Drawing Book

Just a little sample from a book i worked on recently and am eagerly awaiting to see in print. Very few jobs of this complexity and time turn out to be a complete pleasure from start to finish, but this one was. I'll put more up here once it's out in the world, but for now ssssshhh, you never saw this.

You've gotta start somewhere

... and i am. I've been doing a 10 week part time pottery course for 6 weeks now and results have been mixed! It's been good fun though and our tutor Tony Bennett has been a great help, along with being one of those nice guys (i'm coming across a lot of them these days)... and very tolerant. I'm joined at the beginners table by Nick and Tricia all equally enthusiastic. It's been a very weird experience being a student again... and funny how quickly you fall back into the role and become useless all of a sudden! (sorry to all those students out there.. i speak for myself when i say "useless") I'd post some of my poor attempts on here if only i had a working camera right now. I don't even have a phone camera now, as i sat on mine and was then too cheap to replace it with something decent. Hard to imagine a phone with no camera these days... it does have a torch though! very useful. None of my efforts have been glazed yet, but i will stick something on here when they are. I've still yet to get on the wheel though, so that's a bit frustrating as i know that's really what i want to do. I guess a bit of all round knowledge is always beneficial. I'd hate to be one of those blinkered students who isn't interested in anything outside what they've already been doing for years! Having dabbled with a bit of teaching in the past, i've been very aware of trying not to fall in to that particular trap. I'm also in the process of clearing a room at home in which i'll be able to work for now. I'll have to start thinking about a wheel too and which will best suit my requirements..Yikes! An email to Matt might be in order for that (sorry Matt). I'm going to get past the end of the course and Christmas before i get serious about it. Hey Ho, the world of clay, hmmm.

Wednesday.... again??!

 

I've been meaning to post more interesting stuff, but time is just out of control!... and i need to get my accounts sorted! I must get around to my pottery course soon though. It's been good, but i've a million miles to go.

Wish List Wednesday

I doubt anyone noticed, or cared, but i missed last Wednesday's Wish List. Here's this one, which i really like, but don't use it often for obvious reasons! Now i need to go and think of an idea for my LA Times commission, which is about staying at a hotel opposite a busy and noisy nightclub.. hmmmm??? I don't think i'll post the finished illustration.

Lanier

One more Lanier Meaders jug, bit more primitive this one, but i still love it.

Pottery

I've been meaning to get around to putting some pottery on here and the previous post leads the way very nicely, with it's sgraffito inspired colour scheme. These two pictures sum up what i like, which makes me a bit of a mixed up would-be potter though. What can i say? I love characters, faces.. and i like a good narrative, so both fit the bill!

This one is a North Devon Harvest Jug, with beautiful sgraffito decoration. For further info on this kind of thing look here. Or you could do worse than visiting Doug's, or Matt's Blogs. Both are fantastic slipware potters carrying on a wonderful tradition. Matt's also been very helpful to me, one of life's good guys and a talented potter too. Hopefully, one day, we'll be able to collaborate on a pot or two. I just need to learn how to first!

This beauty is by the master of face jugs Lanier Meaders. I don't know what it is but there is just something about them. Face Jugs seem to be a particularly American thing, most originated from the Carolinas and Georgia and the introduction of African slaves working for the potteries. There are now so many out there making them and the end result is often not so great. There's a great piece here, which seems to sum up how i feel about face jugs too. I'm sure i'll come back to write more about both of these areas, but for now this will do.

Dead Ends

The untimely end of an unfortunate few....

I've had the idea for a while, but didn't want to just repeat the wish list format. Having said that, now i've produced this, i am tempted to work them all up individually as a postcard format.

Wish List Wednesday- part 2

Harold Davidson

This old painting of mine seems to have gotten a lot of attention lately, sitting up on my lounge wall.
It must be about nine or ten years old now, back in the day when i used real paint and didn't mind putting 20 odd hours into a picture. I think i'd peaked on this one and still enjoy looking at it. Maybe it's time to pick up some paint brushes again? Anyway, the vicar was an interesting character and anyone interested in crazy tales should definitely look him up, you can find some info here. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo. I need to get myself a camera.