Contrasting Textures

Those of you who have seen some of my recent work will have noticed the contrasting textures on it; the dark, regular brick and cobble textures adjacent to the more naturalistic and irregular textures of the landscape and moors. As always this has been inspired by the landscape of the Pennines of West Yorkshire and also by some of the words of the Elmet poems of Ted Hughes.

This area is also where the poet Ted Hughes was born and spent his early childhood. Revisiting it in the 1970's he was inspired to write the 'Remains of Elmet' series of poems that evocatively describe the rise and decline of the textile industry and it's battles to subjugate the wild hills and moors around it.

This recent series of pieces have been based on some of the themes and phrases of those poems including

'The Trance of Light' where "the upturned face of this land… that fell asleep under a migraine of headscarves and clatter… stretches awake… and returns to itself";

in 'Hill Stone was Content', the rock was "content to be cut and carted… conscripted into mills" and it "forgot it's earth-song in cement and the drum song of looms";

'Wild Rock' talks of "tamed rock" and "A people converting their stony ideas to woollen weave;

and then "Top Withens", the setting for Wuthering Heights, where "pioneer hope squared stones" but "Now it is all over… and the swift glooms of purple are swallowing the human shape from the freed stones".

UK Handmade Feature

I was recently asked to contribute to a feature in UK Handmade magazine about continuing education which was quite interesting for me.

As someone who had returned to Higher Education as a mature student, I have found it fascinating to compare the differences between my previous experience of University in the early 1980's when access was much more restricted (only about 5-10%) of people went in those days, and today when the attendance figures are much higher. I know that I was doing very different courses (a BscHons Business Degree then, and a BA Fine Art more recently), but I think I was surprised by just how much more casually many of the modern students seemed to take the opportunity that they were being offered - and how many of then did not seem to value it; there were many times when I would be the only person using the ceramics studio for most of the day! The library, painting studio and other facilities also often seemed largely underused and on a course where the majority of the study had to be self directed, this seemed to be a huge waste. The students also missed out on valuable opportunities to interact with and bounce ideas off their peers.

I probably had an advantage because I had been self-employed for many years and so was used to setting my own schedule and agenda and I think that many of the students were suffering from culture shock having come from the much more prescriptive and scheduled A Level environment, but it did leave me feeling that they had missed out on many of the benefits of the course.

A Busy Summer...

This year has seen me travelling with my ceramics to shows all over the country - a hard but productive time!

Preparations began last year when I put in my applications for the shows and waited nervously to see if I had been accepted. In the meantime, I was also thinking about my stand design. I needed something that was light but sturdy, easy to transport but quick to set up and take down, flexible enough to cover me for tiny table top shows right up to filling a 5m x 4m cattle pen - oh and it needed to look smart and not cost too much! Not asking much was I!

The Made in Yorkshire marquee
in York in April

As the new year began, and the acceptances - and rejections - came in, the plans for the year began to take shape and final details could be arranged. After two shows in London in January and February, April saw the start of my main season with a show in York.

I had joined up with a new group for this year called Made in Yorkshire, run by the husband and wife team of Ollie and Tracey and which features high quality, Yorkshire made art and craft. The Marquee was right in the centre of town, outside Marks and Spencers.

My stand at York in April

I had gone for a 2m x 2m stand space and this was the first outing for my shelves which I was pleased to see worked just as I had hoped. It was a 5 day show with return trips to York each day, driving past the still massive snowdrifts at the sides of the road, but I was really pleased how well my work was received.

The only problem was the 'tight fit' to get everything in my car; a Kia C'eed and knowing that I had much longer distance trips coming up, I 'bit the bullet' and decided to upgrade my car to the larger Kia Carens. 

The bigger stand at the
Harrogate Spring Flower Show

My next show was two weeks later when I was at Harrogate Showground for the Spring Flower Show. Having seen how 'cosy'  the previous stand had been when people were trying to get in to look, I went for a slightly larger space and was pleased how much better it worked. I also discovered the benefits of a diesel powered car with the reduced fuel bills!

