terracotta lily

You yellow-bellied, Lily-livered....DRAW!

2012-01-26T02:15:00.000-08:00

Drawing. It's difficult, isn't it? That's why, in my forever increasing naivety, I decided to take a drawing module this year. It. was. tough.
We didn't really have a drawing instructor, but we had lovely trips out with Kevin Petrie who did landscape drawing along a freezing river, lots of drawing with your 'wrong' hand, one line drawings (love those) and other left-brain right-brain activities were great fun. Then we were left to our own devices. I drew my (poor, foolish) friends.

My brief was an investigation into tribalism, which, meant I should have focussed on earrings, and haridos and whatnots and fandangs. Oh, dulling, ornaments are so very, very dry. So I continued to draw my poor, deluded acquaintances.

The wodnerfully large-headed Mike Holden, there. This, although obviously delightful, wasn't...well it wasn't very good.
So what should one do when one has tired of drawing ones friends? Obviously photograph oneself, photocopy the image a bunch of times and draw over the top. I'm surprised you even had to ask.

I have approximatley two thousand photos of myself as tribal warrior/queen/shaman and I enjoy them. But I had the same problem most of my compatriots had, we see drawing as actors see a script. No actor would march out on stage and simply show the audience the script, it's not the thing, the play's the thing. Although, I'm sure Brecht or one of those geezers would probably love such a play.
So I mades stuff. It was rather like Christmas Eve, I was trying to convince myself that this was a stepping stone to drawing, but in the back of my mind I knew I was trying to fool myself much like on Christmas Eve I would have a conversation with myself along the lines of;
'Now don't be upset if you don't get the life-size barbie you wanted, they probably couldn't get it'
And then a little voice would say 'But they did, didn't they? You can't fool me!'
'No, no, now, don't get excited'
'Too late! I'll keep saying I'm not going to get the dolly and then I'm definitely going to get the dolly.'
'You're not getting the dolly'
'Ah-ha!'
Perhaps that's not as familiar a conversation to people who have siblings but that's how I felt. And inevitably, I didn't draw my sculptures. I didn't draw on them. They're lovely, and I'll photograph them with an actual camera, not my poor shoddy mobile later today. I intend to continue in my vein of drawing for the forseeable future, it makes things (images, people, ideas, plans) clearer. Huzzah for drawing!

A few thoughts on cemeteries

2012-01-11T02:06:00.000-08:00

My dissertation is due in soon so naturally I'm writing a blog.
I could tell you about how I hate academia sometimes and just wish I could sodding well make pots but truth is, I like research. I like reflection and somehow this year I've been able to use my research time as a way of making my work better. Huzzah! Ultimate success!
My dissertation is about how Christian approaches to representing the figure have affected how artists approach the figure. And one massive thing I've come to see quite clearly, is that art in cemeteries is amazing. True fact. It's full of passion, soul and personality.
I sort of fell in love with Oscar Wilde's tomb, it was designed by Epstein and it's gorgeous, in a very Wildian way. What I enjoyed so much about it was all the pilgrims who came to the tomb and left lipstick kisses, and then I read this article, and found out people aren't allowed to do that anymore.
Which seems to me to be totally missing the point of a grave, they don't stop people leaving flowers at other graves, Wilde's fans just happen to be a bit bonkers and want to kiss a massive stone angel. Where's the harm?
I'm sure Epstein would have minded this much less than when plaques were attached to cover the angels genitals or when it was simply covered with a tarpaulin because it was considered too risque.
Poor romantic fans, they just want to show that Wilde is no longer the outcast, or if he is, he is king of the outcasts! King Oscar!

Wonder if anyone will kiss my gravestone for me...
TL

The Year of the House

2012-01-03T07:47:00.001-08:00

Happy new year! New starts! New you! And for me and my beloved- a new house.
Kind of.
Some of you may know that my mother is planning to give up work and move to Cumbria to look after my grandparents. The house she bought in 1999 is a two storey Victorian terrace and I basically grew up here. She's always seen it as my inheritance, and so decided that if we were to sell the money would go to me and Daniel.

But that's both too simple and too difficult. Even if we had a hefty deposit, we'd be paying masses for a mortage (and who says a bank would bet on two recent freelance graduates?) and we'd probably have to buy somewhere run down. So change of plan, my mother is going to give us the house. We'll essentially be her lodgers but when the mortage is paid- the house is ours. And until then (sometime around 2040) it'll be our house to do as we wish and raise our family and buy curtains and...gosh.

So this year is going to be difficult. I have to find a job, I gave mine up when I started University, the hours could never have been forgiving enough for me to have not gone mental. And my beloved works for the council, which is being squeezed and squeezed. And we have to get the house in running order, my mam's a tough bean, she doesn't mind the cold, the drafts, the boiler sometimes not working, etc etc. We kind of do.

But all that we're doing is very delicate, because although we sat down with my mother and decided what we could and couldn't do, there's still a chance we could massively offend my mother by repainting a door she's always loved or throwing out an ashtray or something. It's still very much her house, and all that we do offends her, no matter how many times I say 'It's not criticism, we just want it to be our house' she can only hear us tearing down the house she's built.

The upshot is that instead of kilns and terracotta being on my mind sanding, plastering and other such delights will be on the agenda. Last month we put in new windows. the electricity is basically shot too so we need to rewire, the bathroom is a sort of aubergine type-suite with no shower and some of the carpets were seemingly bought from offices by the last tenants so, lots to do. And a dissertation. And a degree show. Who's stressed? Not me, no way.

Usually this blog is about why I make work, as of now, the why is 'because otherwise I'll be homeless' hopefully I'll still be inspired and still be able to make ceramics but there may be some DIY here too. Especially when we build my studio in the back yard (I cannot wait for this, I have such high-felluting ideas about my pottery shack it's unreal).

Right now I have a dissertation to re-write.
TL

Driving away from home for Christmas

2011-12-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas in the Daniel's household isn't actually held in the Daniel's household. Well not Flora Daniel's household- but Geoff and Margery Daniel's household. My grandparents live in Cumbria in a ramshackle house in the wood.
To me- that's Christmassy, I hate leaving my beloved but there are mice, and he isn't cool with mice. I hope you get to be with your loved ones this year. If not- here's a deer in a Christmas jumper. Have a good un!

Learning curve

2011-11-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing time in Leeds this weekend. Amongst the (many) fab things we did we went to see a film about Grant Morrison. Mostly, I'm ambivalent towards Morrison, he can be amazing or I can just tire of too many ideas and not enough story. But he got me thinking. He lives and works in such a way as to live his stories, when he was writing 'The Invisibles', he behaved just like King Mob, he did scary, crazy things for his work. Drugs and Shamanism and cross-dressing and shaving his head and crazy, crazy things.

Likewise with Grayson Perry, he wants to make things with heart, that mean something. And you can't do that without involving yourself body and soul. Which is making me question whether I'm doing crazy enough things. I have tended to stick a pin in my art as soon as I leave my studio. But perhaps I should be more open to letting my life be part of my art work.

There are some artists who can make work in a very domestic way, they can make thoughtful, beautiful work and then turn the lights out and leave it. But, I don't know their names. Maybe they're the Edmund de Waal's of the world, maybe they're the Paul Cornell's, I couldn't tell you, because those artists, although loved by many, don't market their work as an extension of themselves. In many ways you can see that Morrison's and Perry's work is a form of counselling, which, in the past, my own work has been for me so maybe a more life-on (as opposed to hands-on) approach might be rewarding.

On the other hand, I'm a very domestic person. I like baking and watching Saturday night telly and going for walks with my beloved, could I ever be a crazy artiste?

The whole university experience is about discovering who you want to be, and so far I'm leaning towards design as opposed to art, but I don't truthfully feel I'll have given enough of a whack at it if I don't let the edges blur between what I'm making and what I'm doing.

TL

Divine Inspiration

2011-11-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

Most ideas that come to me don't ever really come. They're in the background and then I do some work and through the making I start to realise what I was trying to say. So last year when I was going to do some crazy parade one of the props I had to make was a ceramic baby. Easy enough, but while I was making the "baby" I decided to carve lots of details in to make the baby like Diana (Wonderwoman) which made more and more sense. One of the reasons Diana being made of mud is important is that it means she is an entirely female product, she owes nothing to any man. She is a woman without Daddy-issues.

And that's very intruiging for a young girl with abandonment issues, a woman who is unable to be abandoned. The whole idea changed to be about women without fathers, it was a wonderful project and I basically developed a whole new layer of interest and skill through doing that project. But it didn't really come from any solid idea to back it up, it made it's own idea, like a real baby.

