKE!!'.... sorry for shouting, you get the drift. Tense. Jakki did take the pressure off and took them to the cafe, but that only lasts so long.
Still, glad i went though. Any time spent with potters is a good way to learn.. and save myself a few extra heartaches along the way.

Illustration/Pottery, balancing act

2011-11-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not making anything in clay this week, just getting on with my illustration work.
It's a really nice set of book covers, but as usual can't really tell you anything about them. I'm working through the first cover and once i get that right, it will set the tone for the others... well, hopefully! Look forward to sharing them with you, eventually.
I still need to sgraffito that pig/money box, but my time is being spent reorganising my workspace, so i can get the kiln and new wheel in and also give me a space for more shelves. I've pulled all the stuff out and somehow managed to fill the room! it's funny how you squirrel stuff away and drift up the walls!! Anyway, I've now got to make it all disappear around the walls again... but in a different order.

I always like to have a picture in my post, so here are a couple of things from Hastings (Old Town) Museum. I always love to see this big pot. The leather bottles are inspiring me to try some in clay. I think the small one, will be perfect for a slab of clay. I'm going to give inlaid slip a try to, just a little drawing on each side of the 'bottle'. We'll have to see how they turn out.... but first i need to sort that workspace out!!

Clay Connections- a look inside my mind

2011-11-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Somewhere amongst this fantastic combination is where I hope to 'find' myself. Looking forward to the trip!

Remembering to throw in a face jug, of course!.... this one will do just fine, a beautifully simple Burlon Craig creation.

Slipware Lamp Base- Part Two

2011-11-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here it is all slipped and scratched. The erratic bold stabs that I'd wanted, ended up much more controlled and uniform than I'd envisaged, but i guess you can't make yourself do something you're not!
Now, how long is it going to take me to fire them?? Going to have to deal with glaze next, the next part of my learning curve! Matt's helped me out with that thankfully, i just need to buy some supplies and mix it up.

I also slipped my tall, top hatted money box man last night... he was a slumped heap this morning!! weirdly, I'm pretty cool about it. I learnt a lot constructing him and making decisions along the way. I do need to figure out why though ( I'm guessing it was not dry enough when i slipped it?) the key is to not keep making the same mistake! Anyway, it's time to focus on the kiln now, sorting glaze and then firing it. Might make a few mugs along the way. Wish me luck!!

My Morning Jacket-Live at De La Warr

2011-11-16T03:08:00.000-08:00

Following on from Tracey's post about the fantastic Tinariwen gig she went to at the weekend, I went to my own fantastic gig last week. My Morning Jacket played at the De La Warr Pavilion, just down the road in Bexhill. It was a great gig and they are an amazing live band. Jim James has such an amazing voice! love it!! Here's a sample, you need to give the first one at least 4 minutes of your time... and I'm sorry it cuts off abruptly at the end, but it was the best live clip i could find. I do love a good long track, i'm not a 3 minute pop song guy, over 10 minutes and I'm happy. On The Beach- Neil Young, Listen To The Lion- Van Morrison, Love From Room 109 At The Islander(ON Pacific Coast Highway)- Tim Buckley, all some of my favourite tracks. If you don't know them it's time to go and find out! Life's better with them.

My Pottery God

2011-11-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

What was i saying just the other day about the madness of making pottery without the 'kiln bit' being sorted?.... well look what i picked up yesterday for FREE!!! I don't know if it works yet, but I've been given no reason to believe it won't. A friend was doing some work for someone and they had a small kiln and a sit-down kick wheel and they were about a week from taking them to the tip!.. what kind of madness is that??? I picked the wheel up today too, so I'll clean it up and see how it runs. They had been given them about 4 years ago, but never got around to using them.
I'm so excited to have a kiln of my own. It's only small, but it should be fine for me at the moment as I'm not making large quantities. It gives me the chance to learn about firing (and make mistakes without losing lots of work!!) . Perfect. Now to swot up a bit and ask a favour, so i can be assisted initially, without making any obvious mistakes. Hooray, a happy day!!!!

Slipware Money Boxes- Man and Pig

2011-11-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of poor quality phone pics of the two pots on the go. The coin slots are in the top of the hats (if you couldn't guess) and the man has a cork sized hole at the bottom of his back. The pig will be slipped white and the band on his hat cleaned up with some lettering on it. I had fun building this man. In the end he was just slab and pinched, no coil, no thrown ( I'd love to have been able to throw the bits!) I'm now thinking how best to slip this sucker, both in terms of design and practicality! I might just dip his head and scratch back to the clay hat, leaving a band, leave his body raw and then blob some slip on his hands and buttons. Think i may also slip around the base, so i can write something. I was going to write it on his back, but i don't fancy the practicalities of a beginner slipping the whole thing!!... and don't ask if it will fit in a small kiln (that i don't even have!)... what kind of madness is this?... what am i doing?????...( i only bought some clay for the first time ever in April) I just figure make it and the rest will come!!.... you proper potters out there must be rolling your eyes... "...and he hasn't even got a kiln!!"... tut tut. ;-)..... i hope you like them.

English Country Pottery... Bargain!

2011-11-11T04:53:00.000-08:00

Found this last week in a charity shop... what are the odds?? not even a couple of quid.

It's a really good read for someone like me, who finds Slipware and Country Pottery so vibrant and alive. ...very real history. It's another ticked of the list of pottery books i'd like to own.

I'm in the middle of my pottery making at the minute, should have my lamp base all scratched out by Monday and a little piggy bank... and a full figure, epi de faitage inspired, top hatted money box (waiting to be slipped). there'll be lots to show next week hopefully. I've been crazy busy all week, working on some advertising work... the shame of which is that i can't go putting any info or pics on here, until they've been used/printed etc. By that time it's old news! The nice thing about the blogs are you get to see work as it's happening, but with most illustration, there will always be that delay until it has been put in use. Don't need to go upsetting any clients on here!!

Visual Feasts

2011-11-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick couple of things to direct you to.

Firstly, my good friend and amazing collage illustrator/artist Martin O'Neill, has this beautifully crafted word search available for only £20, limited to 100 prints, a bargain... and a great Christmas present. Make sure to keep checking in on his blog too, so many interesting bits and amazing craft in action.

Secondly, I strongly advise anyone with a human heart beating inside of them to go and watch the film about Grayson Perry and his Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman. I've not enjoyed a show more for a long time. Brilliant work, amazing custom motor bike, brilliant insights and a lot of fun. Just watch it.... all of it!
Every time i see Grayson on something, i warm to him more and more.

Never play with balloons..

2011-11-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

... caught indecently in the park in the summer, playing balloons with my little boy, Tennessee. Someone had just pointed out the error of my arrangement!... i was just trying to keep them together, so we wouldn't lose them.
Don't expect to see many photos of this blogger on this blog!