I did not have long to rest though, as four days later I was heading off down to Penshurst for the ICHF Weald of Kent Craft show complete with all of my pots, stands and camping equipment. 

My tent and the new car

I had done a few shows the previous year where I had camped, and so I had decided to invest in a new tent with better waterproofing and more headroom but even though the weather was sunny, the nights were cold - so cold that I was having to wear a hat and fleece to sleep.

My stand at Penshurst with
demonstration table

At the show I was in the Graduate Marquee which is organised by Informed Design - another husband and wife team, Pat and Richard who recruit excellent crafts people from New Designers, Graduate Shows and the SDC exhibition and help them to take their first steps to exhibiting commercially.
This year, they had talked some of us into demonstrating and so I was showing some of my handbuilding techniques.

That last day at Penshurst was hard; waking up cold in the tent and then having to pack all of the camping gear away (including 'de-sluging' the bottom of the tent) before working all day on the stand and then having to pack all of that away and then drive home from Kent. 

The AVA exhibition - my work
 is in the cases

But I had no time to rest - the next show was only three days away, this time at Bakewell in Derbyshire for Potfest in the Peak so I needed to get the kiln on and in the meantime, I also had to take some of my work over to Leeds where I was taking part in a group exhibition with Aire Valley Arts in the Bexley Wing of St James' Hospital.


Potfests are brilliant events organised by Chris and Geoff Cox, giving potters and ceramicists the chance to show and sell their work to a discerning audience. This would be the first of my 'cattle pen' events for the year. Held at the Bakewell Auction Mart, you are allocated a pen and it is up to you to try to make it an attractive selling space.

An overview of Potfest in the
Peak 2013

So, once again, I loaded up the car and trundled off but when I got there - disaster! As I was unloading I managed to drop two large crates of my ceramics. As I picked them up I heard the ominous rattle that all ceramicist dread and sure enough, the damage was bad; virtually all of the work was broken including some of my favourite sculptural work.

My stand at Potfest in the Peak

The other stall holders were great; potters really are a nice, supportive lot, and so it was just a case of grin and bear it. It did not help that the weather was bad - wet, windy and cold and so even though I had booked a camping space I decided instead to make the two hour commute each way each day instead; the cost of the fuel was easily offset by the pleasures of a warm bath and comfortable bed!

My travelling home from home

I now had almost a month before my next show and so I made a decision; I was buying a caravan! Although it had not been uppermost in my mind when I bought it, it turned out that the Carens is a great car for towing and after a search of various websites, I quickly found just what I needed. 

Although it is over 20 years old, it is clean and sound - and comfortable! - and having a motor mover fitted meant that I did not need to worry too much about parking it, particularly on our sloping driveway. Once it was all serviced an prepared - and I had my towbar fitted - I had just a couple of days before I was off on my first trip with it - to Patchings in Nottinghamshire.

My stand at Patchings

Retiring to bed on that first night was much more civilised! Wine in the fridge, pizza in the oven, watching a dvd on the laptop and a shower in the morning... and then at the end of the day, a short walk across the car park and back 'home' again.

The show itself was good as well with friendly fellow stallholders and an appreciative audience and fine weather as a bonus. 

Setting up the show at Thoresby

Having arrived safely home from my first ever towing trip, the following day saw me heading back down to Nottinghamshire, but this time to the Thoresby Gallery where I was taking part in a show with the Hallam group of the Society of Designer Craftsmen. There are a lovely group and we have been showing together now for a couple of years. They include ceramicists, textile artists, glass makers, silversmiths and others working in combinations of media.

My table at York

A two week break and then I was back to York, this time for a weekend Art Event in conjunction with Northern Potters. From the huge spaces of the Cattle market, I was down to a single table here - and as it was an open tent, we had to pack up and take away overnight, before setting out again in the morning - I was getting quite good at bubble-wrapping by now!

