Today was my last day of working, without trying to entertain the children at the same time! I am so glad to have managed to complete this one in time. Rolling it over. Colouring the rest of the surface with slip. Last bit.
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Almost finished.
20th July 2017I have not been able to work on this piece as much as I would like recently, which means it is drier and harder for me to manage. Today I have now completed the surface detail and am working on the base. I turned it over this morning and smoothed the rather too dry […]
Shaping the surface.
13th July 2017I thought I’d wait a few days and then the making and shaping process is more obvious to see. Smoothing the clay with my fingers. Smoothing and moving the clay with a steel kidney, to even out the surface. Changing the shape by tapping the surface with a wooden bat. Finally rocking […]
Refining the surface.
3rd July 2017This piece has sat for 40 hours and is now dry and stable enough to work on the surface. I gradually work around the surface smoothing the clay with my thumbs,being careful not to trap any air beneath the clay surface. Almost done… my fingers are a bit sore!
With a pounding heart
1st July 2017Today I worked fast with a pounding heart. Putting clay on the top here is asking the previous top sides to collapse. You have to wait till they are dry and strong, but not too dry as a good join is essential. Coil two, even more weight… This is the last one, I […]
A lovely article about sculpture.
29th June 2017There is a great article in The July edition of The English Garden magazine! It is a conversation with Hannah Peschar, curator of the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden in Surrey. I have had the pleasure of working with Hannah Peschar for 20 years in which time she has nurtured my talent as a sculptor as […]
Happy to be Inside.
20th June 2017It is lovely and cool in the workshop today. I am finishing the base of the second piece and have just started making number three. These pieces called The land, The sea, by Viv keel, come to life in the sunshine The sun has certainly put the paint on these this week.
Its a lovely place to be.
15th June 2017Here come the strawberries! Last year I had enough to make 5lbs of jam, it looks like another bumper crop this year, if I can only keep the slugs away! Mixing the colour. I love the clay at this stage, it is so very tactile. I carefully paint in lines of slip which […]
Rain rain go away!
8th June 2017Today I am feeling for all the people who have worked so hard to make the RHS Show at Chatsworth House such a success this year. It is only ten minutes from my garden, so I guess the weather is as wet there as it is here. The one consolation is that the colours in […]
Slight Technical Hitch!
1st June 2017People often ask if I have many firing disasters and I usually say no ( with crossed fingers) because I can usually tell when a piece is not strong enough to hold its shape when I am building it. I put a couple of layers on this this morning, and then it started to sag. […]