Have a good weekend folks.

Slipware Lamp Base- part one

2011-11-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

Not much to show for it yet. I slipped it yesterday and am looking forward to going at it once it's dry. I'm going quite bold on this one, i think. I plan to scrape away the face area and leave a white beard and hair, with white eyes. I'm not planning on intricate hair, just lots of quite bold little stabs of dashes. I want something that will really fizz when the light sits above it.

I'm thinking i might also illustrate the lampshade to fit on it. Just pick up a large charity shop shade and go to work on it with some pens, a bit like this little lamp shade below (which i still need to finish off). This little shade has a face jug on one side and a harvest jug on the other side and the paths and connections fill in between. I'll finish it off and put pictures up of both sides, you might recognise a few bloggers on it!

Clay Mojo & Epi De Faitage

2011-10-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

I've been finding it a real struggle lately. Daily stresses and demands of my illustration work, not feeling the urge to make anything once i finally get the kids in bed at night (also the restrictive working window that leaves me). Then i have the decision between actually making something interesting that i like, or just surrendering that precious time to practice throwing and ending up with nothing much... except more frustration! I know it's a pain barrier i have to go through if i want to end up making what i ultimately want. Being able to throw good pots is a very important part of that. Jakki had some good advice yesterday, she suggested using some of my actual working day, in between jobs or whenever, to put aside for using the wheel. A time when I'm not exhausted and can actually focus, move things on rather than grabbing an hour or two here and there. I think this is good advice, i need to do it if this pottery is going to move forward.
Anyway, my pottery mojo... i started coiling a pot last night and it felt good to actually start making something. I didn't have a strong idea of what it would be, until it started rising. It is now going to get a function, a lamp base (i know, not very exciting... well, it is to me). I've wanted to make my own for a while and this will be my first. Now i need to find some nice words on enlightenment/illumination to put on it... I'm guessing a face will feature heavily somewhere!
I also have a slightly more ambitious pot in mind, using coil, slab and possibly pinched elements. It's inspiration comes from those magnificent French roof finials, or 'epi de faitage'. These will feature in my own work eventually... and this is why i need to throw well... and soon (I'm very impatient.. but also very determined!) I have lots of ideas involving stacking individually thrown pieces, some slip trailed, some sgraffito, some combed etc etc. I'm a very long way from having the skills i will need to pull that off though. Still dreaming is part of what it's all about. Aim high, no point planning on being mediocre!!
Anyway, it's good to feel a bit of a surge and hopefully it will translate to my early attempts at throwing...i need to take the wheel head of and have a look first. I'm not liking the noises that weren't there before! Below the video are a few examples of the epi de faitage that i like, the simple figures, but if you want to see some of the epic stacked kind, i suggest you look further at Tony Mauger's site and look at the 'catalogue et tarifs'. It's interesting to see the various pieces broken down into separate costs, then you can mix and match to your budget. All very interesting. I'm not mad about his actual forms and the coloured glazes he uses, but i am fascinated by the process, the history, the objects themselves... and the future potential of it all. Watch the video, I know it's in French, but all you need are your eyes!.. if you can understand it, then it's a bonus! If you get bored, skip to 8 mins in, where you can see a guy installing one on a roof.

Classic Comedy

2011-10-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Classic sketch, so i thought I'd let let you watch it again! brilliant.

Salton Sea, Illustrated Map

2011-10-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

... coming soon.
I'm going to make a map, an illustrated map. My great friend and studio buddy Tim has suggested for ages that i should tackle a map... and finally it clicked... i had a reason... the Salton Sea, California! Now i won't get into all the technical stuff, how it was created back in1905, or even how it became "The French Riviera of California", you can read all that here. What i can tell you is it's a magical place. Not your conventional magical place, I'll grant you, but when we took a detour on our way from Vegas to LA back in 2005 we were hooked. It now has a special place in our hearts.

These were taken around Bombay Beach. Lots of trailers and buildings that got flooded and then left to decay. Below is the very special Salvation Mountain. I love this place, all the work of one highly motivated man, Leonard Knight. It so happens that Leonard's motivation is God, but he doesn't push that on you, it's just his thing. I like that. It's an amazing thing, built on a natural embankment and using straw bales and lots of adobe.... oh, and a LOT of old household paint. We even got to freshen up some of the paintwork. We spent a couple of hours in the midday heat painting the waterfall at the side of the 'yellow brick road'. We also had a jar of crushed glass, or 'sparkles' to Leonard, to sprinkle onto the fresh paint.

See that canteen of water in the group photo.. well, it wasn't very refreshing! A couple of hours out in this heat will do that. the bottom photo of me is about as close as i've come to kneeling before God! Everyone should see this work of art and what one man can do when he puts his mind to it. There were so many more things i could go on about ( a great bar called the Ski Inn, for one... maybe Jakki will write a piece on it all) but i'll just leave you with the pics and a little video i found. If you like it, then hopefully you can go and find out all about it yourselves.... or better still, go and visit. You won't be disappointed.

Halloween Print in Shop!

2011-10-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

I'm putting this A3 print up in my shop for a limited period of one month, for the grand price of £35 + shipping ( I should have been on this a bit quicker!)

It's a Halloween favourite of mine and has even been a large papercut silhouette, filling our front window (I backed them with orange tissue paper, to let the house light through). These two sketches have also had the same treatment.

Sgraffito Urn for Hank

2011-10-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to get around to making this for a while... since July!
Anyway, finally a sgraffito slipware pottery pet urn fit for Hank. He was a distinctive cat, with his black nose and black goatee. Jakki wrote a piece about him back then, beautifully written. Hopefully i'll get it glazed and fired soon and find a nice little spot for him to continue his life amongst us.

I was giving the whole 'Urn' thing, some more thought too. Why is it that urns are so...well, death like? Why? They don't need to be, shouldn't they be more celebratory?... a life well lived. Shouldn't the Urn reflect this and have a little life and vitality? It could be anything, any shape size or form. Why should it look like an 'urn'?... and why can't we celebrate life. Death, just seems a bit like the thing people just want to skip over... well, in our culture. Why not give a round of applause as the casket disappears behind the curtain?... bit un-British i guess!!... 3 cheers for a life well lived? Something similar has been happening in recent years at sportsgrounds. It used to be a minute silence before a match, now it's a minutes applause ( partly to drown out any opposition boo'ing).. but i like it, it feels better. When i do finally go remember to give me a good round of applause and send me on my way.
A nice bit of gloom on a Friday, that's what you all needed!

More Music...Lazy Blogging

2011-10-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put this Tinariwen track on here, as every time i hear it i just want to get my groove on!... find me a dance floor someone!! In fact the whole album, Amassakoul, is fantastic. Arawan, is another great track.
Enjoy!... and try to sit still!!!

