Some Images

Was digging around in my computer files and found this big batch of very rough images i knocked up way back here. I like the rawness, which has been playing on my mind the last year or two. Too much control. I need randomness and happy accidents. I'm sure I've said all this before. I'm now playing around with more un-natural colours and i need more un-naturalistic scale/perspective, and a touch more texture/mark making. Those are my aims, who knows if i can achieve any of it!... as they say "I'll know it when I see it".

More Great Drawings!

..... Not mine, obviously. Sorry it's more of the same, but showing and talking about my stuff is not what i want to be doing right now! These crackingly good drawings are by a friend's daughter, Ruby, aged 5. I love seeing these drawings. Might have to do something with them, cards or a nice tea towel, who knows. Something nice to have around the house. Maybe just a nice big print on the wall, of lots of different kids ones all grouped together. Maybe I put it in my Big Cartel shop and give the money to the school... Hmmmm.

My Drawing Book

This great picture was given to me this morning at school by a friend. it's by her daughter Lula, using my how-to-draw book, "Mix & Match Drawing" by Klutz , that I gave her... she's 5. Eventually I will put a section on my website for these drawings by various kids. My boys are starting to really develop their drawing, so I'm going to let them loose on the book again and see how they do. I'll put them up next week. If you ever know of anyone using it, tell them to send me their pictures ( Don't think my readers stretch very far though!!)

The spread form the Mix & Match book

Lack Of.... Anything!

The Old Black Dog has taken up residence again. It's a real pain in the ass, but somehow important , I think within it there is a rich vein of creativity and ideas. it's where the good stuff comes from.. and weirdly, often the funny stuff.... the dark funny stuff! I'd still rather be the kind who can leap out of bed and just enjoy their day though! I really thought at my my age I'd have a better handle on it all, that I'd feel more settled and happy with my output. I'm not though, I get less satisfied the further i go on, I'm restless, relentlessly restless! Constantly thinking of ways of changing, new ways of working etc... like slipping into a good rut would be such a bad thing. People make careers out of one technique/process, one idea, often. Why is that so bad? Why can't I just settle and ride it for all it's worth? (some probably think I am!!). I've more ideas than I have time to do any of them justice, or find outlets for. I'm not happy generally with my work (who is though, right?), i still feel it's missing ... something. Mainly i feel i need a bit more 'process', something where happy accidents can occur. At the moment I have too much control over the images I make. I'm constantly seeking, but I'm short on answers. My clay world is not going far enough fast enough either, which is really starting to frustrate me. I knew I'd bit off a lot to chew, but thought I'd get on with it quicker. On top of all these creative issues I have too many 'real world' worries. How did I get like this?? I guess I've always been like it... it's just multiplying as the years and ideas/projects accumulate. It does feel overwhelming at times and that just freezes me in my tracks, getting even less done! I can safely say this is a post just for the few bloggers who care for a bit of insight and waffle, it won't be one for sharing on facebook!!! ha ha : )

Slipware Straw Bear Money Box!

I was going back over my little sketchbooks the other day, making notes in my 'workshop' pad of all the possible pots i could make. I came back to English folk customs and realised the Straw Bear was perfect for the colours of slipware.. and the traditional slipware treatments. I've always loved the 'rustic' tobacco jars and had been looking again recently at one in the Burton Museum's Reg Lloyd collection. I'd been planning to make a pot with a pig sitting on a tree stump, as there's a lovely pig sitting next to a tobacco jar in the Hastings Museum, so I thought I'd unite the two into one piece. Anyway, suddenly it clicked and i thought of the Whittlesea Straw Bear sitting on a stump, taking a rest. I could slip the bear and leave the stump un-slipped, but with the ends of the chopped branches blobbed with a dab of slip. perfect! I made him over a couple of nights last week. I made a mess when i rushed the slip, i should have approached it calmer and more prepared! It needs some tidying up, but it'll be ok. He's also a functioning money box, with the slot in his crown and a corkable hole in the back of the stump. Form and Function! I'm planning on making the Hastings Jack In The Green next. His crown will give me a test. I'll make that separate as i might need to make a few!! I'm still making the pig on the stump though. I haven't really sculpted any little animal forms, so I'm quite looking forward to making the pig with a little hat. I'll post a pre-fire pic of the straw bear when I've tidied him and added some lettering around the base.