And usually that's how it goes, but at the moment, I've been thinking. Shock horror! Because suddenly, playing with clay hasn't been the usual therapy it is and I've had to rely on more than self-analysis. So here's a massive list of images that have been helping me make some work.

Ibo bronze sculptures.

Oedipus und die Sphinx

Rossetti's Annunciation

Claire Curneen and the wonder that she is.

Abbott Handerson Thayer

Other things as well. Walking, walking past churches, the amazing Grayson Perry lecture I just went to (that desrves an entire blog all of it's own).

I have a review tomorrow, which means I should have all my work lined up for judgment, maybe I'll snap a couple of photos so you can join in with the constructive criticism.

Figures

2011-11-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

Last year I started making figures, and the fun I had making them was unreal. Most of the ceramicists in my year aren't all that fussed with the figure. Where the pot is like an invisible canvas that can hide and reveal as much domesticity as you like, the figure is so rooted in narrative and anatomy that it can feel passe. I love how potent the figure is, people react in a completley different way to figures than to pots.
I noticed the other day that whilst admiring someone's work I said 'Ooh, I like him!' meaning the pot. Perhaps it's my constant need to anthropomorphise things around me (I had an entire conversation with my coffee pot on Saturday morning, much in the style of Shirley Valentine) that means I love how right feeling a figure is.

And yet, some people who have transferred into the year below have started making some amazing figures, and I'll admit it, I feel sort of like they're infringing on my territory. I've been trying to make massive things, but we've not had a lot of clay and I've had to make little testers like the ones above. Yet these guys have dived in and made massive coiled figures and thrown figures and things I always fail at. I'll figure out how to do it, honest. But at the moment, I may never be able to make a life size figure, which is what I'm supposed to by the end of the year. I'm going to continue playing and toying and doing lots of other fun things. Maybe some day I'll figure out why I love the figure so much.

Living life lenslessly

2011-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

Currently I don't have a camera, I'm like they're kryptonite. They break, they get lost, stolen, they start taking photos that are mostly pink. But, I have to admit, sometimes I think it's a good thing. Not now when I'm doing the bloggy thing but take last night. We won tickets to the wrestling, we had great seats, we'd smuggled tasty sweets in, Daniel wasn't feeling too hot but that seems to be the curse of the Newcastle Arena. When Mam and I went to see Eddie Izzard she was ill and last time we went to see wrestling my face mysteriously swelled up. But, point being we were set to have a good time. And we did, we saw some super moves and some great performers, lovely fun. We look out across a sea of people and what do we see?
Cameras. People snapping photos instead of cheering. Absolutely mind boggling. Same thing happened when we went to see the fireworks, I love fireworks. We were sneaking a peak at the Cleadon display and noticed a family so intent on taking pictures of each other in front of fireworks that I don't think they saw a single one.
When did this happen? When did recording being there beat actually being there? I had an amazing night both times. The cool crispy night and we had bonfire toffee (it tasted like treacle, which doesn't sound comforting, but totally was) and some breathtaking fireworks and that great smokey smell. It was great. And no, I don't have a photo to show you, but I was just as there as someone who took one.
TL

Headache and a half

2011-10-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ever get the feeling your head is being slowly squeezed by something wet and cold? No? Lucky you.
Why do I have a head ache?
1- I've not been for a run for a couple of days and my endorphin thingies musn't be doing what they're supposed to.
2- I realised at around 5 in Newcastle that I hadn't eaten any lunch so popped into Marks and Spencer and had some over seasoned chicken that's making me feel ick.
3- And balancing is something I suck at, there are some people int he world who can spin plates, juggle, whatever kind of circus metaphor you'd like but I'm not one of them. Focussing one one task is one of the only things I can do sufficiently.
4- I've lost the tiniest bit of weight so my trousers don't fit so well and I've been walking round with a piece of blue wool holding them up.

I'm not a migraine sufferer, I rarely get headachey but when I do it's nearly always a cold or dehydration, this time, two in one go. Lucky girl, eh?
But I have something to look forward to. Tomorrow I'll be at Bill Quay farm, a fine community farm, selling glass and ceramics at their farmers market. It may be perverse, but I'm well and truly excited, I'll be spending the day with wonderful students and all chilly and autumnal and lovely!
I will be bringing some cash just for hot chocolate and a well worn set of thermals so it should be lovely.

The year group are getting closer to raising all the money we need and I'm incredibly glad for an opportunity to fundraise using our actual trade as opposed to bake sales. Although I'm baking this, this and some mystery stuff from Sweet Paul magazine for Monday mornings Art History lectures too, let's see how that turns out.
Time to take some paracetamol and drink my body weight in water.
TL

Big Man

2011-10-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

So, my week is now divided into tasks. Monday is research day, Tuesday is modelling, Wednesday is feedback, Thursday is dissertation and Friday is degree show work. Only thing is, this week I've been making this fella. And may have neglected my other jobs. Whoops!
TL

Fundraising

2011-10-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone in Sunderland should come and visit us in the beautiful Ashburn art building which is about to be abandoned by the University of Sunderland for somewhere with air conditioning, heating and other practial but dull things. So this might be your last chance, come along, eat a cookie, buy some awesome awesome ceramics and glass.
TL

Missing things

2011-10-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

I'm in the library and never have I sniffed more in a quieter place. I have my first cold of the winter, and it's probably just about the right time to have it. I'm busier than I can remember ever being. So much so that on Tuesday, I bought a diary. And a-wooosh, I'm full of feeling organised and amazing.

Only trouble is, I keep missing things. More precisely, phone calls. My phone is on its last legs and I need a new one, I admit it, I bow to defeat. So far, I've missed calls for a job interview and to get a table at Tynemouth market, so all my feelings of having everything in control are ebbing away, slowly and sadly.

So far I've been in every phone shop I can think of and have grown the cajones to ask idiotic questions like 'what's 3G?' and other things I'm sure you'd hear 80 year old luddites ask a tech savvy young man in a phone store. Problem is, I'm a potter. I know that the idea that we all live in wooden huts and bake our own bread is outdated, but not by much. I still have a cheat sheet to programme a kiln and lets face it, this blog isn't as pretty as it should be, it should be champagne and instead, it's Lambrini.

But my phone is a necessity, I text about a million times a day, mostly to my team of glass and ceramics fundraisers about things I need to do/have forgotten to do/need them to do pretty please. And it's difficult to organise things just via email, because grown ups are in charge of things, and some grown ups would rather do things voice to voice rather than email to email. This means I have to continue to brave terrifying jargon (what's a mega pixel, and how many do I want?) in order to have my megalomaniacal feelings placated.

Mini-deadline tomorrow, must dash. But lets all celebrate the joy that is a flow chart for one moment.

From the brilliant 344 questions that anyone can feel free to buy me.

The List

2011-10-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the irritating advert for the new irritating Sarah Jessica Parker film? She mentions that at 2 am she goes through 'the list' in her head? It's irritating because it's such a generic thing that everyone does that it's barely even observational. But here I am, with the list rolling through my head.

I wrote a massive list whilst I was in a lecture the other day (I'm committed, I just love lists too much) and now I've lost the damn thing. And I don't think I did it accidentally. I think I did it in the same way I sometimes 'accidentally' sleep late or 'accidentally' forget I'm on a diet. If I really wanted too, I could find it. But I don't want to look at it, it's too huge and scary.

We went through the brief for our final major project the other day. It's a map of what the next 8-9 months look like. When it was over someone said 'Ooh, Lily, you've got some greys' I'm 22 people! And I'm pretty sure I didn't have grey hair at the beginning of that lecture, but knowing how much work I'm going to have to churn out hurts. Physically, hurts.

More than that, I like to do well. I'm not a perfectionist, but I'm an only child and I used to be in amateur dramatics, I like praise. And knowing how much work there is made me have a minor panic attack. I just felt like I couldn't do it. I cracked a whole bunch of jokes to try and hide it but denying that I'm freaking out about writing a dissertation whilst getting technical notes done and organising a degree show and trip to New Designers, well, the air began to feel like treacle and the lecturers started to look at me like I was turning blue.

Then I made my list. Because order can spring unexpectedly from chaos, mountains can turn to mole hills at the swipe of a pen and I felt better. University is tough, and I'd forgotten. I have a blast with all the amazing people who inspire me so it's easy to miss that there's often huge piles of work that keep you awake at night.

I'm talking to a bunch of second years on monday about being second years and organising their exhibition. I hope I can help them feel as empowered as the 3rd years made me feel and that they have a blast. I started back at uni on Monday and I'm already feeling nervous and sad about leaving. I may not always have felt comfortable or happy there and I certainly haven't always done the right thing but the last two years have been so amazing I just have to remember to keep going forwards. I should put that on the list...