Soundtrack to my Summer

2011-10-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

I've played this clip so many times over the summer, mainly those evenings spent sorting out my website. it kept me sane, whilst itself being insanely catchy. I would often find myself walking around singing "...just remember how we shook...shook.." etc. I say play it 3 times and tell me you're not addicted! I love it when the bass comes in. This live version is superior to the album version. Love it.
Pottery coming at the end of the week. Well, you know when i say pottery i just mean scratched clay!!

Education-Art-Thinking

2011-09-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

I saw this ages ago, but watched it again the other day, so i thought i'd share it with you. It's worth making the time and watching it through. There are so many interesting points, including ADHD and the drugs given to our kids. Food for thought.

Pictures on Walls

2011-09-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

My friend John sent me this quick snap of my work on his wall (in a lovely old frame i found months ago). The window, just out of shot, looks straight out to sea...and i'm very envious. I'd love to look out to sea and watch storms build and pass... much more than sunsets... maybe i wouldn't if i actually owned the place about to be battered by the storm. Though our storms aren't quite the same as those Stateside! Anyway, It's always nice to see a piece of my work out there in the real world, doing what it should do. Pictures in frames, on walls, in homes, always look so much nicer than just an image on a website... or in an online shop.. hint, hint.
Maybe it's about time i had a small exhibition and let a few of these pieces breathe? Get them out there to mingle with real people (real people with a drink in them... much more purchase friendly!)
Hmmm.

From My Desk

2011-09-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm always happy with charity shop figurines.... and googly eyes!
I've got some fresh pots on the go at home so there will be some new pottery coming soon. I just stuck this up as i always mean to put a few more of the objects around me up on here.

My Motto...well, it should be.

2011-09-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

Sewer Tile Art

2011-09-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

...Or "End of Day" art. This was the stuff made by folks that worked for the companies making sewer pipes in North America. They would use up any leftover clay and glaze after hours, to make their own items, for gifts or functional use. I've only recently discovered this ceramic sideline and I'm pretty fond of it. It's amazing how new aspects pop up all the time online, even though you've been looking at very similar stuff for months!
Anyway, i picked this up at a house clearance shop a while back as it reminded me of the clay head above (only mine's in cement.... I'm tempted to slap on a bit of gloss paint.)

Slipware Face Cup

2011-09-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

Here's that little cup that i posted to Matt and he fired and glazed for me. It was so nice to finally see how all the slips had worked, or not. I was happy with the results, even though my white slip was probably a bit thin. It seemed to work Ok over the body, but where it's over the black slip you can see that it's thin. Most of it's use has just been on the clay body, so most of what I have already made should come out ok. Same with my black slip i think, but then I'd never really intended for a jet black, just something much darker.. which I've got. I'll probably make my first batch of glaze a bit darker, bit more iron oxide, than the one Matt used on this pot.

I'm so grateful to Matt for all his time, help and assistance. It makes all the difference when you're starting out. Hopefully one day I'll have picked up enough knowledge to pass on to someone in a similar position.

Cheers Matt!

Bartmann

2011-09-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

Picked this up the other day, along with the two slipped dishes, which i think are Middle Eastern (?)

... now I'll have to come clean to Jakki!..."they didn't cost much, i promise!"

I do like those Bellarmine/ Bartmann forms, this one is about about 9-10" tall. I'll get around to making my version of one at some point. Anyway, just thought I'd share it and get some pottery back on this blog! I've a couple of posts i need to do. Matt sent me a picture of a couple of little cylinders I'd thrown at his place and he'd slipped and decorated them, it was really nice to see. I also had my first throw on my wheel at the weekend.... hmmmm... mixed results! My first was the best and then i got distracted by the amount of effort the modified kick took to keep any speed up. Then I knocked one onto the floor, along with my glasses deciding to fall apart mid throw and fell straight into the tray of slop! sheesh. It was frustrating.. and messy! Anyway, i decided to do away with the modified seat and am going to stand and kick. I also had to figure out how to get a good brace for centering, the sides of the tray are flush to the wheel head. With no seated thigh to use i had to have a think. Think i may have solved it with a small plank across the tray, in front of the wheel. i can then rest on that to give me enough elevation to not skin my wrist on the wheel! I can easily remove it once i get going.

It was always going to be a steep learning curve!

I also realised the wheel wasn't quite level when i used it and I'm now concerned that i may have damaged it. It now has a slight clunk when i kick it, it was beautifully silent before. Trust me. Darn it!

Hey, Matt's just emailed me the pic of those pots. These are the 4th and 5th pots I've ever thrown, so it's very early (low cylinder) days ! It's a starting point and I'm glad Matt tarted them up. I'm sure I'll have a phase of firing/keeping my early ones, but as i go on I'm sure a lot more will just get reclaimed. It's always good to remember where you started!

I also had a chat with Kate, a local potter at the weekend and she has kindly made the suggestion of using her kiln. I need to have a chat about the logistics and practicalities of that, but I'm very(very) grateful to her for the offer. Things could move on a stage soon then. Now i need to get back into making things, my 2D illustration work and websites has kind of taken all my attention lately.

There, i managed to get all 3 possible posts into one, bet you're thankful for that!

...Go Home !

2011-09-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a little set of images I've been working up recently. They may become prints in the shop someday. I'd like to screen print them and I've kept these all to only 3 colours, just to get me thinking that way.

I wanted this last vampire one to have something of an Edward Gorey feel, so i added the hatch shading. Now it just looks like something my friend Tom Gauld might have done ( have a good look at his site, he's an amazing artist, as well as a lovely guy... makes you sick!). It was good to catch up with Tom and all the other illustrators and my agents, Heart, at their Summer bash and Camp on Sat. I took my boys on my own as Jakki was working, but they behaved better than i expected and the camping over night was a lot less stressful than i was anticipating! ( the booze helped!!)

SHOP is open for business!

2011-09-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I got here eventually! Yes, my online shop is open for business. I still haven't given it a full test run to make sure the payments run smoothly, It should be ok though. I just need to put it out there now, it's been holding up the rest of my life! Have a look, let me know what you think and don't feel obliged to buy anything, honestly. The website is now all finalised too and everything, website, shop, blog, should all link up to each other now.