That tobacco jar at the Burton.

pig and stump, hastings Museum... and lovely bird whistle thing.

The Whittlesea Straw Bear

Hastings 'Jack in the Green'

Sloppily slipped, needs some tidying and a bit of sgraffito.

Claude Bell and John Ehn

Following on from those great Blackgang figures, i thought i'd do a little post on Claude Bell. Claude created the cabazon dinosaurs, just outside Palm springs in California. Along with these he was responsible for figures at Knotts Berry Farm and Calico Ghost Town. Claude had also created a lone figure of a trapper for Old Trapper's Lodge, before the owner, John Ehn, decided he could make them himself! read about it here. These now all reside at Pierce College, California (which i've posted about them before). Enjoy!

Claude and Dinny the dinosaur

Dinny under construction

I love this one!

John Ehn with a couple of his own gals!

His office...I need an office like this!!

Claude Bell's original Trapper (based on John) for Old Trapper's Lodge, with John Ehn's own figures alongside.

The Trapper now in his place behind Pierce College

Glaze Firing, The Inquest Begins!

Well, hmmm, this is tricky, i'm putting these up, but feel a tad embarrassed to do so. I like to keep all my faults hidden, especially with all you potters looking on! When i finally dared to open the kiln i was filled with a mix of deflated spirit and some kind of satisfaction. The kiln had finally fired a glaze firing, the pots had survived a journey, nothing stuck to anything etc etc. they were.... "ok"... but they weren't right. For a start i had expected the body colour to be darker... not so orange.. i have orange pots! Matt had fired one of my pots for me a while back and i had some expectation of colour. Why did it do that? this is where my lack of clay knowledge becomes (embarrassingly) obvious. Was it John Cleese who said "every Englishman's wish is to make it to the grave without embarrassing himself"? I'm a true Englishman. The glaze colour may be ok if it was over a darker tone, anyway i think I want a slightly more golden glaze, so will add a bit of iron. The main problem was the glaze pinging off !! Ha ha( i can laugh now... just). Shivering, is it? Anway it was only apparent at first on a couple of rims, but then about 3 hours later as i sat working on a new piece i heard the terrible ping, ping. I threw a cover over the pots to stop any stray shards! It was mainly the handle on that owl cup, which was a shame as that one initially seemed the best. There, one unsuccessful glaze firing. I'm not sure if just lowering my bisc temp (to what Matt and Doug had told me!) will resolve that issue? I'm sure it will help. I felt pressured slightly to increase the bisc temp from local advice. Sorry att, your student let you down and won't be doing that again!!). I bisqued to 06 and glazed at 03. I'll try my 07 bar for the next bisc. What about the colour the body fired to, how does that change? Should i glaze higher?... can i glaze higher with this lead glaze? Now i wish i had a bit more education!! Like i said it's embarrassing, but hopefully a relatively small hurdle. I felt a bit overwhelmed and... stuck, but then we took the boys out to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park( highly recommend it) on Sunday and it helped me get perspective. It was just a very small kiln load of not many pots, no biggy in the actual real World!! Now it's out here in the open, advice welcome but go easy... don't embarrass me! ; )

The kiln load, a mix of small stuff mostly early pieces

Shame about the glaze on that handle. i would have used this little fella.

This bottomless cylinder is now holding pens and pencils in the studio. A permanent reminder of my failings!!

only showing mild signs of losing bits of glaze on the rims

I really liked this fella, but now he has a tiny flake off the top. The top had a big old orange blush on it, which is wrong, but i kinda liked it. Tell me why though.

just a couple of flat pieces of scrap, but these seemed fine, no issues with the glaze. Maybe i just make these... for ever!!