I spy a potter!

2011-09-29T07:11:00.001-07:00

Yup, it's not often you see a potter in an advert, so here I am sharing it, the joy, the love, the soup and the pots.

To watch the Heinz advert (which I'm sure includes a potter simply to get itself seen on the blogosphere) have a clicky here.

This mysterious image

Is what I'm working on now, looks a bit grubby now, but lets wait and see, eh?

In Brief

2011-09-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

I just got an outline of what my life is going to be for the next 9 months. Not pregnant, just starting my last year at university, so what with a dissertation I doubt is any good, a degree show we have to raise millions for and a final project that made me shiver, I won't have a lot of time on my hands. If I did I'd be watching this;

HANDMADE IN BRITAIN
Ceramics – A Fragile History Ep 1/3

Monday 10 October
9.00-10.00pm BBC FOUR
Ceramics are some of the most beautiful and treasured objects with pride of place in British palaces, churches, stately houses and even family homes. Whether it's for celebrating birth, marriage and death, eating and drinking, or showing one's social status to the world, ceramics contain more than just tea or coffee – they contain something of people's lives and reveal a lot about Britain's taste and habits as a nation. They become, in effect, snapshots in clay.

Ceramics – A Fragile History is part of an ambitious year-long BBC Four partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum called Handmade In Britain – the most wide-ranging and ambitious exploration of decorative arts ever on British television. The first programme in this opening series looks at the history of domestic pottery in Britain from the Tudor period onwards, tracing the evolution of the different techniques and styles involved in the art of pottery and examining what British pots can reveal in intimate detail about how preceding generations lived and saw themselves.

Examining key figures, including 17th-century potters John Dwight and Thomas Toft as well as contemporary traditional potters such as Mary Wondrausch, and drawing on the expertise and comments of contributors including Sir David Attenborough, Edmund de Waal and Grayson Perry, this programme celebrates one of our oldest and most fundamental art forms.

If I'm honest- I'll still be watching it, I'll just have to write my dissertation at the same time.

Scandi charm

2011-09-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Totally forgot that one of the things I've been indulging in in order to not do my dissertation is the stunning The Killing it's beautiful. I've been watching the American version on 4od and the Danish version on iPlayer and enjoying both. It's unusual for me to enjoy modern crime dramas, the forensic shows never really got me and the others didn't stand up to Marple so here are my reasons for enjoying this loveliness.

Check out that jumper. Seriously, it makes all the broody-ness even better. That's the Danish version, this, is the just as hardcore machine knit detective Linden.

But seriously, the whole project is handled with so much more kindness than regular crime dramas that don’t care enough about the victim. The Killing deals with all the trauma and grief that loosing someone creates and makes the whole debacle of the investigation feel awkward and desperate in it’s wake. It’s not about who killed Rosie Larsen, it’s about the fact that someone did and how hideous that is.
Don't get me wrong, I want to find out who did it, but that's what's so interesting, I don't want to find out if I'm right, I'm not curious, but I want to know. I'm sure there'll be a box set but I'd get in while it's still online.

Watching the Detectives

2011-09-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

I'm writing my dissertation. Supposedly. I keep getting stuck and throwing in the towel, which, seems to be working quite well. I give up, start looking up what qualifications I'd need to become a builder or air hostess and suddenly solutions come to me. Here, are some of the things I've been doing while the towel is firmly thrown in.

1. Reading
Somehow, when one reads the utter garbage that some art historians pump out (or worse yet, artists, they shouldn't be allowed near a pen) one finds renewed pleasure in reading real literature. I've got a copy of Darwyn Cooke's The Hunter which Stace Whittle be-loaned to me, lully lully grimey stuff. A copy of Rachel Johnson's A diary of The Lady her memoir of her first year as editor, gosh it's nice to read about busy people. Makes me feel virtuous. And Michelle Ogundehin's new blog is keeping me chirpy too.

2. Running
Yup, I started running earlier this year but my trainers stopped being classified as shoes and more as concepts so I had to bow out till I could get some decent running shoes. I'm now the proud owner of a hideous pair of shoes that look like they were designed by a five year old with a penchant for rockets and my little pony with easy access to lots of netting. I'm knackered but it's neccessarry.

3. Worrying
I'm going back to my final year, soon this blog will be filled with deadline anxiety and concern over whether what I'm doing is the right direction for me etc etc. My nerves frazzle at the thought. I'm going to be fundraising for our degree show and trip to New Designers and I'm gonna be keeping a record of it here, so I can look back and (hopefully) say it was worth it/easier than I thought it would be/fun. Gulp.

In the meantime, here's a plate I enamelled for budy o' mine Abi Haynes 6 month babe, Charlie Georgie Kal-El (yes, like Superman) Haynes. Glad it fit on the plate.

TL

Let's go fly a kite

2011-08-29T11:22:00.001-07:00

Under the Weather

2011-08-28T14:43:00.001-07:00

The weather is turning from possibly sunny with rain to rain with possible sun. I love it. I'm better at getting snug than I am at cooling down so it suits me.
As I'm on holiday, I've decided I'm ill. This is something that happens. For the first 10 years of my life I got ill during blackberry week (the first holiday of the winter term). I get stressy and survive and then I relax and crumble; it's fine. I've come to accept it about myself, beating myself up about getting ill is so two years ago.
My sicky treats (things I keep for when I'm feeling icky to cheer myself up, something everyone has, yes?) are as follows.

Number 1- 101 Dalmatians
When I was little we had a tiny telly with a VCR in my mam's room and when I was poorly I was allowed to hunker down in her big bed and watch this flickery black and white TV. So naturally, something that featured predominantly black and white animals suited this situation best. And the awesome songs.

Number 2- Chai tea
It hasn't always been chai tea, hot orange juice always made me feel like I was being looked after, then in later years tea became more dignified as I lay sniffing mournfully. I love tea, cammomile, early grey, the gritty black stuff I got from Tanzania, green tea, red tea, ooh tea! Part of the reason I want to get better at throwing. Right now though, chai tea. Phwaa.

Number 3- Pyjamas
I have a soft spot for pyjamas, I have an entire laundry bin full of em. They provide instant comfort and I'll never understand the people who wear them outside (girls in Liverpool thought it was a craze) totally wrong. I try to buy the sort of pyjamas I could look cute in, but a combination of chai tea stains, bed hair and, occassionally, craft supplies, means this dream will never be a reality. I will never be chic and sleepy. Confused/grubby and sleepy? That's me.

There are more things that make me feel better, bubble baths, murder mysteries, jelly, being patted on the head, flowers, sympathy, presents. I'm a simple gal and I'm off to have another cuppa tea and read Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier that Daniel bought me yesterday. If that don't make me feel better nothing will.

TL

In with the new

2011-08-26T04:34:00.001-07:00

I can see the carpet in my studio now! Some combination of elements actually made a plastic bag decompose, I didn't know I had such skills. Impressive, eh? Finally have my notice board looking a bit more acceptable but I've not got as much as I'd usually like on it, since the clothes pegs started falling off I've had to get creative with wire and pins.

The view out of my window is nice and calm, occassionally through the summer the old folks house across the way plays old records outside but otherwise trees, traffic and rain. Might as well clutter it up with Donna Wilson cards, dry flowers and pieces of glass.

Couple of vintage finds that could probably use some more explanations, pictures from Tynemouth market and a lovely tea tray that I got to try and keep the tea apparatus at uni all in one place, seems a waste of such gorgeous patterning.

New things are happening over at Terracotta Lily, keep posted for new prettiness.

Concepts and cookies

2011-08-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

Today was a busy-busy day. Meetings. Research. Coffee. Meetings. Tea. Catch up. Tea. Lots went on. But let us just pause and appreciate the wonder that is these cookies. I got the recipe online but have lost the where, and it was American, and my cups are never the size an American cup is so they probably aren't 'right'. It's not a unit of measurement, k?

I found that hedghog waiting for me at the Westoe fair, she's called Nettles. As a child, my mother never bought me teddies, said they're horrid. Now I'm a grown up, I can buy my own and everything.

And the plate's vintage Tupperware, I didn't even know they did ceramics, I love the plate. I love the cookies.

I may need to sit down.

Rubbish

2011-08-23T04:49:00.001-07:00

Lot's more tidying to do today but chekkit out...

Our bathroom bin looks like a Pixar character, cuttest rubbish I've ever seen.

Before

2011-08-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

My studio is a mess.

I don't even recognise what part of the room this picture is of.

My potting bench that I bought from Morrisons, not only has a massive lean to it, but an unidentified object wrapped in a tablecloth.

