Life drawing at Food Story. Pregnant model

Portrait of Neil. Acrylics & oils on linen 56 x 41 cm

Vase 2nd stage

I glazed the interior of the vase & it has finally come out of the kiln after this, its second firing. The lid is back on the shelf waiting for its third firing with the gold lustre I bought & applied to its rim. In the meanwhile I have begun painting the vase with a background to the final design.

Now (Dec 15), with lid. Glazed, gold lustered, & painted in the same French Ultramarine as the vase's base

Almost there

Another session or two & I will be able to finish this piece as planned, before Christmas

Another page for the chapbook

Chuckle!

New project: vase

Continuing with the experiments in work based on children's drawings, I have begun a promising collaboration with Matthew the blonde-dreadlocked potter. He has made a gorgeous vase, which I hope will be only the first of a series of ceramic products I will decorate with paint or glazes.

For this first, inspired by a child's drawing that was unintentionally sexual in nature, it has occured to me to do something childlike but erotic. I am working on sketches while the vase gets fired; will upload when I have the idea more clearly visualised.

Yew sculpture

As I come to a finish the wood is giving me problems. It is the first time I work with Yew wood & I can see now that it isn't really suitable. As I try to work in greater detail, it is breaking along fault lines in a major way.

Disappointing. I will try to finish it in a rough shape, but the head is impossibly weak (bits just falling off) & one of the legs is also holding on by a small piece...

Mural final

I added a background based on a child's drawing of a tree. With oil pastels so that i could cover it in a translucent layer of acrylics without losing the rough, child-like texture.

Around the dark side of the moon

Work in progress. 8 x 8 foot mural

Death & the child

After many hours, much learned, & innumerable failed attempts in ceramics workshop, one successful tile. Terracotta, slip, glazes & acrylic paint. It now forms the back cover of my chapbook.

Memento Mori

The noseless story-teller. (Blixen)

Tiles test II

I used broken tiles for these tests. I went to the trouble & expense of ordering terracotta, because my idea was to use the white glaze thinly enough to allow the clay's colour to show through. Now that I see the results, I am having second thoughts.

Illumination

If I had known what I was getting into, I might not have begun. But, here it is, ten days work to cover about 10 square centimeters!

I died for beauty, but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth - the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a-night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names. 

Emily Dickinson

Tiles, test I

The first glazing test. Unsatisfactory. More tiles came out of the kiln today, will be trying again tomorrow. This time, at Matthew's suggestion, spraying the glaze on instead of dipping.

Attendance & Absence

I started this Blog to document the school work I do outside of school hours because I was repeatedly absent due to the building project I had undertaken in my new flat. But, since I have attended every day this past week, I haven't bothered adding the work I did in my studio. I have, however, completed 17 more pages of my chapbook in the evenings after school hours, & the week-end. I won't add them all, but just this most recent one that I dedicated all day Sunday to.

A take on Botticelli's post-coital fantasy. Mars sleeps while Venus looks on, pensive.

Death & the Maiden

Getting smaller

Got a few more hours in working on the wood in Malcom's workshop. Also, some work on the chapbook (not pictured)

Dylan Thomas

John Donne