Creekside Open

Hurrah!! I am delighted to be invited to show in the Creekside Open in the rather fab APT gallery in Deptford. 'Mossom' was selected by Lucy Milroy for the first exhibition.

A.P.T Gallery
Harold Wharf, 6 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 4SA
7 to 31 May 2015 and 11 June to 5 July 2015
The exhibitions at the A.P.T Gallery will be open Thursday to Sunday from 12noon to 5pm and at other times by appointment.
Transport Links :
Southeastern Trains to Deptford or Greenwich DLR to Deptford Bridge or Greenwich
London Overground to New Cross
Buses: 47, 53, 177,180, 453 

Dead car

Alas and alack, the car has finally died. It has come to an end while queuing for the Blackwall Tunnel, which is never a good place to break down, overheating because the fan switch packed up. I had a photographer waiting for me at my studio being looked after by the ever resourceful and excellent intern while I waited for the AA who were, as usual, brilliant. I sat with Polly the spaniel by the side of the A12 watching other gaskets being blown, this time in human form as drivers fumed at the traffic jam. The garage assures me that despite the repairs, this time the problem is terminal. I doubt that there is anyone looking for a very elderly Corsa in need of attention, despite the smell of dead and rotting squirrel (not a new fragrance found in car shops, but a reminder of some piping in October 2012) being finally overridden by the rather stronger aroma of wet dog.

interns and farty dogs

I was contacted a few months ago by a jewellery student taking a sabbatical work experience year who wanted to come and work with/for me so that she could learn about wood. I am all for encouraging people but I really was convinced that it would be a disaster for us both. I did not want to spend all my time supporting her rather than getting on and, most importantly, I was not at all sure that I would be able to give her enough of the right sort of experience nor did I want to exploit her. However, she is very persuasive!! She was sure that things would work ok, she really had done her homework looking at my sculpture on the website so she knew that I don't do dinky and cute. I tried to tell her how cold the studio can be but when she came to meet me she said that as you cannot see the breath in front of your face, it cannot be that cold, I began to think it might work at that point and even Polly the soppy spaniel was welcome despite the excessive farts that day. My intern has been superb! She works hard, asks good questions, checks stuff and even tells me when she thinks it is all going horribly wrong rather than hide the evidence. If you are a 'creative' looking for an intern then let me know, she is looking for experience and anything legal will be considered, short or long term placements in London and she comes with immaculate references.
Currently she is splitting logs, which may possibly feel at times like being in a chain gang breaking stones and under my direction has so far gone from-:
log pile to .....................................................................................the start of a sculpture

postcards will be sent

I have just received a rather fantastic invitation to the First Anguilla Sculpture Symposium, I think I am speechless, so more info when I have recovered from the fabulous shock. Offers of suitcase carrying and personal assistant are already being proffered, please form an orderly queue!!

out of the studio

Things have conspired to keep me out of the studio recently and thankfully mostly good things. I have been welded to the computer making applications by the score; there seems to have been a number of really interesting exhibitions and opportunities to apply for since Christmas. Results awaited and as usual you may well hear the cheers and hopefully not too many sobs. I am hoping that all the writing has made an improvement to my applications and it certainly does tone up the grey matter to talk about my sculpture coherently. I have just put an American artist chum on a plane to go home and we had a fab week doing the galleries and London has a lot of galleries! She did say that she had done enough art for a while.....
As it has been a tad chilly, being in a warm gallery is rather more preferable to a cold studio which is where I shall be again tomorrow. Having said that, we have had a glorious spring day and the first sight of crocus in bloom

Bronze casting, yay!

I have just spent the last 2 weekends in the company of the London Sculpture Workshop www.londonsculptureworkshop.org doing a ceramic shell bronze casting workshop. The LSW is a splendid resource for sculptors because it has all the big stuff equipment that we don't need everyday and certainly cannot afford. Great fun and thankfully good weather. I need to spend a bit more time filing my sculptures, photos soon

In progress

I did not do all of these! burning out

 after the pour

Porcelain

Back in Chelmsford College again and using the kilns. I have been busy working with porcelain which I loaded into the kiln where it will spend time drying out before firing. Potentially two sculptures if the firing goes well. Pity the kiln isn't in the studio as I would be warmer!