This plant has been dead since 2009.

I forgot I made this.

Wish me luck.

Q & A

2011-08-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

I love Elle Decoration. I heart it beyond any other publication (even Peter David's X Factor, and I bliddy love that comic) and many times, many, many times, have dumped draft love letters to Michelle Ogundehin. I day dreamed that I would bump into her in the V & A whilst I was in London and be able to pretend not to be a massive fan girl over her editorial skills.
Instead of gushing, I thought I'd pretend that MO was interviewing me for the pages of Elle Decoration as she skillfully did in the September issue for astrologist Shelley von Strunkel. And if you don't have the September edition, shame on you! Two editorials on design and a trend predictor for next season. Go. Buy. Create.
And any one of these questions could fill an entire post so it's value for money/time.

Tell me five words to describe yourself...
Crafting adventurer adores armchair luxuries
What's your favourite film?
It changes often but I love the 1958 romantic comedy Houseboat with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren.

What book are you reading right now?
I'm reading The Invisibles by Grant Morrison and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. Talk about diversity.

What is your greatest fear?
Hurting myself. Losing a limb. Blood in general.
What is your favourite virtue?
Honesty with a dash of diplomacy.
Who is your favourite fictional hero?
I love Tuppence Beresford from Agatha Christie's mind, she's brave, clever and funny. She's no nonsense too, is Tuppence.

Who would you most like to have been?
Josiah Wedgwood, I'd love to have been at the cutting edge, be the founding father of something.

Who would you most like to meet?
I'd love to meet Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I bet you could have an amazing conversation with him. Though I'd have to admit to still not having read his autobiography. That might be a conversation killer.

Tell me something that annoys you.
Negativity. It's my biggest flaw so I hate to see it in anyone else.
Your house is burning down, what do you grab?
Daniel, he's first obviously. Our laptops are like our children. The wedgwood coffee cups and possibly the Notting Hill blend of tea from the Tea Palace, then we could have a cuppa whilst we waited for the fire brigade.
Are you religious?
I envy people who have faith but no. I just try to be a good person rather than obey someone elses rules.
Do you collect anything?
Tea cups, (particular weakness for Wedgwood archive collection) coffee cups, comics, books about plants but not plants.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes. But I also believe in dislike at second sight.
What talent would you most like to have?
I'd love to be able to make a decent cup of coffee, the skill escapes me and I have to do special trips out when I want one.
What can't you live without?
Company, whether it's a real solid person or a facsimile of one.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
A hedghog, outwardly cute but occasionally prickly.

If you had to lose one of your sense, which would it be?
Hearing I suppose, or speech, there are better ways to communicate.
What does luxury mean to you?
Not doing the dishes.
Do you believe in luck?
No, I believe in happiness.
Do you have a motto?
I tell myself not to steal. Not to steal someone's pride or happiness or self-respect or clothes. It helps keep me feeling moral and original.

LD

As promised

2011-08-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I promised to do a post about the wood firing with Lois Maude Blacklock, Kahli Lee and Megan Randall so here it is.
It rained a lot whilst we were firing. It's hot work so sometimes it wasn't a bad thing, unfortunately, the fire wasn't even going here.

The sun came out but I didn't trust it enough to take my waterproof off.

The man with beard turned out alright, quite a big crack but interesting texture. Some of the work possibly underfired or maybe just had a little too much iron in the body (stoneware) and so went metallicy.

I had an awesome time with these ladies, they're hardcore and not at all afraid to sleep in sheds in order to have a good time.

Oh- and I nearly broke Lois's nose whilst rubbing charcoal all over her face, that smile, is the smile of a woman who is either holding in tears or planning my downfall. But you can't tell that because she's so purdy.
Oh again- mad photo skills are courtesy of Megan Randall, soon to be PhD.

Roses grow from poo

2011-08-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

It's true, good things can come from $&!£ and the riots are just manure for the people of Britain. I'm not going to pretend to understand the causes, the timeline or the people involved. I'm not going to condemn kids who did this nor am I going to preach about people doing the same. I'm just going to celebrate all of the lovely things that Britains do when we're in a corner.

Whether it's the couple who served tea to riot police, you can read their story here.
Or the people who showed up to clean up in the morning. The people who are trying to do something for the Malaysian man who was mugged.
Or the Operation Cup of Tea on facebook (trending on twitter) all about keeping people safe, saying 'no' and making sure people don't go all vigilante on the looters. There are more things happening on tiny human scales as well, that I obviously can't link to, but we all know it's there.
If you can think of any I've missed, just say.

Phooey!

2011-08-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

I posted the same video twice, I am a poo-head of the highest order. I get a prize, a medal and a pat on the back for being daft. Apologies intrepid reader, my copy and paste skills are not what they once were.

Nokia 'Dot' from Sumo Science on Vimeo.

Loosing time

2011-08-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Meant to be cracking on, but have you seen this?

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

That's the kind of viral advertising I can get behind. There's also this one.

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

May not get on with this work for a while...x

The day after the market before

2011-08-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

It rained. The lights were broken. And although I met a bunch of lovely people they were mostly stall holders rather than customers, which, is fine, I got some feedback that should help so lets crack on. Today I will be working through 'Craft Inc. Business Planner' from Meg Mateo Ilasco, it claims to be 'the Ultimate Organizer for turning your crafts into cash'. I got it at The Baltic Shop but I'm sure you can get it at other online stores.

And I'm looking for other markets, both for me and for everyone at Sunderland Glass and Ceramics to sell at to get to New Designers. Think I might be going to the North Tyneside indoor market on the 28th for some research, anyone know if it's any good? Oh, and thanks to Lucy Farfort's list of markets, it's a revelation, check it out here.

Howdy

2011-08-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at these plates so long now I don't even know if I like them any more, except I do know, and I do. In fact, they may be the best things I've ever done. That may be the gajillion cups of tea I've had today but gaze upon their wonder.

Daniel and I are going for an adventure tomorrow, getting to Newcastle from South Shields usually isn't too much of a fanny on, but the metros are off. So adventure with many pots on public transport. Exciting, eh? Will I get to the Cluny in one piece? Will the work get there at all? Will anyone leave the house to get to a craft market when the weather has been being a bit mental? What an adventure!

A little Brave

2011-08-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I took a writing for children course with the fabulous Ellen Phethean, it was an amazing course and I got to read some great work. My contributions were, well, they were, oh look, some native Americans.

One of the exercises was to take a picture and write a story about them, I had a picture of two little braves and it made me write a story about two brothers, one who is really boistrous and the younger who's only a little brave. Gettit?
Then whileI was getting ready for the market on Sunday I decided to do some low-fired enamelling on pre-bought plates and after watching a wonderfully rubbish film on the iPlayer (Seraphim Falls? Something like that.) Anyway, it starred the wonderful Pierce Bronsan, as a cowboy. Yeah. Cowboy Bronhom.
Phwaa. A combination of these things meant that cowboys and indjuns seemed like a good place to start after doing all that heavy pattern work on sculpture. So that's what I gawn dun pardeners, I'll show y'all tomorrow, I gots me a man and some pizza that need lookin' afta. Be seein' ya.

Cluny Craft Market

2011-07-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Look where I'll be selling my wares on the 7th of August! Terrified!

Update

2011-07-22T02:38:00.001-07:00

I went to woodfire then I came back and soon I will blog about it. Honest.

Super Fun Reader's Club

2011-07-11T01:16:00.000-07:00

My lovely comic book creator boyfriend had me read Garth Ennis's 'Preacher' and I think I should have you read it too. It was awesome. Now on to the entire works of Grant Morrison...

Avoidance technique number 1

2011-07-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the panic that has decsended due to my wood firing plan being a driver down, I thought I'd not deal with it and do something else. Maybe a solution will drop out of the clouds. Here I have a vintage scarf and I want to do something fab with it because I'll just loose it otherwise. I have a couple of options.

Option number one

Display it in an emroidery hoop a la Poppytalk

Option number 2

Make a questionable pair of underwear like the brilliant Thrift-Ola

Option number 3

Make a chic patchwork quilt (something I think even sewing idiot me could do) using lots o vintage scarves. This is from the Craft Zine.

I could, of course, get on with tidying my studio and working on pieces whilst sorting out a lift to Keswick but that's unappealing. I'll decide by myself if no one says anything helpful.

Driver wanted

2011-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

On the 18th I'm taking 3 or four people to the Lake District to wood-fire, it's going to be awesome. But the girl with the car (the aforementioned Leah Dennis) has dropped out. My first instinct is that I've had lots of lessons so maybe I could drive? This seems a flawed plan. So anyone who wants to take three beautiful girls to the Lakes to wood fire their gorgeous pots please step forward!