The Made in Yorkshire marquee
at the Great Yorkshire Show 2013

My corner at the GYS

Two weeks and then it was time for one of the biggest shows of the year; the Great Yorkshire Show, attended by around 150,000 people a year. After last year's washout, the sun had come out and in the Made in Yorkshire marquee we were sweltering! Especially on the first day, people were walking a few feet into the tent, feeling the heat and walking back out again. And they were long days too; on site for 6.30am to start trading at 7.30 and not finishing until 7.30pm. Rather than adding an hours drive each way onto that, I took the caravan to a little site 10 minutes from the showground where I could quickly be relaxing before the next long day.


A week later and I was heading for York again, this time to the York Designer Outlet for a weekends Pop Up Craft fair, followed on the Monday by a change of media; setting up for the annual Bradford Photographic Society exhibition at Shipley Library, with a preview attended by the deputy Lord Mayor the following night.

Potfest in the Pens 2013

Two weeks later and we were into August and it really began to get busy!

 The month began with me heading for Penrith, with my caravan for Potfest in the Pens. One of my favourite shows of the year, there are around 140 potters and ceramicists showing together plus social events, friendly competitions and a great audience. 

 
Then two weeks later and I was back in a cattle pen - but his time nearer to home at Skipton for Art in the Pen. The challenge here is that this is physically one of the largest spaces of the year and so having the equipment and work to do it justice was a challenge - even for the 'Tardis like' capacity of the Carens! It is a brilliant show though, with quality art and craft of all types on show and it keeps on getting bigger.


Three days later and I was hitching up and heading south once more for five days, this time to Stonor Park near Henley-on Thames and the ICHF Chilterns Craft Fair. Once again I was in the Graduate marquee and demonstrating my techniques. The main challenge at Stonor is the slope of the site; getting stands level is interesting and after a couple of days you start to feel a little drunk..

The Lie of the Land artists with
the Mayor of Todmorden

The work that I managed to make here came in useful though, as at the beginning of September, I was being invited to take part in an exhibition about the landscape of the Calder Valley at the Water Street Gallery in Todmorden as the featured ceramicist. At the preview night, I was chatting to the Mayor of Todmorden - and even sold her a couple of pieces.


The following day, I was heading off once more; this time to Sheffield where the Hallam SDC were taking part in the annual Art in the Garden event. Here we have half of a large marquee between the dozen or so of us with the work being shown together.

Harrogate Autumn Flower Show

Three days later and I was back at Harrogate showground for the third time this year, in the made in Yorkshire marquee for the Autumn Flower Show. 

This time I was on the end of the aisle, right in front of the doors; a great position to be seen - until 'Stormageddon' on the Sunday when, as forecast there was howling winds and pouring rain. Not only did I need to quickly re-arrange my taller, lighter pots to give them some shelter from the gusts, but standing all day in the teeth of it, I ended up wearing a bodywarmer and two coats to try to cope! Fortunately, thanks to the brave souls who came along despite the forecasts, it turned out to be well worthwhile.

At Saltaire festival

But no rest for the wicked! Five days later and I was setting up a stall at Saltaire with Handmade in Bradford as part of the Annual Arts Festival. 

And so that just about brings things up to date. I had a small, one day event at Haworth this last weekend as part of the South Pennines making and Doing Festival and I will be back in York in October, but I do actually have a few weeks at home - until the Christmas Markets start!

To everyone I have met over the year; nice to have met you and I hope to see many of you next year.

To those who have thought that I seemed a little tired at times; now you see why!

Glazing

Some of the glazes used in my last session

One of the things that I do enjoy is playing around with my glazes; experimenting, layering - and generally making a mess - to see what happens!

I have often referred to ceramics as 'a sweetie shop full of possibilities and potential'; well, the glazing is the icing on top of the bun and the fancy box and bow all rolled into one!

However, I have also been known to call it "painting colour-blind with mud" and that is very true too!

My glaze ingredients shelves

 I mix all of my own glazes and they all start life as a combination of mostly white powders. Firing mostly in the Cone 6 range (around 1200 degrees C) most of them include refined or processed rock and mineral ingredients such as potash feldspar, barium carbonate or nepheline syenite, as well as china clay, flint or quartz. There are usually other ingredients too depending on the effect that I want to achieve, and then I create the actual colour using oxides.