Better late than never

2011-09-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend i finally got a chance to meet up with Blogger Matt. My little family had a nice long weekend break up at my folks in Northamptonshire, giving my boys the chance to see their grandparents, great grandparent, aunt and two cousins. On the Saturday we decided to leave the boys with their grandparents and headed across country to see Matt and Tiggy in Evesham. I've been in touch with Matt for about a year (his help and advice has been invaluable) although I'd never met him in person before. It was great to finally meet and talk pots for a few hours, I don't get many chances to do that at home! Man, Matt's got some pots, any followers of his blog who have seen a peep inside his house will already know this. Mind you, i think ALL potters have got a lot of pots... I've seen inside those cupboards (Ron)!
Matt was generous enough to let me get on his wheel and give me a few pointers on throwing ( I now have my wheel up in my workspace, so hopefully this week i start my time on the wheel) Who knows how many pots i will have to throw to get anywhere near what i want... but that's part of the fun right?!
Matt was also very generous with his pots and I now have some very nice pots kicking about my house... and some very tasty soaps, thanks to Tiggy... go and buy some! This is a lovely tea bowl/ cup / handleless mug?... whatever we're calling them these days... I'll stick with cup. I've enjoyed a few drinks from this one down at my studio.

Anyway, thanks Matt and Tiggy, me and Jakki had a great day... sorry you had to lose one of your precious free days!!
Oh, Matt also fired a pot of mine that i sent him in the post a while back and it was sitting there waiting for me and i walked right past it! I'll put a pic up of it in the week, I've left my camera down the studio. I packed that little bit of greenware very well, but i was still surprised to find out it had made it. It was really good to finally see a piece glazed and fired, to see how my slips had worked out ( a little thin on the white, but it should still be fine on the other pots).

I've been slack blogging too, as there's so much other stuff i have to give attention to. I'm very nearly there with the online shop. Postage, has been giving me a headache!! I have to say every little step has been hard won. I'm not a natural with things technological, but I've plugged away and google sure helps answer all those little niggles that could have taken me forever to figure out on my own. It's amazing what bits of html code you pick up along the way! ( along with a multitude of new passwords!!) Keep your eyes peeled, it should be up on Tuesday.. obviously I'll let you know here on the blog.

I'm taking my boys to my agent's Summer bash tomorrow, so I'll report back on that too. Should be good, always nice to catch up with everyone and share a drink or two.

Cheers!

Boot Sale Booty

2011-08-22T05:25:00.000-07:00

Haven't been to a car boot sale in a while, but we went yesterday. Picked up a few bits of pottery, which i was happy with. The puzzle jug was just a pound! 3 quid for the little sgrafitto jug of Weare Giffard Hall ( which I'm fairly sure is Harry Juniper). I actually see that the pot has spelt it Gifford, with an O instead of an A, maybe that's how come I've ended up with it! The other pot at the back is lovely, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know much about it.... anyone? Five pounds for that one, it's about 12 inches tall, some kind of spoutless jug. Also saw quite a nice John Solly (at Winchcombe) slip trailed dish, but they wanted just a bit too much for it... well, for a boot sale!
... and Yes, I have a pink and yellow kitchen... keeps my mood up!!

Nottery

2011-08-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm a notter, no pottery getting made here.
I have to remember I'm not a potter (yet). It's just an 'interest' (quite a consuming one).
I've really had to focus on my regular work and sorting this website/shop thing out, along with all the usual day-to-day stuff. Shop should be open for business in about a week. I'm still not sure about this blog re-design, I may revert to the old grey one, or I may just tweak this one a bit more. How's the grey text, can you read it ok?)
Here are a couple of things that I've made, or am working on. It's not much and i still need to find the time to look into getting them all fired. I will get there, It's just taking me longer than i would like. The wheel is still unmoved in the lounge. I'm guessing jakki would like it out now!

This bottom mug/tankard was inspired by this old one of mine (below). I just joined 3 strips and used off- cuts stuck roughly on, with white and black slip. It's quite a manly beast! I hope it survives to a finished glazed product, i quite fancy using it myself.

I took the boys to a Medieval day at a local castle on Sunday. I thought they might like all the Knights, horses and jousting etc. They enjoyed the toys they'd brought with them more! typical. I even asked them what the best bit of the day was.."the ice cream"!! I did get to see some lovely pots though, made by 'Jim the Pot' at Trinity Court (very popular with the re-enactment crowd)
There were some nice big jugs and a lovely water cistern in use..... why didn't i think to take a picture??

Anyway, there will be more pots soon (I feel like I'm losing my pottery readers). I've still got to make a pot for Hank's ashes (our cat, who we had to put to sleep a few weeks ago). I've just got to deal with the actual stuff that pays for our lives first.

Bear with me.

My New Website

2011-08-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Finally It's here. Not the full monty just yet, but i decided to just get it out there and put the shop and a few other sections on as i sort them. I just couldn't do the 'big reveal', with all the extras. It's easier on me this way. Hope you find your way around it ok. Just click on any pictures and it should reveal more and more.

Book Covers

2011-08-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is a cover i recently produce for Jakki's Mom's self published book (you can get yourself a kindle copy here, paperback version will be coming out soon) I've done quite a few book covers over the years, some more successful than others. I consider this one a success, but i guess it's only truly successful if it helps to sell the book, that's the point of it's existence after all! It was more work than I'm used to, as being self published, i had a lot to learn about the template the publisher uses and all the technical requirements. I seem to have done a lot of technical learning lately, what with my new website and online shop

It was nice to have total control over the entire design. Sometimes you can have a nice image spoilt by some unsympathetic type splashed over it. Other times and i have an increasing bugbear on this one, 'Marketing' have their say. 'Sales and Marketing' when did their voice get to become so loud? I say this as i was reading an article at the weekend about the new film of the best selling book One Day, by David Nicholls. In an interview with the lead guy, Jim Sturgess, he said that once he started working on the film all he saw were people walking around with the book and it's distinctive orange cover . Orange cover?!!! Marketing must have been kept out somewhere. They like blue, they like yellow. That's it, no other colour allowed. Blue books sell, bottom line. Well, this orange one has sold... lots. That's the thing, you get a book that sells well and it's blue, so all they want to see are blue books. Eventually all books have a blue or yellow cover and an orange one stands out!

I know I've done the yellow'ish thing above, but i wanted this book to use the 'system' to not give it any disadvantage out there.

I tried once to get a brown/amber coloured cover design through once... imagine!! what was i thinking? Anyway, it never ended up brown, it ended up... all together now... BLUE! I have managed to do a black cover, twice!... so all hope is not lost. It's just a strange situation. Often i will work with the publishers for weeks shaping a cover design and then they eventually have a meeting with Marketing and they just reject it, after all other parties were happy. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Rant nearly over now...

I always feel a bit sorry for the authors in all of this. They spend years researching and writing these books and they could get anything for the cover, whatever the publisher/ marketing think will sell it.

I know on various projects I've worked on the author has had final say and occasionally want a little change. I've found that frustrating as you almost feel that maybe you should have just been working with them from the beginning. Get something they're happy with, that they feel sums up their book, but also has the benefit of artistic input and design sense.

Hey, what do i know? It's just a thought.

Design Tweak.. Don't Panic!