Happy Camper

2011-07-06T01:43:00.000-07:00

The great outdoors! This is my response to the IdeasTap brief on 'Camp'. Not 'On Camp' by Susan Sontag but on 'Camp'- got it? Good.

Modeled on the fabulousity of Miss Leah Dennis this piece was a breeze, a delight, lovely. And the first sitting figure I've made.

Now there's a true pal ladies and gents, not too rock and roll to cling onto a bottle of vinegar to pose for a friend. I hope you all have a Leah in your lives.

The slip I painted her skirt with was yellow when I put it on I swear, I didn't mix it up myself though so I suppose I shouldn't grumble. And it's pretty. But if anyone can explain the yellow-to-pink issue I'd be much obliged. She looks good in the tall grass, like she's at the beach rather than in my back yard.

Part of me wishes I'd made an entire set, but that feels like it could have gone a bit too twee so maybe this is best. She looks like a cheerful adventurer with her cuppa so I'm pleased. It was a real struggle to get her finished in time for the deadline, I was teaching myself how to do something new and it didn't really pan out, you'll note that her legs aren't in the picture? That's because they dried out too fast for me to hollow out so would have crumbled had I tried and exploded in the kiln if I didn't. So I left them out. I suppose I should take another whack at it, get the skills and all that. If anyone knows how to build proper armatures that would be handy, I make big wadges of plastic bag and model around those, which is fine for things like this but for more intricate things I think I may have to break out the glue gun.

You know what they say, no one gets better without criticism so roll up roll up, to punch me in my pride.x.

Figures, huh?

2011-07-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Reasons I couldn't live in London? Number one would be the Victoria and Albert museum. It's just too amazing. I visited on the 29th and although I was supposed to go to the Tate Modern on the 30th somehow I couldn't go anywhere but back to the V & A. I got lost inumerable times but the wonderful collection of ceramics on the top floor overwhelmed me and I got in some great time with some amazing sculptures of figures.

Here are the wonderful Gabriel.

Who doesn't love a bit of allegory?The lovely Truth who ripped out the tongue of Deception and pushed off his pretty mask to reveal he was a bit of a minger. Along with a bit of my budgeting skills.

These two are...well, one of them is a man and the other is a Pharaoh. The man had a really feminine vibe that I wanted to capture. I was looking to find the crumbly texture of the Pharaoh but was distracted by a guide of the British Museum entitled 'The Bible Tour'. I would have thought that would be a tour that simply pointed out items that had some sway over the Christian faith but sounded more like 'This was made by unbelievers, Jehovah said to destroy them, so if you turn to verse 10..." really odd.

I liked doing some drawing, if anyone wants to pose all nudey for me so I can do more, lemme know.x

New Designers

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

I have been in London! Predominantly to go to New Designers to support Sunderland's third years and get some tips on why to go and how to go. That sentence nearly made sense. I'll do a proper post about it but now for some rubbish mobile phone photos. A-whooo!That's my man. He's tired, his idea of a great holiday is one where you walk for hours and hours and buy longboxes full of comics. So don't let his tired eyes fool you, he's loving it.

The view from our hotel (almost) a couple of steps along the road and we could see the London Eye and the Old Vic and all sorts. Waterloo was wonderful but did cue a weeks worth of me humming/singing 'Waterloo Sunset' have a sing along now, and you'll see why it irritated my man.

This. This. This offending piece of pastry had Daniel and me worried for an entire day of our holiday. It's a cannoli. A delicious Italian pastry. I'll give you a heads up though, usually, they aren't mouldy. They just are from this particular cafe and even there, they aren't supposed to have fur. So cue worrying about my Penicillin allergy and drinking vast quantities of water whilst Daniel googles and asks for help on Twitter, I didn't get ill, which was a nice surprise but it still makes me angry. I'll do a more upbeat London post in a bit because we had a really super time but gosh it's good to get home.

Man with Beard

2011-06-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

This is the fella, he's bronze and he's lovely.

This is my stoneware version...different, eh?

I put him in an old plastic bag so he wouldn't dry out but it obviously had a different body in it and now he looks freckley like Morgan Freeman. Who, come to think of it, would be a really great subject for my next teach-myself-to-sculpt project.

A great big bushy beard

2011-06-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

You learn to draw by copying, I'm learning to figure out the human form in similar ways.

This handsome chappy is based on an ancient bronze sculpture, I've lost the name of the piece, when I find it you'll get a chance to see how awesome it is.

Camp!

2011-06-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

No, no, no, not that weird teen musical where seemingly no one is hetrosexual, but camping. And camp too. Camp camping. I'm talking about the editors brief from IdeasTap, the creative network, it's about camping and our lovely British attitudes to said past time. You can read the brief here but I'm not all about the sharing. I'm gonna use this space to try and think out this brief whilst listening to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and drinking Yorkshire tea. If I were smoking a pipe or wearing a mini then I'd be a little more British, I'm not but if that's how you choose to imagine the scene, who am I to stop you?

So, camping. I used to go camping in Angelsy every year with my mother, who went every year when she was young with her parents, who actually brought along my aged great-grandmother one year so technically, we've been camping there for 4 generations. Nifty, eh?

If you've seen the new Clash of the Titans film (poor you) then the scene at the end when he's racing down a beach on a horse? Yeah, Anglesey, we were there, there were men with walky talkies who irritated us to no end. It's lovely and Welsh, Anglesey.

What I remember most about seems to be the special eating equipment, if we'd brought along our own mugs then they were weird because we were drinking tea in a field. A combination of plastic and enamel stuff that was all a bit mis matched and childish.

How English and exciting does that look? Camping has that blitz mentality attached to it, really, all your doing is surviving in a field but we bloody love it! It's one of the reasons I don't understand luxury camping.

So, something about our love of being hardy would be a bit great I reckon. What would you submit?

Not sketching

2011-06-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

This week I was supposed to sketch some shapes for vessels for my illustration buddy Jenny Cox to have a look at so she could think of some surface design concepts. It's been a weird week and now I'm nowhere near a scanner so...what to do?

I figure, I'll link her up with some other blogs, artists and such so that she can see what I think is awesome so we can come up with something super-duper mint and become prize winning artist designers. Flawless plan.

First blogs first, let's head over to Jonathan Adler, American Maximalist whose bold, sexy almost classical designs make me want to be a better person and a better potter.

Let's move along to the work of Kitty Shepherd whose blog I've only just started to read. Again we've got some classical forms here but her decoration is totally different from Adler;s work, it's that kind of cluttered, over the top Grayson-Perry-y post modern funk that totally uses the whole pot.

Something completely different? How's about the man who made me want to be a ceramicist? Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Takeshi Yasuda.

I know, I know, right? The movement, the jucie-ness of the glazes, gorge-ous. Contemplative, involving and technically breath taking.

Awh, he's lovely. I don't know if I could ever be that lovely. But I'm willing to try. And, a little out of left field is Kiki Smith, who seems to be stalking me a bit. A lecturer of mine recommended I look into her work. i nodded and smiled and had no intention of doing that. I don't like to take inspiration from the people who surround me, ownership of my work is tricky for me. Then I'm flicing through a book and see something striking and it's a Kiki Smith piece and then it happened again. She's haunting me!

Great thing about Smith beyond everything? How people react and write about this stuff, she really gets people's pulses going.

Oh- and that picture is supposed to be that way round.

Creatively Moribund

2011-06-13T11:26:00.001-07:00

Having finished university for the year I thought I'd rest up and thenget started on some projects that I wanted to get done. Little things, like making this blog look better, photographing my work somehow, getting some none-brief work made so I can wood-fire again this summer. But I just can't get into gear.

I got some feedback that I need to do more research which is probably fair does, it didn't used to be. I used to be the research queen, I could drop names and movements and all sorts to do with my ideas but it wasn't getting me anywhere so I stopped. Last b

it of work I did I just had an idea and made the thing. I didn't sketch it out or research all that much and although aesthetically it was alright, beyond that it ended up being a bit vapid. So...hard work here we come.

I was meant to go to uni and throw today, get in a bit of practice for when I'm a penniless potter but then I thought I should go to the library first and learn from my lessons. And now it's 7:30 and all I've done is read, watch telly online and sketch. Do you own a copy of 'Making Contemporary Art; How today's artists think and work' by Linda Weintraub? You totally should. I've never read it, I've read many little bits of it because as soon as you open it you go 'Ooooh! That gets me thinking...' and rush off and well...make contemporary art! So today I opened it at the 'Sourcing Inspiration' section as I feel so empty of ideas it felt like the best place for me. And I read that inspiration is;

'the deity within us who breathes that divine fire by which we are animated.'

