It’s great to see the flowers making an appearance at this time of year in the UK.
The cherry blossom and magnolia are some of my favourites.
My making mind switches to vessels for enjoying blooms in the home and garden.
Watercolour DesignsPretty sunflowers dried from last AutumnDesigning and making
CURRENTLY MAKING AND EXHIBITING:
In the studio I am making some plaster molds to create more large plates, see portfolio for one recently sold in my home town gallery, Church Lane Gallery. Its the first time, I feel, my 2D drawings and paintings have transferred onto ceramics.
Rugby Artist and Makers group are also holding their annual exhibition of members art and I have this plate in Rugby Art Gallery for the next few weeks. And I will be gallery attendant next week which means I get time out talking to people about art.
The autumn artist has a selection of fingerless gloves, a warm raincoat, comfy wellies and an essential umbrella as well as their art supplies in a waterproof rucksack.
If watercolour is the preferred medium it can be a challenge as a drop of rain can turn the painting into a Jackson Pollock art piece. A well laid out plan may have to change to accommodate the effects of the rain. An umbrella carefully balanced may help.
Cafe’s are the autumn artists best friend. Somewhere to retreat when the wind and cold turns their hands numb, a mug of hot chocolate will help warm hands up.
The autumn artist wouldn’t miss the chance to paint the stunning shades of gold, amber and bronze, and not brave the elements to create their art.
I have been doing lots of drawing and painting this year. Subjects have varied as the years progressed. It started with a fascination for portraits which I captured in clay and paint. This then progressed to the natural world, which I was probably craving more of due to lockdown and realised when I had a two week holiday in Cornwall and created some landscape paintings. Finally to animals due to hatching some chicks.
This is a sketch of Uno, a silkie bantam chick, from our most un-succesful hatching. We had six eggs in the incubator but only Uno hatched. A quick trip to the wildfowl trust to purchase 2 more silkies meant Uno was not alone for long. We still do not know if Uno is male or female. His/her 2 friends are white silkie’s called Ice and Ivory. I try to name the chicks colour names, but am running out of colours.
Trying to remain focused and motivated to create can be hard at times. I am finding that I have to dig deep to find that inner drive, to switch off the news and the distracting thoughts to spend time in my sketchbook, as I know it will serve my health well if I do. If you are experiencing similar difficulties I wanted to share some pointers that I have used to overcome these blocks:
Release those social media binds
Taking time off social media. Social media experts talk about how important it is to post regularly and to have a consistent theme, which I tried and can admit found quite exhausting. Then I listened to a You Tube video by Ergo Josh who gave a really good reason about not posting regularly and how it can make us Artists too focused on likes. He advised taking break and enjoying the process. Making for makings sake. I liked his advice and thought it was a refreshing change and that I would give it a go. The result was so liberating. I personally did not even realise that the regular posting was stifling my output as my subconscious was considering if what I was making would fit in with my social media feed. The video can be found here
With this new mindset I experimented in my sketchbook, feeling safe in the knowledge that what I did never had to be seen. It resulted in trying new techniques, materials and really enjoying the process. It was like returning to Art School, and I still have not returned to my social media with regular feeds, that was 3 months ago.
Personally I really recommend taking a break from social media occasionally and giving yourself some time to play, experiment without the constraints of thinking it has to be shared. The result can be some new ways of working and fun trying out new processes.
Committing to regular daily practice
Sketchbook Portraits
Block out a regular time to create, it may be for just 5 minutes, but just committing to spending time each day is really good to form new routines and habits.
Surreal times right now with Coronavirus turning all our lives upside down, and throwing us into a world of unknowns. I am comforted with our governments announcement that it is putting plans in place to shield our most vulnerable people but would like our amazing health care colleagues to be equipped with the correct protective clothing. This staff group, along with the grocery store staff, are putting their own health at risk to serve and care for us when we need it – the very least they deserve is to be fully protected.
On a more positive note, creativity is a great outlet and distraction promoting good mental health, it could be visual arts, music, cookery or gardening. Having a focus, along with a vast online community is an opportunity to give our daily lives some focus and share our creative projects.
I spent the beginning of the year offline as I wanted to develop some new interests and made a pact to be creative everyday; it feels like now would be a good time to share. I hope to bring some distraction, colour and encouragement for you to be creative too. Overtime the plan is to create some simple online classes, but not quite there yet. Please do let me know what you think and pointers in realtion to art, mental health that you would like me to post about further.
So to kick of the series off, I would like to introduce myself in the form of a self portrait. It was created with gouache and watercolour, I love the chalky opaque feel of the gouache.
Tip – Take time in your new daily routine to be creative and share online.
The Contemporary Ceramics Centre in London has a new exhibition that I am very much wanting to see and thought I would share. Its title ‘Be Suprised by Slip’ and features pottery by Dylan Bowen, Doug Fitch and Nigel Lambert, all up there very much respected potters that produce great work.
The Contemporary Ceramics Centre in London has a new exhibition that I am very much wanting to see and thought I would share. Its title ‘Be Suprised by Slip’ and features pottery by Dylan Bowen, Doug Fitch and Nigel Lambert, all up there very much respected potters that produce great work.
Opens 25th July to 17th August 2019. The Contemporary Ceramics invite boasts: ‘ Dylan, Doug and Nigel are among the most beloved – and longstanding – ceramists working in slip today, each drawing inspiration from the rural settings of their workshops in Oxfordshire, Galloway and Gloucestershire, respectively. Come see how these makers use common methods to create such vibrantly diverse results’.
I have visited Dylans workshop as he is in the my neighbouring county and I am a very proud owner of one of his plates. The vibrancy and energy conveyed through the slip makes for a very exciting piece of pottery.
Do make time in your diary to visit.
Contemporary
Ceramics
63 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3BF Entry is free
Middleport Pottery is a Victorian working pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. The building is a beautiful Grade II red brick building that spans a whole street. The building almost fell into disrepair until The Princes Regeneration Trust purchased the site in 2010. The trust saved the building, saved jobs and regenerated the local area. It is a truly wonderful place to visit.
Historically Middleport is famous for being home to Burleighware since 1889. Burleigh produces functional pottery by hand but on a large-scale, it reports each piece is touched by 25 highly skilled pairs of hands before completion. Quite astounding in this day and age.