2011-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, the beloved grey has gone from this blog. I thought a lot about the background colour when i set up my blog, i often struggled with 'white type on black' or 'black type on white', especially at night when I'd often do my blog catching up. The white screens were just too dazzling and the black screens with that white type, just messed my eyes up too much, especially on particularly long posts.
However, I've switched to the white for the sake of harmony. My new website and shop designs have white and look like they belong together, even though they've been created separately. It figured I should get my blog into the 'family', so the change has happened. I hope the grey type still helps 'ease' the reading.
It won't be long until the website/shop/blog trinity will be resolved and put out there. Just the shop pricing and postage to figure out, It's all stocked. Stay tuned!

Parallel Universe 2011

2011-08-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Some days i feel a little like this

and other days!...

I've recently reworked a batch of my original drawings that i did for the original series, which i blogged about here. These updated ones are going on my new website, which I'll do a big launch for soon... well, I'll tell you to go look at it!... still got a few things to add/resolve.

My online shop will be up soon too, so I'm trying to get it all together. I'll be selling off my original artworks from the Parallel Universe series, along with various prints and anything else i can think of! I'm excited to finally have it all under one roof, website, blog and shop... and to have total control over it all. I hope to change it up fairly regularly to keep it all fresh and current and will add and remove various projects as i go. It's not going to be a museum.

just for good measure, here's the original Anger Management art.

I know they have qualities that the digital versions (above) don't, but to be honest i just can't handle it's limitations and folk wanting to commission them and not getting that. It worked for these because i had total control over content/colour etc.

Hastings Stade Deckchair

2011-08-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

This was my design for a competition, here in Hastings, to design a deckchair to be used in a public space next to the new Jerwood Art Gallery. The Jerwood will hopefully give the town another boost when it opens next year. I've just seen the list of winners and sadly my name isn't among them. They were supposed to be site specific, the area in question is down where the shore based fishing fleet still works and it has a rich past. I've worked my 'Wish List' theme on various local characters and events and amusements, past and present.

I've only seen 3 images of winning entries, but at least 2 of them are just generic seaside imagery. One just has ice creams and ice lollies over it and the other just a typographic treatment of the old "oh i do like to be beside the seaside' song. What's the point? it has no bearing on the space, the history. I'm hopeful the other winners are a bit more specific. Do i sound bitter?.... just frustrated. Sore loser?... No, but i'm a much better winner!!

Life

2011-07-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

.. it just gets in the way sometimes!
It's now over two weeks since i posted anything and not because nothings been happening. It's just so much stuff that can bring a man down... that i thought i'd keep the hit count down to just me! Lot's of stressful stuff and i don't handle it very well, it just knocks me right out and my anxiety levels shoot up and... well.. i become a zombie...the miserable kind (oh, i do like a happy zombie). Part of the stress has been my new website that isn't quite completed. I decided to do it myself and i hit a couple of technical problems when i tried to bypass my old website... and then more problems when it took my email down for 4 days! I hope it will be worth it and people find enough interesting stuff on it. There will be quite a bit of behind the scenes studio stuff on there too. I still have to add a shop, so i can sell prints and original art.. and anything else i make... hopefully pots one day.
Which brings me to my previous post all that time ago, the wheel is now sitting in my lounge!.. every night i stand and kick it spinning. I still have to get it up a couple of flights of stairs and it's heavy. I need to try and get all my helpers to be available the same evening to shift it... and i hate imposing on other people's time, really find it hard to do. I want my wheel in my workspace though, so i can start the learning curve. I haven't made any pots for a couple of weeks. I'd love to, but i have all the other stuff to do and have to prioritize, after all i can't even fire stuff yet.
Good, now i've got past the posting gap i might get back into the swing of it. I've enjoyed following everyone else's while I've been absent. Lots of great things being created out there. It's about time i did some too.

I Have A Wheel !

2011-07-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

... and it's a crazy looking beast... very Heath Robinson!... maybe that was part of it's appeal?? (That and the price) Hopefully i can pick it up real soon and get it turning! very excited about finally having a wheel. Lots of practice and wonky pots... it's a shame no one smokes anymore, as i expect to be throwing a lot of ashtrays!!! ....Now i only need to solve the kiln conundrum.

Odd Couple

2011-07-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

I made these two last week to try out combining white and black slip. My attempt at finger wiping on the backs wasn't a success!... and my improvised comb was a little, well, wrong.... I'll cut my rubber kidney next time!!

There's a story to go with the small pot, but I'll tell you about it in a couple of days.
I also have my eye on a wheel, not the best in the world, but i just need to get on with it now and chase up any possible kiln shares etc.

On the website front, I'm slowly going loopy! I've edited the code etc to get rid of all the bits i didn't want and changed colour schemes etc, but now i'm dealing with content. That means staring at lots of my own work... and it's depressing! It was fine for a couple of days, but slowly i started removing bits, then more.. then putting them back on, taking them back off... etc etc. You look at an overview of all your work from the past couple of years and start to question it, seriously question it. It's not healthy i tell you. I was sorting out lots of images/info for my agent, for their upcoming publicity/promo material, before i started on my website. I feel like I've been analysing (over analysing) my work for a month now.

Got to just get it into decent shape and get it up. My old website is so old now, it needs to be put out to pasture... bless it.

Thoughts and Actions

2011-07-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't got my hands dirty with clay for a while now. I've had to put it aside for a couple of weeks in order to build myself a new website. All seems to be progressing well and I'm hopeful i can get it completed this week. I want to add a shop, but think I'll just get the website up and working and then start to deal with setting the shop up. I've got lots of ideas for stuff to go up for sale, need to focus and be sensible though!! Lot's of thoughts hammering around in my head right now... things to get printed, ideas for pots, a photographic/graphic collaboration, an actual product idea, and a new creative enterprise idea popped into my head last night after a lazy day of drinking G and T's, couple of beers and a bottle of red ( the best time for loose ideas and not worrying about practicalities!)
Honestly, my head feels like it's emerging from a five year fug!... shame my body won't join it.
Hang on, how old's my eldest boy?... nearly five?... i wonder if there's a connection??
(you're damn right there is ;-)

Bird Song

2011-07-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've taken my time getting around to posting this, i received it way back in January i reckon. Tim, a friend of mine from Nottingham, sent me a little disk of pics and video. Many moons ago, i sent Tim one of my artworks from my 'Parallel Universe' series which i used to do for the Sunday Independent newspaper. It was titled "Pencil Technical Support Helpline", which i found very amusing!! Anyway, in return Tim sent me little projects he worked on, bit of a crackpot inventor is our Tim! One was another of my drawings of a gingerbread /candy house, which Tim had printed on a board that was wired up so that when i pushed the doorbell on my picture it chimed and i was greeted with Tim and his good wife Kath's dulcet tones. I liked it ( it's run itself out now Tim... hint, hint) Anyway, i know Tim checks in on this blog, so i thought i'd post this project. He took ( i presume bought??) an old book of birdsong from a lovely old secondhand bookshop. Then he wired it up with real birdsong, when you open it the birds start singing! He then went back to the shop and replaced it back onto the shelf! I really hope people do continue to return this book and the joy. Well done Tim. (sorry i couldn't get the little video up on here)

Look What I Found!

