Toad Homes

The latest bowls coming off my wheel are all upsidown. Toad houses. I'm making them as part of a range of wood and frost proof ceramic wildlife feeders and habitats. I've not discovered a passion for working with wood but am collaborating with my friend in the workshop next door, Mark.
I liked the first toad houses we did, but after spotting this late night visitor to the workshop on route to put a bung in the kiln (me, not the toad) I decided that he is what was

called for!

What do you think? I hope they go down well as you can see I got carried away and made a few- they're destined for our Folksy shop www.folksy.com/shops/greenbirdcreations. Check it out, its Marks and mine online shop. Only got a few pieces on there so far, but as soon as these houses are fired they'll be on there as well.

...more yarning

Back at my workshop I have been making another batch of yarn bowls for Shiela. These ones are a new style for 2010. These are simpler than the last design but I have been trying out a new decoration that I have applied to them. Also I have fell in love with a glaze, recipe courtesy of my good friend and potter 'Martin the pot'. (Check out his blog www.martinthepot.blogspot.com) So thanks for your generosity Mart, I will use it wisely.
Anyway, this is the most gorgeous glaze I have come across in a long time (although the photo does not do it justice, even enlarged, sorry!), and feel it greatly enhances the Yarn bowls, which this time are thrown from a lovely smooth red earthenware. I have recently changed the smooth red that I stocked at the shop for a much smoother version of it. Its sooo beautifully smooth it feels like throwing molten milk chocolate!
Not sure if I like them more than last years, but they certainly are very different (would be interested to hear any comments)
Check them out at Shielas website www.handspinner.co.uk

Urning a living

This year so far has seen me spending a bit of time each week with Brain doing a bit more restoration work on some pretty old lead. The size of this job has dictated that it be done at Brians workshop, (unlike the apple seller statue that we worked on last year which dangled from a hoist at my workshop for a while) and its been nice to spend some time out and about and in the real world!
This one is Big Urn, he's upside down and about 3ft, the bit we've got here.(the next job on the bench in Little Urn) Big urn has gone the way of much ancient lead statuary, he has collapsed under his own weight, and caved in. My job is to rebuild whats missing or distorted and then make a mould, so that we can make new replacement parts using lost wax. Brain will cut out the old useless bits and add in the new stronger parts, which make the piece a useable functioning piece of lead ornament again for the next 300 years rather than a pile of scrap lead!
While we are at it we may also take a pattern of the rest of the detail so that Brian can make copies in future.
Little urn is less that 12'' tall but has gone the same way as big urn, possibly a bit too far, so we may just be using it to make a copy. Watch this space to see that one in progress.

Can you tell what it is yet?

Asked last week to create a Meercat sculpture- little did I know what a popular little beasty they have become. Not being a slave to the goggle box I was unaware of the popularity of the 'Meercat Diaries' and more recently 'Compare the Meercat' adverts. Since starting this piece however I have heard every silly accent and more detail than necessary regarding what now must be the nations favourite creature.

So- not at all 'jumping on the band wagon' and to encourage Martin to 'have a go'- here is my 'Meercat Diary'!

Its a measure of its popularity that as soon as I got this far with the Meercat sculpture every visitor to the workshop was having a go at the Meercat accent.

Hes progressing well though,in fact, I'm really enjoying it. In fact, I think I can feel a family of them coming on....

Clay Day

We had a great time at the Spring Spectacular last month, the day was fine and the clay workshop well attended. The results are now out of the kiln and many have found their way back to the makers. These are some pictures of the work produced, we started everyone off with pinch pots...... .......and some of them turned into birds, or in one case a fish!

Due to popular demand (and having lots of fun doing the last pottery day) we are now hosting a potters wheel afternoon on a regular basis throughout the Summer months. Currently we are running it on the 21st June and then possibly every Sunday afternoon if its wanted. Wheel see how it goes (geddit?)

Free Clay Workshop

This Saturday I will be hosting a free pottery workshop at Alby Craft Centre (Norfolk). Every 6 months we put on an event at the Craft Centre and this spring we realised that as craftspeople we have the means to entertain people ourselves. After much talk of wodturning competitions and other things that challenged health and safety regulations, we settled for more sedate Spinning, flower arranging, card, fabric doll and clock making and pottery.
Thats were my bit comes in. Having set up Anglia Clay Supplies last year I have a little clay about the place! If you have ever wanted to have a go at making 'Pinch Pots' and 'Coil Pots' now is your chance. Pop over on Saturday 16th May between 12 & 5 and have some fun with us. As well as the demos I have already mentioned, we will also have chainsaw carving, flying birds of prey, beekeeping displays, live music and face painting.