Spoken by Ovid, who sounds pretty smart. Considering Mr Ovid's wise, wise words that resonated with me (the idea of a little person who breathes fire would appeal to most potters who make little people and play with fire) so I started to try and imagine my muse. My little person. I did this with lots of googling and Jaime Hernandez's biography by Todd Hignite 'The Secret of Life and Death' and here she is ladies and gentleman, my lazy ass muse, Suzie.

Coffee!

Get up? Or go back to bed?

Go back to bed.

She's pretty awesome even if she's frustratingly unmotivated. Just like me.

Print North

2011-05-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

any of you know that last year I made a series of work based on Japanese wood block printing. The great thing about being near Newcastle and being interested in print is having Northern Print on your doorstep. It's a wonderful place where curiosity can be rewarded and print appreciated. I missed one set of classes but now am the proud atendee of this course;

Relief Woodblock Printing with Jo Bourne
This course will introduce you to the variety and subtleties of woodblock. Developing images from reclaimed wood, you will use transparent layers of ink alongside stronger colours to create images that compliment and utilise the grain of the wood. Jo has been making prints for over 20 years. She has shown her work all over the world and her work can be found in many private collections.
Saturday 2 July
10am-5pm | £55 | £49.50 concession

It'll be a great chance to do something creative over the summer rather than just stagnate, which is what I did last year. Hopefully I'll come up with some images that can make good transfers. I'm working on some images with illustration budy o' mine Jenny Cox, check out her work, she's lovely. With some hard work and plenty of cups of tea I'm sure we can come up with some images that will make lovely things to sell to get up to next years fundraising aims.

Northern Clay

2011-05-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday whilst heavily leafleting the hamlet of Newcastle I found out that Northern Clay would be opening that night so, being a some what adventurous so and so I went along. I tried to find a budy, a wing man if you will, but other students do things on a Friday night. What. Losers.

I had thought I'd be all chatty and intelligent (whilst stealing ideas for the Dry Run opening) but instead I was a little bundle of terrified nerves. I had a quick chat to Jess Cohen who lectures at Newcastle and is a lovely lady, she's made some mothy-rocky-organic planters with really lush (lush as in vegetative growth rather than 'geet mint like') glazes.

I oggled Simon Griffiths owls.

What's not to oggle? I perused Lisa de Larny's Egon Schiele-like sculptures.

I also ate some mini-brownies and angel cakes and talked to NO ONE. I shuffled round, smiling, occasionally looking around as if I was expecting to be joined by a hip and groovy friend, looking at my phone and rolling my eyes etc. I said 'Hi' a couple of times, but only loud enough for me to hear.

Let the self-loathing commence.

Fire!

2011-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today I had a disposable camera that I'd forgotten the contents of developed, more proof that I need a digital camera. Last year I went to a wonderful place called Soloway Ceramics Centre and wood-fired some pots. There was salt-glazing and ash-glazing and all forms of fun to be had.

The two kilns Ray keeps are lovely, when I'd been with the college there had been teams of people working on them, but this time, there were two of us, and the in-exhaustable Ray so lil' old Lil got to fire a wood firing kiln all by herself.

Observe, that's what inordinate amounts of pride and soot look like. It puts programming an electric kiln in perspective, who's afraid to play with fire? Not me!

In fact, this is me, kinda sorta breaking the kiln, I got overexcited and fired it too high with not enough time in between so that the embers built up too much and didn't get enough...oh, that's too much science for me. It went well then it went bad but then it made pots.

The pots I brought were beyond a bit rubbish, I think that unless I can get a job working a million hours a day as a production potter I'll never be sufficient on the wheel, but I'd love to see some babies salt-glazed and baptised with fire.

One Does

2011-04-25T06:45:00.001-07:00

So this Friday is the Royal Wedding, huzzah! Nothing wrong with a bit of royalism from time to time, as long as it's put into context with some 'Off with their heads!' type thinking. As someone who hasn't lived through a royal wedding, I admit it, I'm intrigued.

Why am I supposed to watch it? How am I supposed to watch it? Am I supposed to wear a hat?

One thing's for sure, there's a range of things I could buy to get in the mood. Ceramics and the monarchy have a strange symbiotic relationship. Some big thing comes along, there's nothing we Brits like more than to slap it on a mug, and the royals like to say 'I buy such and such' which makes more people buy it too. Almost win-win. Here's some of the best commemorative tat I've seen.

The mysterious 'Loving Cup' (available from all good royal merchandisers) Linda Hancox, the creator from Stoke-on-Trent is very proud but I can't find any other work of her's so will have to judge her on the 'Loving Cup'. Feel free to research what on earth a Loving Cup is, I think it has something to do with having two handles but I'd rather keep it vague and imagine it's for pagan fertility rites.

This James Brown poster brings a bit of Vegas pizzazz to our patriotism, spangling up our Union Jack seems an odd idea, but I kinda dig it here. Plus it makes the royal wedding seem like what it is, a big show, a carnival and a circus all rolled into one massive hodge-podge of Britannia.

Of course if you wanted to go all subversive on their arses then you could get yourself an anarchists mug from Baroness Carrie von Reichardt and swig tea out of anarchist statements.

Or if you're thinking of shopping local, have a gander at work in Made in Newcastle's range of royal fancies, sugary sweet and just around the corner and buying British means your being proper patriotic.

Easter Sundae

2011-04-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I have managed to wake up on Easter Sunday without any easter eggs and the prospect of having to leave the house to get some. But before we do that I thought I'd share a yummy recipe for ice cream I found in Delicious Magazine. I wish I had a camera, it's a beeyootiful colour. It's sort of an italian colour, if you get what I mean? Or a 1950's colour, like the car on the left.

Can you taste it? Ooh it's lovely. And all you need is to blitz together natural yoghurt, frozen raspberries and icing sugar to taste. You could use double cream if you wanted to be overly decadent but the yoghurt version is just as yummy. And then you can practically eat it out of the blender. Chocolate brownies are good with it, sometimes a brownie is really cloggy and makes you feel greasy, this ice cream cuts through it and lets it sing. Try to eat it all fresh rather than having to go back to the freezer and whip it, it's a dull task but otherwise it turns into a big old frozen block. So eat it fast, you have a legitimate reason.

But seeing as we don't have any left, any ingredients or easter eggs it looks like I'm gonna have to make myself presentable and buy some goodies from the corner shop.

Oh- and if you're gonna make that ice cream, eat it out of something blue, like these beautiful Latte Bowls from Anthropologie it just works.

Britain's Next Big Thing

2011-04-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

I (like an army of artists I imagine) am watching 'Britain's Next Big Thing' and if you're not, I urge you to check it out. It covers an area of fear for me. The Pitch. Pitching your work seems like an inhuman thing to ask an artist. That's why they're in the visual arts, they can't talk. Or maybe I'm projecting...

Things to keep in mind when pitching? Don't pitch to someone who doesn't sell what you make. So for me that means, don't try and sell mugs to clothes stores.

Give room for people to ask questions was a criticism of one judgey panel member but I think MORE important would be- know the answers to those questions.

I learnt more lessons than that but lets just revel in the loveliness of Thomas Hopkins Gibson wood-grained porcelain for a minute.

He was successfully chosen by Liberty and Daniel and I saw his work when we popped in to London for Eileen's mother's day present. She got a candle, not one of these lovely delicate things. I didn't buy any ceramics in London after having a hideous bus ride home from Stoke with bags full of lovely Wedgwood and palpitations at every jolt on the road.

If I'm honest, Gibson's work isn't really chunky enough for me. If you forced me to buy some clay at the moment it would be from Jonathan Adler, his gorgeous figurative vessels and sculptures make me happy. I've spent a while in my work trying to make things that are all about being calm and subtle and I've learned that a bit of humour and 'maixmilism' has it's place.

Hope I never have to explain that in a pitch though...

Makin' Babies

2011-04-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

So in March I wrote a brief to do with tea and rebellion. The only idea I came up with was to host a tea festival, with an actor playing guide. I wanted to (tenuously) play on the aspect of giving people tea as nurturing and mothering so the guide would be preggo. She would have a ceramic baby up her jumper than would fall out and smash.

This is that baby.

I named her Diana, after Wonder Woman, a famous mud baby. I got carried away with her, I’ve never modelled a person before so lots of lessons got learned. Like, let them dry out massively or they will explode in the kiln. Sad face.