2011-06-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

Found this little chap the other day. A beautiful cigarette dispenser. I've never smoked, but if ever there was a reason to start (not everyday stresses, two young kids etc etc!!) this would be it. I have another with inlaid veneers, but it's maybe half the size of this one. I paid the grand price of four pounds for this. I love it! I always thought i'd end up working in wood one day, but pottery got there first!... no reason i couldn't do both...

Smile At The World...

2011-06-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

... and the World smiles back. It's very true. You know sometimes you're walking along as miserable as everyone else around you, absorbed in your own world, your own troubles. Then you pass someone and they smile at you and it takes a fraction of a second to register and then it pops you out of you own head and it feels good. That's the power of a simple smile. These beauties were created by my very talented friend and illustrator Martin O'Neill, go check out his beautiful collages and immaculate blog.

The Ghost Is Clear

2011-06-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

I made this for my studio buddy Gaz's birthday. A test run, using tracing paper and removing backing from the frame. I want to try it with glass frosting and masking the clear areas.

Smile!

2011-06-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

Black Slip, Sprigs, Face Jug

2011-06-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is the 'Beast' I've been working on.... yep, i've literally thrown everything at it to see what sticks!
My earlier post had shown what was going to be thrown into the mix. I'm happy with it so far, i know it's not conventionally beautiful, but it works for me. I wanted a dark pot, so knew my white slip wasn't going to do it this time. Had to mix my first batch of black slip (thanks Matt) and it got me playing around making little stamps for the pellets of clay. They're quite meaty sprigs! I've learnt how little clay you really need for each one, but i wanted them quite 'significant', like the lumps on the Jim McDowell pot. I also did a bit of plaster carving to create the little face on his cheeks, like you get on Bellarmines (or Bartmanns). I wanted to do more of these and get them a bit more complex and refined. I just sponged the white slip on for teeth and when it dries i will scratch the lips through to the clay to tidy them up and add another level of colour. I'm now chasing up a few leads to try and figure out some way to get these things fired, glazed and fired again. I need to see a 'real' pot now. Time to see how they all work out, then i can think about where to take it. I want to do a black slip sgraffito pot next i think.

Flat Folk

2011-06-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of things i've been playing with. Remember my "folk" series way back? well i thought I'd flatten them.... just because i can! and now they've come in very useful as my Father's Day card ( i used 'Larry' with the cap). I hope my Dad doesn't see it here.... but considering he doesn't even have a computer/email or even know how to text ( he may know how to Fax !!!... remember that??) I think i'm pretty safe. Now i hope no one has forgotten to post their cards off.... Quick... run!

Making Sense

2011-06-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this fantastic jug in the V&A last week. I haven't been there for years, what an amazing museum that is. The ceramics section blew my mind, so many amazing pots. I could feel the anxiety kick in as the overload of pots sank in, i knew i was going to miss something great and that i was probably walking past stuff that in years to come i'll be obsessing over.. arghhhhh! I always get the same feeling in libraries too, so much information and stuff you'll never see, or find. Deep Breath... Anyway, this pot, that was in some other section of the museum, really struck a cord. It was an old heavily sprigged jug, great size and shape, and it was a face jug! perfect. The teeth, which my photo doesn't show too well, was just some slip which had the teeth drawn through. I've got to try some sprigged pellets now. It really helped join up the dots for me. Below is a Burlon Craig face jug and a Jim McDowell face jug with little clay pellets, both from America... and below them are some sprigged pots of Matt's, great potter that he is ( and thanks to his little videos i've seen him apply the sprigs). Hopefully I'll get started on a few bits this week, if i have any energy or time once the kids have gone to bed!

Sgraffito Hair

2011-06-10T03:07:00.000-07:00

Can you tell i enjoyed doing this?!... I'd wanted to do some mad stringy hair for a while and this jug was the perfect opportunity. It was a good practice piece and saw my first spout, pulled handle and thumb stop. Get me. I know i don't know what came over me, suddenly i believed i could do stuff, imagine.

This little mug was a bit of a test piece for the hair concept.

Brede Ogre

2011-06-09T05:27:00.000-07:00

I drew a 'picture pot' of this character a while back and now here he is in clay. It was a bit hit and miss and his head sits a little large on top, but hey, so what? His head did have a handle, but i had my first collapse after slipping it. I made a quick repair and it'll do me for now, it's all progress. He's about 11 inches tall and i learnt a lot making him, which after all is the purpose of all this.

True Love?

2011-05-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

When random bits collide! the words were for two totally different things and i moved them out of the way next to this couple and.... well, job done. I love it when a plan doesn't come together!

work it through..

2011-05-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

I've nabbed this from my mate Griff's blog as it certainly applies to my foray into pottery! I'm fighting my way through though and last night got a half decent handle!! (thanks Matt for the personalised tutorial) It was way too thick at the top, but the next ones will be better... well, that's the plan. I've got a couple of new pots I'm working on and will put a couple of pics up soon.

Hastings Sgraffito Bottle

2011-05-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

I made this a while back, with the 'too thick' slip. Finished the sgraffito (carving!) last week. Lots of bad bits, chunked off fingers etc, but i still like the overall feel of it. I shall make a few more flat sided bottles/flasks. Next up though will be a square bottle covered with the Earp Brothers, i've been wanting to do something with them for a while.... and i might make an owl jug, with all the feathers in sgraffito rather than feathered slip ( i haven't even tried feathering or combing, i'm sticking with good old drawing for a while!)

Slip Bear

2011-05-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was working on this fellow last week and scratched him up good last night. For all you non-potters out there, this is not the finished thing! He will need to be fired, then glazed and fired again and everything will change, hopefully in a good way... but it could also just not make it through to the other side! I'm prepared for that, i am still just testing things out and although it may seem like i'm putting a lot of work in, I'm fully prepared for none of them to make it. It's a learning curve and i'd prefer to learn in real time, with real mistakes. I was also working on a Sussex piggy bank, which was looking nice until i gave him a wade in some brown slip and his leg fell off the next time i picked him up! Hey-ho all part of the process, though that's not quite how it came out of my mouth at the time!!! I still haven't found a way to get them fired down here in Hastings yet, but i'm spreading the word. Still looking for that wheel too. I don't have a piece of 'pottery' yet... just a growing collection of 'dry clay' in various shapes!
I was looking at Doug's post, of his collaboration with Andrew Grundon, with envy today. Oh, to get to decorate a nice big pot that has just the right slip on it. I like the doing-it-all-myself bit, but couldn't help wishing i was capable right now! I really need to get over to Evesham and see my mate Matt. I know he'd sort me out. I wish i had a few more potter contacts down here, god bless these blogs or i would feel like i was venturing alone. Anyway, i feel i'm moving forward. I'll get there.... eventually.

