Thanks (and I dont mention Brexit)

 Brindille, wood + thread

Festive greetings and a big thank you for everyones' support this year; keeping in touch, reading the blog and staying on the mailing list, is great even if you can't make the shows and it has been a busy one this year. I was invited to show with some great artists and was selected for some prestigious exhibitions with some very positive feedback. Next year is looking good with three shows in the pipeline; details to follow. With all that going on, my new year resolution is to be more organised......be prepared to expect blogs reporting despair and bafflement, I doubt I shall ever achieve greatness with my filing and organisational skills! I wish 2019 brings you everything you hope for.

Masango and the Discerning Eye

My sculpture 'Masango' has been selected for the ING Discerning Eye! I am thrilled, it is a great exhibition of work under 20" sent in from all over the country. I shall post the photos from the show but better still, please try to get along to the Mall Galleries London SW1  Thursday 15th November until the 25th

Selfscapes in Dalby Forest

As part of the Selfscapes exhibition now on in Dalby Forest, Yorkshire,  I have installed 'Ac', a wood sculpture suspended between two trees Many thanks to my fellow exhibitors, Jo Sperryn Jones for her indefatigable energy (and gin), York St John students for being brilliant and Paul Bonomini for climbing ladders. No trees were harmed 

ipad periscope

I have a had several glorious days in the studio celebrating the almost end of term. Although it is extremely hot outside, my studio is thankfully somewhat cooler (and is freezing in winter). I am finishing off a sculpture for another discussion as part of the Brancaster Chronicles, https://branchron.com/  this weekend. I have spent much of the day painting and every time I checked, I found yet more areas needing red. I really thought I had done when I used my iPad camera facing up through the sculpture from the bottom. While the ceiling looks great,  I still have some way to go! 

Nothing Endures but Change

'Nothing Endures but Change' is on now at the St Johns Churchyard in Waterloo. This is a beautiful tranquil, garden in the heart of London. It is now a temporary home to over 40 sculptures. I have hung a paper sculpture 'Noch' from a huge plane tree. Susan Haire has curated this extraordinary exhibition, she has put in a huge amount of work behind the scenes which contrasts with a seemingly effortless and relaxed exhibition.  The works are hugely varied, something for everyone. Many thanks to all involved

the London Group and me

I am thrilled that I shall be taking part in a London Group AS A MEMBER!!!  http://www.thelondongroup.com
This show, in a central London churchyard, will have over thirty artists exhibiting and I shall be hanging a very pink sculpture high, I don't think it will be difficult to find!
The London Group has a rich and diverse group of artists and I am delighted to have been invited into such fine company. 

thermals in the sunshine

The last few days have, at last, seen some sunshine. The spring this year has been very late and we have had a lot of rain. From the depths of a long winter we have gone straight to high summer heat with April temperatures being broken. However, my studio has its own version of air con - it is a concrete building that never warms up- and I still have my padded shirt on. I have been doing a lot of finishing stuff, plinths mostly, for the 'Hampstead Art Fair' and 'Testing 1,2,3.....' The paint has dried really quickly in the sunshine and I am wearing my padded shirt indoors.

Apparently, not ready for my close up

I didn't get much work done today. The studios are on a dead end road so there isn't much traffic (apart from the fab taxi garage next door), but I found loads of people milling around right outside my studio, camera tracks and umpteen cameras, chaps waving sound recording poles, make up artistes, chaps in suits who were being filmed having a spat, 'take 17' operators, drivers moving the car back and forth, people saying hush and others saying 'action'. I have no idea what all the rest were up to. It was just as well I didn't need to leave in the middle of it all but they did ask I didn't use the chainsaw. I saw them again today filming at the bottom of the flats in the background and with the title 'The Corrupted' and toughie mean looking chaps (who are good to their mother but scowl a lot) I suspect a gritty East End mob film coming.

cold cold cold and a completed new year resolution!

I have been busy in the studio prepping up some small bronzes for the Hampstead Art Fair in May. I made most of these ages ago and it was my New Year Resolution to finish them. However, as the studio has suffered from the 'Beast from the East', cold cold cold so two pairs of trousers have been essential. Until today when finally, I did not need to break ice on the water bowl for Polly the dog and it was warmer outside than it was in. I will still need two pairs of trousers  for the time being, but the warmer weather is on its way.......eventually

Tasa

Ris

Jones

Merah

Pirolo

Duo

Asayo Kawase and me! I am looking forward to being back on the Posk Gallery next week. Digital meets bronze, it should prove interesting and results will follow

embracing the underdog

Put over 100 artists from around the country in an underground car park for a day. I took these photos early on, when we were setting up. All afternoon and into the evening we had loads of people wandering round to see the show. It was huge fun and there were a lot of dogs, as art, artists and admirers. A huge thanks to Q park for the space and to Susan Haire who made it happen

I hung two paper sculptures

the dogs made these

 

                                            and the clear up chums at 8pm out on the street! they were such a happy bunch.

paint, not blood

Kulokula, w 102, h40 

In preparation for 'Embracing the Underdog,' a show with the London group next weekend, I have been painting three paper sculptures. I have managed to get paint everywhere apart from all the tiny nooks and crannies; each time I turned the piece over I found another gap.  They are all extremely complex constructions and I know they are going to look fab hung in the car park! Meanwhile the studio floor looks like a murder has taken place. Polly the spaniel has a red streak across her tail, I should have dipped it in the paint pot and got her to help, her tail is always wagging! 

3 sheets to the wind

Thinking to take some quick photos of a newly delivered bronze sculpture,  I decided to set up a small area outside with a large sheet of paper as a backdrop. At this point the sun was perfect, it was bright with no strong shadows though it was mighty chilly. I needed to fix the paper to the window using masking tape and I put newspaper down on the step to protect the new paper.

The masking tape did not want to come off the reel, it tore in all the wrong places and generally played hard to get. It did hold the paper backdrop in place just about, for long enough. However, by this time the sky had come over all moody and the light had gone. I took some photos anyway and then took the bronze indoors. Meanwhile, in the few moments when I went indoors, the wind decided to join in with some fun and I came back outside to find the masking tape had failed completely resulting in the large sheet of paper ending up in the pond and the newspaper was flying all over the garden. I cleared up...... I shall have another go tomorrow. All I wanted was some quick photos before I book in my lovely photographer who really doesn't have this sort of problem!

what the queen said, twice in one week

It is not often that one opens an email with information from the Palace. The Royal British Society of Sculptors is an international society of.....sculptors! This week we had an EGM and voted to change the name to the  Royal Society of Sculptors but to be all above board and tickety boo, the Queen must approve. She does, so we have had confirmation that we can go ahead. Watch out for the new logo coming soon. These are exciting times for the RBS and I hope that the new name will attract more members, especially from around the world.
On a very personal note, my wonderful parents received a card from the palace this week congratulating them on their diamond wedding anniversary.

New show of paper (not glass)

My name is in the middle of this, alongside some great artists. I am delighted to announce the first show for 2018 where I shall be showing paper sculpture. It will be great to see you if you can get along and the Chinese New Year Celebrations are always great! Many thanks to the London Group. 

latest sculpture, first glass

I spent three months in Italy in 2016, a real life changing fellowship at the brilliant Fonderia Mariani in Pietrasanta. I have been popping back as often as I can as it is such an amazing place. For my last visit time I took a small wax as an experiment because the foundry have been expanding into casting in glass! I haven't seen this sculpture yet, this is the photo they sent through. There is still some cleaning up to be done but the piece has come out whole. I thought that I might be waiting until the autumn before I go back over but now.........