So before I knew it, I was making baby number two. Lilith. Not an homage to me, but to the Jewish first woman. The myth of Lilith came about through a desire to unite some disagreements in the story of creation. In story number one, Ev

e was made of dust, i.e. she was Adam’s equal. But by story number three Eve was made of Adam’s rib i.e. she was his leftovers. So the obvious thing to do is make Adam another wife, so Lilith was believed to be Adam’s first wife made, like him, from dust, with whom he did not get along with for a number of reasons, one of them being that she wouldn’t take the submissive position in sex. Lilith spoke the name of God and there are arguments about what happened after that. Either she spawns thousands of demons, preys on young boys before they’ve been circumcised or becomes the paramour of God. Either way, she’s pretty kick ass, no? Here she is.

On her side...sorry bout that. So, needless to say, I’m no longer looking at the tea ceremony.

Coffee Mourning

2011-02-28T06:25:00.001-08:00

There were two parts to my Japanese wood block inspired piece, this is much better than the other one. I may accidentally drop the other one down a long flight of stairs and into a skip.

This piece was meant to reflect how if something is lovely, then you don't consider yourself to be manipulated. So these pieces were chained down to an antique tea trolley to see if the participants would challenge the status quo.

As you can see, the jasmine tea stained them really weirdly. The glaze was a bit thin so I think there was a bit of a reaction with the body itself. So we all gathered round to drink yummy jasmine tea out of pearly tea bowls that had our names carved into them and not one of these free thinking, raidcal artists undid the copper wire tying bowl to chain. They politely said thank you and put down their cups and left.

Some say this has something to do with the very nature of tea, that it makes people more aware of social rules because there are certain rules they have to follow. I think it might have something to do with how nice my colleauges are. (Read 'nice' as 'pansy-ish').

Jar Head

2011-01-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

I've just finished a module on print in glass and ceramics, this, is the end product-

It's based on a combination of things, the Nag Hamadi jar which was believed to contain lost gospels which were permanently lost after the people who found it in the 50's burnt them for heat. It has a lot to do with time capsules and Indiana Jones since if you owned it you would become it's guardian.

I tried to harness the type of images you would see on post or on your tax return to give it a bit of international symbolism and seriousness (totally a word). The text on the side isn't very readable due to it being in sharpie but it reads;

'Not to be opened until- race is no longer an issue.'

You're not gonna find out what's inside unless you make racism a thing o' the past, so serve you're curiosity and give peace a chance.

Or give me a lolly-pop and I might be persuaded to let you in on the secret.

First Day Back

2011-01-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Monday the 10th AKA the first day back. I wish I had new stationary and new clothes and a clue of what I had intended to do over the holiday to become a better student because odds are- I aint done it.

Wish I could have one of these bad boys-

For all my notes of glazes and firing times, information seems to leak out of my head. I was supposed to invest in a hard waring tech journal ages ago but haven't found one I can see myself committing to for the rest of my life. It's supposed to be a reference of all the things I've learned, all the stuff I've learned is scattered around my life/brain. Surprisingly I'm quite good at collating visual image diaries for quick reference inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration- today I bought two silhouettes one of a Captain Michael Pendragan and Miss Rebecca Treganow. I can tell you but not show you the wonderful-ness of Capt. Michale Pendragan's nose. It's a thing of beauty. I love Tynemouth market and thanks to Stacey Whittle I got to see it all at a leisurely pace rather than being dogged by my wonderful beau who had already gone round three times and bought 8 books by the time I've finished with my first stall.

Hope everyone who's had to return to work/study is feeling more confident and excited about the prospect than I am. I'm enrolling on a short course with my old tutor to teach myself to throw again, because that's not what University is for. Evidently. Or I'd be surrounded by hand made teapots rather than wonky mugs.

But hey- holds tea alright.

Raku

2010-12-14T04:14:00.000-08:00

Found a fuzzy-ass picture of some raku I did last year, it's the only thing intact from the now long deceased camera, Sandy (so named because sand was almost definitely the cause of death). I like raku, it's a really instant way of glazing something in a truly beautiful way. You get imperfections, shiney bits where you never intended to get shiny bits and lovely textures all through using the kiln as a tool rather than a process. As a fan of salt-glazing and wood firing kilns I totally get this, fire shouldn't be seen as something we've already mastered. It's elemental. Thus it is an element, aint it?

I'm doing some more raku of thrown things this Thursday, if they're any good I might put em on the next stall we have if not, my gran will love them.

One of my lecturers is giving a talk on Korean and Chinese hand-building techniques so since the wheel has left me cold and bitter I might get my slab-builing on.x

Like a reindeer without a bicycle

2010-12-14T04:02:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time! My to do list is so long it's making me feel like Santa. Today I'm turning the vases I made yesterday but I've already mashed two up so I think it's time to give it a rest. When the going gets tough the tough check their emails and all that. I made some really lovely reindeers to sell at the stalls we've been having to raise money for our end of year show, the idea (an inspired one) was to glue twigs to their heads for antlers, cute, no? But they keep snapping off before anyone can buy one. I'm thinking of using copper wire instead though it might not be as festive as I'd like.
I'm off to Broomhill this weekend as is dictated by tradition. Last year it was all frosty, maybe this year it'll snow. I snapped this photo last year when it was all crisp and lovely.

My Grandparents house was my first home, so just thinking about being there makes me feel cozy. We'll have the dog this year, which means no loafing around after the Queens Speech but long wintery country walks followed by mugs (not tea cups, no matter how much I love em) of hot milky tea. Cannot wait.

Maybe I'll get a camera for Christmas if I'm really really good and take more ceramics photos, you'd never know I have a desk full of clay-y goodness to look at this blog.

Africa on demand

2010-06-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Young Ian Mayor demands an explanation to my through away comment about being in Tanzania.
In 2007 (I think that's when it was) I went to Tanzania for 5 months to teach in a tea-farm school in the mountains of Iringa. Whilst there I would teach English, Maths, Science, Music and Art to primary school kids.
My mother went to Sudan after she graduated, she taught in and around Sudan for about 5 years, she met my Dad in Turkey. My father is one of 14 children from my Yemeni/Tanzanian grandparents, he escaped Tanzania out of boredom by flying to Uganda and then working his way around the southern hemisphere of the world (more or less).
I always wanted to see the place my dad was from, I suppose that's a combination of never meeting him and hearing my mother tell stories about souks and alligators. I decided that post A-Level I'd give it a go, teach so I had some purpose and hopefully friends.
As it turned out, I met Daniel about a year and a half before I left, for a long while we planned to break up rather than do the whole long distance thing but stuff changes.
In preparation for the trip I'd sent letters to all of the addresses my dad had written from over the years, this includes Denmark, Tanzania, Yemen and a whole host of other places. In September I was leaving, in April I heard from my dad, he was in Denmark with his new wife and four kids. We developed a bit of a relationship with his trying to teach me Swahili and me trying to fill him in on the last 18 years.
These are my brothers and sisters in Denmark.

The plan was to be one of two girls in Muffindi but the other girl decided to go with a larger group to a town about 5 hours away from where I was so I was basically all alone. There was the promise of ex-pats and I was pretty confident (read- naive).

And so I whiled away some time with marginally racist ex-pats and some friendly Tanzanians. Getting a little homesick and looking forward to seeing Daniel in Prague at Christmas.

One day I'm teaching in the pre-school, when the school secretary comes in and says I have a visitor. Outside is a man in a thawb with a big bushy beard, beaming at me.
My dad had moved his entire family to Tanzania, they were waiting in Dar-es-Salaam because Mia (my youngest sister) had malaria. We sat on the ex-pats golf course and talked for hours (it didn't occur to me that it would seriously worry the other teachers and managers to hear I'd wandered off with an unidentified Muslim man). He stayed the night and I said I'd come visit him.
In due order I did, not until Janet could warn me that men claim custody of their children after the age of 7 in seperated marriages by law, that woman have no rights and that if I see my father pay anyone large amounts of money that I should take the $50 she's loaned me and run for the Kenyan border.
Time passes, I meet my granmother who looks a bit like a prune and can't understand a word I say. More cousins than I can count. Aunties who press the hijab on me. My brothers and sisters and eventually it's time for me to come home.

I have a thousand stories about Tz but I don't like to sound too poncy, or use the word experience. As in "Yah, it was such a great experience".

Potter's nod

2010-06-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

I have decided to go to Keswick to do some wood-firing, I understand that to many, this means nothing so i shall explain, very quickly.

At school we have gas and electric kilns This is fine, but if I wanted to salt glaze something I wouldn't be able to. In order to salt glaze something you fire it in a kiln and add salt when it's really hot so the salt decomposes and forms silica on the pot. If you've ever seen an old clay bottle that looks a bit like it has orange peel for skin, that's salt glaze. If I were to put salt into any kiln, it would not only glaze the pots, but the kiln, making every pot that was fired afterwards salt-glazed.