Beware Hairy Men

2011-05-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a winner! Can't remember the last time i won anything, but Andy was giving one of his t-shirts away to the first person to name the inspirational figure for this T. It was, of course, Leon Russell and a fine hairy example he was... and still is! Cheers Andy, i shall be a vision of hairyness... that's if it fits my expanding form!

Corporate Suicides

2011-05-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

A series of spot illustrations i finished recently for Business week magazine in the States. It was all about how various corporations had managed to kill themselves off. Coke, was about the launch of New Coke... which wasn't well received!! Pan-Am, Blockbuster and Atari were more successful in their attempts!

More Guilt

2011-05-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

..up to about 20 now. Still aiming for 50, then I'll figure out what to do with them. If you have a character/object, or have a confession, i'll happily consider conjuring something up for them. Send them in!

From my desk

2011-05-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

This is what stares back at me every day, do you think it might be sending out negative vibes?! Maybe i should plop something more hopeful and positive down there?.... but then it wouldn't be very 'me'!

Here's an initial colour sketch and what it became. I like both equally. There was no point to it, just unloading my brain.

My Royal Wedding Pot

2011-05-06T03:28:00.000-07:00

Just for me, front and back. It's rough, but i like it. Based on some of the old 'rustic' tobacco jars in Hastings Museum. Here's a nice one in the Burton Gallery/Museum. I know there's a quite a bit of snobbery about "rustic ware", but i'm ignorant and a sucker for them!.. and it has a long tradition in this town, becoming a speciality of one, John Pelling (Silverhill Pottery, or Tivoli Works), who married the pottery owner's daughter, Polly Tree, so fittingly developed a line of rustic style ware, with it's bark design ( can't find any pictures mind you, so it could all be lies!) I'm also a bit of a faux bois fan, so sadly you can probably expect more of this low grade work! Oh, and there were very obvious slip problems, but it kind of didn't matter... well, not to me!

A pic from Hastings Museum lovely slipware collection, showing one tobacco jar. Lot's of inlaid slip pieces and big cisterns etc. I'll post a few more pics sometime.

Sgraffito Face Pot

2011-05-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

I've started!!.. just a couple of pictures from my first messing with clay and slip. Learning valuable lessons already. Need to understand and get a feel for the drying rates and also my slip needs thinning down! ( you won't need me to point out the big bit of slip missing, so i made a feature of it, you can see it in the bottom pic) I've worked on them all at the bone dry stage, as it seems easier for me when i can't guarantee when i can find the time. Ideally i think i should work on them a bit prior. Still, I'm still happy to work if i can make any kind of mark. All you potters out there don't need to tell me about the basic form!! This bottle has just been simply coiled, I've made a flat side bottle form from slabs, which I'm still scratching away at. I really wasn't going to put any pictures up until i found my feet a bit more, but where's the fun in that!!!
Spirit not Perfection, is what i say. It's an interesting point, which seems to be popping up a bit recently, skill/technique v's character/voice. There was an interesting bit about it on the Svend Bayer clip. I'm trying to learn enough skill/technique for my pots and trying to forget a lifetime of it in my illustration! That's my world right now. Anyway, hopefully I'll have more bits soon, want to make some flat plate/dish forms and some simpler cylindrical bits to try out my slip on... and towards working with some black slip too.

Cake Man

2011-05-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

Ever feel somedays that you look just like cake?

This fantastic cake was knocked up by my good friend Griff, for a hastily arranged surprise for my 40th on Sunday. Thanks so much to all involved, Tim and especially Jakki for always surprising me. It was meant to just be a quiet afternoon stroll, to walk off the hangover from a party the night before ( another friend's 40th... and it's rare these days for me to get home at 3.30am!) We went for a walk around Hastings old town and Jakki was insistent that i go look at a friends picture in a bar. I'd just bumped into our friend Chris in the street outside and wanted a chat ( it wasn't a coincidence he was there!) I walked in and all my great friends were there and so i spent another day drinking away, the tequila was a bit of a shock to a fragile system! I'm so lucky to have so many good friends down here, they even clubbed together and gave me a fund for a wheel, when i come across something suitable. Thanks so much to everyone!

Guilty!

2011-04-19T05:13:00.000-07:00

A couple more for you. My aim is 50, i think. I've done about a dozen so far.

We're All Guilty Of Something..

2011-04-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon...

2011-04-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

An idea i've had kicking around for ages and I'm only just starting to get something down that feels right. The typography is still a work in progress and is just filling a gap right now. Tomorrow I shall reveal the first couple to make it... in their not-quite-final form. Not sure what form the finished set will take yet either.

I'm just going to work through a batch first.

What a find!

2011-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

After rummaging at a boot sale on Sunday, we headed into Rye and found some characters from an old fairground/amusement ride. Would have liked to buy them all, but i really couldn't even afford this one... didn't stop me buying him though! It has the name 'Banjo' scratched into it's back, so that shall be his name. Pride of place in the lounge i think... and yes, we still do videos.

Potted History- Brede Ogre

2011-04-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

I promise this will be the last of my mocked-up pots. Real clay is coming out this week... providing i can find the time. The Brede Ogre is a relatively local legend, based on the 16th century character, Sir Goddard Oxenbridge. He was sheriff of Surrey & Sussex and knighted by Henry the Eighth in 1509. Legend says that he stood 7 feet tall with a fearsome moustache! Rumour was that he ate local children for his supper, one a day ( he knew his limits). Eventually, fearing for their lives, the children lured him to his death with a barrel of ale and when he passed out they cut him in half with a saw on the "groaning bridge", East Sussex kids on one side, West Sussex kids on the other. His ghost, in the form of a sawn tree trunk (apparently) still haunts the ancient parish. Blogger Paul will probably correct me with his greater historical knowledge (please do Paul) and point out all my errors of period costume(obviously the 'Ogre' should be wearing fine clothes, but i needed him to just have trousers and boots!!! )

You know you like pottery when...

2011-04-04T05:53:00.000-07:00

... a piece of old interlocking drainpipe gets you going! It's just a very beautiful object regardless of it's previous use! This is from the Reg Lloyd collection down at the Burton Art Gallery and Museum in Bideford.. got to get down there at some point... and try not to hyperventilate!

Quality Portraits- Every One's A Winner!