The Romantic Garden Nursery

After morning downpours that threatened to turn my sculpture soggy, the day brightened and warmed to a really pleasant afternoon. As I sculpted detail into my pinecone and chatted to visitors to the nursery I was surrounded by some beautiful plants. The Bottle brush tree with its unusual flowers and seed pods caught my attention and got my mind dreaming up potential sculptural forms.






Pictured below is Brian Turner looking rightly proud of his display of lead sculpture, fountains and planters.

Beside him is the pinecone design we were working on for last years Chelsea Flower Show. Behind him in the picture is a statue we have been making a mould of in order to repair and reproduce it.
The statue is 300 years old and despite damage and general distortion from bearing its own weight for all that time, it has the most amazing detail I have ever seen in lead, down to stitching on the shoes and dress and individual hairs carved into gorgeous curls.

Lets hope the weather is as good tomorrow as it ended up being today.

A Sculpture for The Romantic Gardens

On the 8th and 9th of May I have been invited to demonstrate sculpting at the Romantic Gardens Nursery at Swannington in Norfolk. They are hosting a special invitation-only event showing off some of the amazing Topiary they specialise in alongside some of Brian Turners fantastic lead sculpture, planters and water features. Of course I have to admit I am slightly biased when it comes to Brians work as I sculpt some of his patterns, including the pinecone water feature that I talked about in a post here on the blog last year.

I felt the ideal sculpture to be working on at the show would be a similar type of finial to the pinecone, maybe an artichoke. Both Brian and myself are particularly fond of these natural forms and the Fibonacci spiral that develops as you build up the pattern of leaves, petals or seeds.
I started this sculpture today by throwing the basic form on the wheel, hopefully it will firm up enough for me to start a little bit of work on it before taking it along to the do on Friday.
The base is as it will be, but the 'fat carrot' bit is the base on which to sculpt on each individual leaf or petal of the artichoke. Watch this space to see how it develops.

New nudes

Here are the nudes fresh from the kiln, and I'm really pleased with the results. I've placed my favourite one in the centre of the group for the photo, and if I had not promised six pieces for the gallery I would be tempted to take that one home for the mantle piece!

Yarn bowls in the making

Well here is one from the first batch of yarn bowls. Their purpose in life is holding a ball of wool steady while a knitter knits - stops it rolling around all over the floor and teasing cats! They are currently sitting in the kiln enduring the first or bisque firing before being given a coat of glaze. I have in mind a lovely glossy bottle green glaze which I love and want to use on everthing at the moment!

Nudes drying in the sunshine

The weather was so great today it would have been a shame to have missed the opportunity to get some drying hastened in the warm breeze.

All six pieces are done and drying nicely so I should get them through the kiln by the end of the week. They can then be coloured and fired again in time for collection on the 1st of May. The exhibition is at the Haddenham Gallery near Ely, Cambs from the 9th.

While the nudes were gently drying in the balmy shade I was indoors throwing Yarn bowls.(that should please Peahen) These are cereal size bowls designed to hold onto a ball of wool as you knit and stop it jumping around and rolling off! Not really sure yet if the shape is right for the job, so have just done a few for now, will get them road tested before they are offered for sale at www.handspinner.co.uk.

Cylindrical Nudes

This week, I have been hastily preparing slabs for a new batch of my ceramic 'nude sketches'. I love making these and nearly always find myself pushing a deadline. I feel that this helps me to achieve the look I am aiming for - bring on the stress!

The nudes are 'sketched' into stiffend clay slabs that have been formed into a half cylinder. The figure is then given shape by carving and pushing the clay from the back.

I usually use a beautiful creamy white crank for these, its a clay body designed for tiles and is produced in Cornwall.(its not unlike earthstone handbuilding clay in texture and apearance, but far cheaper)

This clay comes highly recommended by Ian Gregory for sculpting- thats good enough for me! This time though, I am mixing it with porcelain - just for the hell of it (and to give myself more work).

Below is one from a previous batch, to show how they look when they are finished, (shame I cant hold the camera straight) just in case I dont get time to take photos of these ones before they head off to the gallery!

Full steam ahead with the pinecone!