The course I'm going on in August has a specific salt-glazing kiln so I can finally do it again. Not only that, but I'm going to be using ash glazes with someone who has been doing it for years and so can help me understand the mysteries behind it.

Because the department I use only has gas and electric kilns playing with fire is something I don't get to do. It's sort of magical and earthy and exciting, as most of you are makers I'm sure you can understand my excitement.

When I was in Tanzania I didn't have a cooker, I had a fire and a hot plate. This meant that when I made a custard tart I had to use the fire, and in honesty, nothing I cook will ever make me as proud as that custard tart that I made on a harth, it's just like that.

Here's a photo of the wonderful Lois Maude Blacklock last time we were there (she has black hair now but is still a pyromaniac).

Plaster Turning

2010-05-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Plaster can be a bitch. It sticks right into your skin so you're dry and horrid for days, it sticks to itself and it either falls apart or forms massive slabs that have no relation to what you wanted.
I made a big chunk o' plaster, put it on a laithe, formed a nice tapered shape and made a mould in plaster of that shape. It's massive. It took about 24 lbs of plaster to make so I have to call reinforcements whenever I want to move it and it won't come out of the sodding mould.
I get that none of you will be able to help with this conundrum and also know I probably didn't lube the original plaster shape up enough but basically I now want to run and hide. Think I might just do that.
In other news- comics are still mint and make me excited and hopefully I don't have glandular fever.
That is all.

Birthday greetings

2010-03-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me, unfortunatley my birthday this year is inbetween about a gajillion deadlines so if I do see fun it'll be from behind a book of some sort.
I could make a list of all I have to do but that sounds dull and long and only really interesting to fans of lists. It's been a lovely birthday so far, Daniel and my mam are taking me to dinner tonight, going for a film with Emma tomorrow and people are coming for breakfast on Saturday morning, an event my mother mysteriously wanted to buy beer for.
'Transamerica' came through Love Film yesterday and I'm fighting the urge to watch it. I have to promise myself that I should do work rather than sit here because everythings SO close to being finished surely it'll all wrap itself up. Surely.

May contain Japanese words

2010-03-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

I know most of the people who subscribe to this are comics people and not ceramics but what the hey? I'm sure you love me broadening your horizons and all that. In comics related news Daniel and I seem to be making headway with the podcast and the comic and aren't ripping each other to shreds which is reassuring. I'm trying to find a demo I bought ages ago at a Pelle Carlberg gig for the music and that anthology so I can facebook the songstress before the deadline, fingers WELL crossed on that.

I've been doing something totally out of my comfort zone at the moment, hot glass is grueling and incredibly demanding, but ridiculously satisfying. I'll lug out some photos of my 'wool' that I took in the Lake District, the brief was to make something based on objects made by roatations, head against desk moments ensued.
Illustration has been a real let-down. I'm used to going to class and learning skills, I'm pretty sure that's not a misnomer. Apparently in illustration it is, I'll leave with a little more confidence and a chip on my shoulder which wasn't the aim at all.
I'm looking for a summer project in ceramics at the moment. Daniel vetoed a month in New Jersey with Takeshi Yasuda and an anagama kiln so I'm looking for something else, no success yet but I'll keep you posted.

Glitter and glue

2010-01-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated for a while, haven't had any of the things necessary really. News, photos, time. Now I'm waiting for my news to print off so I have a little time. I'm away from the glass centre at the moment, doing work for my illustration elective, I'm enjoying the nauseating sweat of a deadline on flip-books as I type. I've managed to wangle stop-animation in to my project so I can try loads of different stuff, here's a still I took today.

She's meant to be at the circus, fairly tenuous connection really. I've started hot glass and kiln glass, if anyone wants to see me blow bubbles then come by the glass centre on a Tuesday morning and watch in terror as I play with hot molten glass. Kiln glass is being slow and dull and I hate the brief, it's very high concept for something I've only ever done once. Missing ceramics like a pouty child, was supposed to go on a field trip to the lake district and do some wood firing (doesn't sound exciting but it really and truly is) but there weren't enough people. Pouty pouty pouty.

New 'Lily and Danel'

2010-01-21T02:19:00.001-08:00

The next edition of our wonderful webcomic is up now, and I'm pretty sure I'm getting better at this mallarky. Pretty soon I'll glow with pride.

Go to http://lilyanddaneladventurers.blogspot.com

Read it now, post us a comment, and follow us like lovely nerdy disciples.

Issues will come out every Thursday now, that's our little promise, so you can log on and get your fix even if Newcastle gets snowed-in. Enjoy!

Sand-blasting

2009-12-04T13:31:00.001-08:00

Part of this semester's work load is a project in architectural glass. That's glass structures that don't rely on kilns so stained glass leaded panels, coppered pieces (those god-awful Tiffany lamps) and UV glued pieces.
I've really struggled with the brief, just something that involves repetition and structure and today my lecturer said she'd let me off with a design that didn't have repetition in it as long as I was interested in the subject matter. I've done some sand blasting today to try and see if there's anything I'm interested in. I made some fairly nice gifty type things and a nice leaded panel but I still have no idea where I'm going despite shouting "Help" at my lecturer (literally) and suppose since my assessment is next Friday I'd better get thinking. A trip to Saltwell Park might help. Hope it does, I'm stuck firmly to the place that doesn't have any imagination, planning or ideas. S'poo.
I'll post photos once I've found the cable for my crappy camera phone.

Raku Adventures

2009-12-02T02:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was yet another good day. If I'd have been paying attention, the fact that we were doing raku yesterday wouldn't have been a surprise but it was a lovely one. For those who don't understand what raku means it's all about reduction, oxidization and something else I've forgotten. It involves fire, dirt and sawdust, perfect for the first of December when it's all frosty and cold.

Danke Schoen

2009-11-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's John Hughes double bill was exactly what I needed. Lois enjoyed it lots also and we ate nice continental market food. I made mam's advent calendar by tieing teacups to the banister and filling them with treats. Now I'm off to cook chicken for mam, draw mine and Daniel's cartoon and watch the original 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

Thought Bubble

2009-11-22T14:55:00.001-08:00

This weekend Daniel and I went to Leeds (and saw most of you there) it was lovely and proved three things to me:
1) Daniel's not as big a geek as is humanly possible. In the words of Simon Pegg compare to some geeks he looks like a charv (except he says chav and I say charv).
2) I do actually like comics. So often I feel like I'm just aroung to carry Daniel's bags but I got so excited over some titles in reinstated me as a fan.
3) The wonderful people of the Paper Jam Comics Collective are some of the best people in the world. It'd have been a nice weekend without you people but let's face it, you're all pretty mint.
Bought some lovely things including this print from Octavia Raitt who freaked me out by having an illustration of (seemingly) me burning my arm on the steam from a kettle the day before. I got a heap of Love and Rockets and some small press stuff that so far has been on the dissapointing side if I'm honest. OH- did anyone catch the name of a guy selling prints based on little red riding hood, small, glasses, same isle as most of pjcc? Didn't think I could manage such a lovely delicate thing through Leeds so may have lost out forever.
I really enjoy listening to practicing artists talk about their inspirations and struggles but have two complaints from the experience.
I like Bryan Talbot. His art is always intruiging even if in the form of a glorified tourist guide. And although some of his points on how he uses panel formation to direct the eye was really interesting other points were very self congratulatory and when he slated Agatha Christie I could have thrown my copy of 'Murder at the Vicarage' at him.
And the 'premier' of Mainstream Geek was underwhelming. Because you can see it here. Youtube does not a premier make, especially when accompanied with a yorkshire-man playing geordie star wars as a kind of b-movie to it because they couldn't find it for a while.
But I should reitterate that it wasn't all about comics. Oh no no. It was about German christmas markets, roast chestnuts that I kept demanding, massive maple leaves littering Leeds (try saying that three times fast) and some amazing art including some lovely pots by Bernard Leach, Grayson Perry and that woman whose name I always forget who makes lovely unbalanced pieces. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did and that the rain only ruined your hair.x

Good day

2009-11-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's procrastination and panic have almost paid off. I've been running up and down the stairs pretending I desperatley need a ruler, another paintbrush, a cushion, a cup of tea, a hammer anything that isn't in the spare room I use to work in and today as I worked on the wheel things sort of...slipped together.
I don't know if I like the idea yet, but at least I have it, and it's thanks to bloggers just waffling on about what's inspired them, well here I am. I've set up a blog to say thanks to bloggers inspiring me with their inspiration. Nice and circular.