So, after weighing, mixing, sieving and labelling, I am left with a mixture that is usually about the thickness of single cream - and which bears no relationship at all to it's finished colour or effect!

The mixed glazes - the colours that you see are nothing like the finished effects

For example, a glaze that it brown when 'raw' could be blue when it is fired. Some of the cream coloured mixtures could be green, they could be blue, they could be white, they could be clear.... The three black mixtures shown above are a good example; One is actually a glossy black glaze, another is a gold lustre while the third creates a purplish blue!

And then there is the combination effect! A glaze that is one colour on it's own, can change completely in combination with another ingredient or glaze containing that ingredient. A good example is a glaze containing chrome; on it's own it usually makes green, but add tin or zinc and it turns pink. Or a purple that turns brown, or a blue that turns purple.... And even a simple addition of a clear glaze can make a huge difference.

A glaze test tile showing the effects of overlayering

This was a test tile that I made for a new glaze mix I wanted to try. I added eight different colouring oxide combinations and painted a sample of each onto the tile and then I painted a line of a glossy clear glaze over a third of each sample and a line of matt clear glaze over another third, creating the results you can see.

... so when you think that I have a range of around 50 glazes that I already use - and I keep trying more all the time - the decorative possibilities are endless!

The only problems are trying to remember how each glaze interacts with the others, will it bubble or go glossy, will it change the colour, which order they need to be layered up in, how thickly, whether they will be opaque or transparent, how sensitive they are to kiln position and temperature......

Oh - and all the washing up again afterwards!

Ted Hughes and Remains of Elmet

I first came across the Elmet series of poems by Ted Hughes when I was writing my BA Fine Art dissertation on 'Representation of the South Pennines' and they immediately struck a chord, echoing many of the themes that I was already pursuing in my own studio practice; the landscape, people and villages of the area and the sense of steady decline in the old industries. He was writing as someone born into the Pennine community of nearby Todmorden; I was seeing the area with the eyes of an 'incomer' - albeit of 25 years duration.

The original book was illustrated by Fay Godwin's photographs and although I thought them interesting, I found different images coming into my mind as I read the poems.
This year I have finally begun a project that I fleetingly considered then, and have been exploring my own ceramic interpretations. I hope that you will find them interesting.


Keith Sagar has written an excellent article on Ted Hughes and the Calder Valley which describes his links with the area and the gestation and inspiration behind Remains of Elmet.

The text only version of Remains of Elmet is published by Faber & Faber

Not quite as planned

Sometimes things don't go as planned but can be quite interesting despite that. 

The Trance of Light
- it is approximately 40cm tall

It features screenprinted images of mills and
machinery, plus the textures of fabic, stone,
setts and cogs

This piece was made for theSDC at the Mall Exhibition and was based on the Ted Hughes poem, the Trance of Light which is about the decline of industry in the Pennines and a return to nature. 

As usual I was pushing the clay to its limits and this time it broke in the firing - but actually - for me it gives a further dimension to the theme...

At the Mall Galleries

A busy start - this was the opening morning in the main gallery

One of the best things that I did at the time of my graduation from Bradford College was to sign up for the assessment for Licentiate Membership of the Society of Designer Craftsmen.

It was nerve racking at the time as it involved an in depth interview with one of the Fellows of the society, Pete Moss, that was both challenging and stimulating - and then the nervous wait to see if I had been accepted. When the letter came to say that not only had I been, but that mine was an Award with Merit which entitled me to show at their annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, I was over the moon - and then scared out of my wits at the same time! Three years on and I have just come back from the set up and launch of this years event but for the second year as part of the organising team! (My own fault for letting on that I knew how to operate a computer!)

My display in the main gallery. The theme of
this years work is the 'Remains of Elmet' series of poems
by Ted Hughes about the Pennines and Calderdale

This year there are over 130 artists and craftspeople showing their work in the exhibition and shop within the show and the standard of the craftsmanship across the disciplines is amazing - as is the variety of the work! 

Almost a quarter of those showing this year are ceramicists and yet each is using different styles and techniques. If any of you are around in London, it is open until the 20th January and well worth a visit.