All work on the Coat of Arms has ground to a halt this past few days as the need to get the pinecone finished for installation at the Chelsea Flower Show has taken precedence. The deadline was so close that I had to down tools and go to the Forge and assist in the lost wax casting
process.

It was great to see the molten lead poured and then see the cast lead pinecone emerge from the the mould as I chiselled it out from the investment.

The finished result was amazing and I'm sure that it will be well received at The show. Keep an eye out for it in the t.v coverage of the event, or if you are lucky enough to go to the show personally, see if you can find it. It will be part of a stunning and prize winning (fingers crossed) garden.

Coat of arms -mould making

Sculpting is all finished now and it has been seen and approved by the customer, so the mould making is the next stage now. I have had a last glance over it to check for any details that may need tidying up.
This is very important as once the mould has been started there is no going back, all detail that is there is there for ever!

The first layer of the mould is applied very carefully to make sure every detail is captured perfectly, and subsequent layers will be built up gradually to the right thickness.


Meanwhile on the other bench.....

...this little beauty has been coming along nicely!

This pine cone is the little brother to a 3ft pine cone that I sculpted in Feb '06, it was cast in lead and shown at Chelsea flower Show. This one is also a commission from Brian who will be casting it in lead, using the lost wax method of casting.

Coat of Arms-nearly there!

Work has really progressed on the coat of arms now and I'm really pleased with how it looks.
(Click on the photo for a closer look)

All the details are on the shield and today I put in the lettering.
The lettering is a job best left 'til the end as it could easily be spoiled by dropping a tool on it, especially as it is at the base of the design, where it is also vulnerable to being leaned on accidently.

I feel that it is nearly there, just a bit more smoothing and refining to do and Ill be ready to make the mould. Its time now to get the customer over for a last look and the 'nod' to go ahead if she is happy with it.
Fingers crossed.

Continued-Cast iron fireback

Just a picture today to show the cast pieces applied to the shield. The technique worked really well.

Much snow and mould making

I arrived at the workshop this morning after an arduous 2 minute trek through 2 inch deep snow, and this was the scene that greeted me . You can see by the lack of foot prints in the snow that everyone else saw fit to stay in and have a traditional Easter holiday in front of the log fire at home. I hear that the local National Trust property now has a surplus of a 1000 chocolate eggs after the usually well attended 'egg hunt' failed to draw a crowd. I wonder if they will have to wait until the snow melts before they can recover them all?

Anyway, I'd decided todays job would be to make moulds for the details of the coat of arms that were there in multiples. There are 3 crows and 4 wiggly stars. This means that they will each be identical and save me a lot of time sculpting.

Moulds enable indentical casts to be made quickly efficiently. I had already made one star and sculpted the crow the right size for the shield. These were the models from which I made the moulds.

You can see in the picture one of the wiggly stars removed from the mould. This is called a casting and I can make a couple more from it and apply them to the shield. Same with the crows.

Continued-Cast iron fireback

Its been a right couple of long john days in the workshop, but despite the cold, work has progressed on the coat of arms. I like the texture left by the fingers working the surface of the clay as you apply it. I often want to stop at that stage and preserve that quality, it seems to be a bit more lively and you have a sense of the makers involvement. Working it with tools removes all that, but on this occasion that is what is called for. Nice smooth surfaces and crisp edges are the order of the day.
You can see from the photo (click on it to see it bigger) that I have worked the surface and smoothed it off, then started to consider the positioning of detail such as the crows and stars. Nothing is 'carved in stone' at this stage and things can be changed and moved around if needs be. I have to put it away at this stage and have a break from it. Tomorrow I will look at it again with fresh eyes and reassess it.

Continued-Cast iron fireback

The first thing I did when I got in to the workshop today (apart from putting the heater on full blast, for the dogs benefit rather than mine!) was transfer the image of the coat of arms to the board. Then armed with my big bag of clay, started to fill in the drawing very quickly with small pieces of clay that I had tweaked with my fingers to roughly the right shape. I got the whole image filled in and shaped and smoothed the surface a bit before I had to leave it to firm up.

I could see at this stage that I could stretch the design out a bit wider to fill the board up. It was looking very long and narrow, a tad odd, easily remedied!

By the end of the day it was firming up and was a lot less sticky. By tomorrow Ill be able to go to work on it with tools, shaping and refining the form, getting rid of the lumps and bumps.