2011-04-01T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well, actually only this one. This fantastic drawing of Michael Winner is sadly not by me, it's by Jakki's friend Sarah. You can see more of her very amusing drawings of Chevy Chase, Three Men and a Baby, Anita Dobson and many more here. For the story of how Quality Portraits came into our lives and also see our very own family quality portrait (not to be missed) head over to Jakki's blog where she has the full story... and probably the least flattering drawing of me in existence ( i don't even have a beard! just a largish tache). It sits very proudly in our living room, but must upset my Mum every time she visits!! Oh, hell.. i'll stick it here, but do still go and read Jakki's story.

Friday Music- My Morning Jacket

2011-03-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Probably not the best version out there, but you know i like things a bit raw and what better than a gig in the back of a black cab?

Website Updated

2011-03-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Pop over to my newly refreshed pages on my agents website and have a look around.

Goldfish Bowl?

2011-03-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

Traditionalists look away now!... Just found this little doodle in my notebook and thought it was worth taking a step further. I'm definitely going to have a go at this. I managed to clear a working space for myself at the weekend, so now i've no excuses and hope to start making this week... hooray!!... now to decide what gets to get made first??? Think i'll start with a flat sided bottle/flask and a pig idea i've been having which should work nicely with the slip ( I'm getting into the old pottery Sussex Pigs, which you can't find many good examples of online for some reason. More on these fantastic vessels soon). Also i plan to make a few little slab dishes, with a simple slip treatment i hope will work too. I'm excited! I'm still surrounded by quite a bit of household junk though, so i'll be happy when i can relocate that and the room feels a bit more pottery dedicated. It's a start though.
Oh and for anyone not keeping up, Jakki has posted her next instalment of our Property/TV adventure here.
I've also been busy sorting out new work for my agents website, so i'll put a post up when that's all sorted and ready to view.

Friday Music- Daniel Johnston

2011-03-25T03:11:00.000-07:00

For all us 'Artists' out there. I just love this song. Daniel Johnston is a bit of a cult artist and musician and anyone who hasn't seen the film The Devil and Daniel Johnston really should!

Sgraffito Potts??

2011-03-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm at it again! It might take a while for my drawing on clay to get up to speed, so I'll have to settle with this fakery. I do enjoy doing them though, imagining that i'm scratching back the clay.

15 minutes of (local) fame

2011-03-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

As most people will already know we appeared on the TV property show Location, Location, Location about 4 years ago ( before the kids aged me about 20 years!). Not everyone knows the full story though, so if you really want to know, pop over to Jakki's blog where she's recounting the experience in easy to digest sections. I'm sure I'll mention it again on here sometime though. Funnily enough, i just had a guy stop me on the way to work today, he'd watched yet another repeat yesterday on his day off. People are always really nice about it though and always seem genuinely interested in how it's going. Well, it's not been repossessed yet!

Missing Link?

2011-03-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

I love this fantastic pot! It's a 14th Century mask(face) jug and gives me ideas of the cross-over i could achieve between these medieval pots and the face jugs of my previous post. The whole anthropomorphic thing going on... add to the mix the Bellarmine or Bartman and i'm in pottery heaven. One day it'll all make sense to me, hopefully. I dream of big earthenware Bellarmines covered in sgrafitto, like one big tattooed sailor! Or a slipware face, of harvest jug proportions, with words and pictures telling a story like some full-face tattooed gang member. Then i worry that it's not the done thing, not pure enough, not 'slipware'. As i know from the rest of my art though, the knack is to just start making some of these things and the right path will soon open up. I do have to stop worrying about what's 'right' though.

Bellarmine/Bartmann 1600-1650

Lanier Meaders- back to pots!

2011-03-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Why do i love Lanier Meaders so much?... i just do. I've been looking at more and more pottery and learning about so much stuff, it's weird how you go off at such tangents. When i set out to make pottery it was these beautiful face jugs that really got me excited and i would have been happy to be able to make simple forms and put faces on. Then somehow i got to Michael Cardew... Isaac Button... Matt and Doug.. and suddenly i was passionate about slipware and it's whole wonderful history! It makes for a confused potter. I've been fretting recently, as i often do, about doing it the right way, the way it's meant to be done. I don't have the years of clay education though and last night was looking at more face jugs and remembering my "just have a go" attitude. Get stuck in, enjoy the process, don't start fretting over the details. I've been sitting on 100 kg's (nothing to a regular potter, but a lot to me) of lovely clay for weeks now and over-thinking it all. I'm just going to give it a bit of passion and hope some of it holds together. I do need to sort a workspace out though. I've got a spare bedroom that i'm going to use... be fun to get a wheel in there!! I also have folk staying with us for a few more weekends though, so i have to hold off a bit longer! It's my Big 4-0 in May, so i have to have started before then!! Who knows where it'll end up, but i've so many ideas It'll be fun finding out. Back on the subject of Lanier, I've given Jakki strict instructions to make sure that when i go, my ashes end up in a Lanier Jug!... unless i manage to make something half decent for myself before then. For ever in a Lanier Jug... bliss! ( and no more fretting!)

Good Cause

2011-03-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

More mix and match madness, this time a piece i did for Richard House a children's hospice in London.
The idea being 120 illustrators provided a head, body, or legs and you can then make your own combination and buy a quality print of it. Great idea. This character has my devil head (which i did as a papercut) with body provided by Warwick and legs by Paul, both on my blog list .We made loads of these at college, years back! and it's still great fun to do. Exquisite Corpses, developed by the surrealists, is another name for them. Great fun to do when down the pub and drawing fast and loose!! Create your own here, i hope it goes well and raises plenty of money.

Klutz Drawing Book!!

2011-03-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

Finally, my Mix and Match drawing book is out in the States! Have a look at it here at Klutz , there's even a little video if you scroll down and click on the film frame. I can't wait to get my hands on one. I'll probably even draw a few of the bits ( i guess i have an advantage there). Don't delay get your copy now!.. it's cheaper on Amazon, of course. I started this project about a year ago and finished working on it in September. I do find publishing schedules very frustrating, I'm very impatient. Another reason for holding off on children's picture books, i don't know how I'd handle the long, drawn out process. That's why editorial has suited me so well, quick ideas, quick turnover, move on. Anyway i'm so happy to finally see this hit the shelves, i hope it sells well. I'd also like to say a big THANKS to Stephanie at Klutz, who was a total pleasure to work with on this (then how could any of it not have been a pleasure). Stephanie also draws pretty well herself, sometimes i'd get changes sent back and i didn't realize it wasn't my own drawing! I've got some nice pieces of work from people in the office at Klutz having a go, but they're on my other computer, so i'll stick some more bits up tomorrow (i might even have lost them as my old computer died not long after... I've learnt about backing up regularly now... actually i haven't! i still have a hard drive in it's box next to the computer, i bought it about a month ago... yikes!