Commission for Smiths Row

20 jugs, assorted sizes and colours, in the post to Smiths Row in Bury St Edmunds. Check out their website here...  http://www.smithsrow.org/

Jug of the Month - October

 

This is a Burleigh jug in Black Calico, and I've chosen it to be jug of the month because of HRH Prince of Wales. Our paths keep crossing. We were in Stoke together last week - I was in the now defunct Spode factory looking at the BCB exhibition, while he was across town visiting the Burleigh factory. He was launching "The Prince's Regeneration Trust's conservation and regeneration of the last working Victorian pottery in the UK."
Then on Saturday I found our names together on the same page of the RWA Autumn exhibition catalogue....

I visited the Burleigh factory a couple of years ago when I was researching my dissertation, and bought my jug then. The Burleigh website says of Blue Calico...

"Burleigh's famous deep cobalt blue pattern has been made continuously in our factory for over 40 years. Its popularity continues as ever! Although unique, this pattern was derived from early Victorian patterns which had their roots in Chinese porcelain, representing the spring with fallen prunus blossom onto cracked ice."

They produce a red calico, and the black has been discontinued.

The factory tour is amazing. Here's how the ware is made...

"Underglaze transfer printing is our speciality at Burleigh. This labour intensive decorating method has been in use for over 200 years. We are now the last English pottery company that still continues this traditional and highly skilled hand decorating process.

After the clay piece has first been fired to “biscuit”, the decorating process is then as follows:

1) The tissue paper is printed from a hand-engraved copper roller. The tissue rolls off the printing machine and is then carefully cut out by a transferrer.

2) The tissue is applied to the biscuit ware, and is rubbed on with a brush and soft soap.

3) The tissue paper is then finally washed off leaving the pattern transferred onto the biscuit piece.

4) The piece is fired again to harden on the pattern. It is then dipped in glaze and fired for a third time, leaving the pattern under the glaze, thus ensuring that the pattern will never fade or wear off.

RWA Autumn Exhibition 2011 - Private View

Very excited to see my kaleidoscope at the RWA private view today. The new RWA website says...

508 for 159

508 works have made it onto the walls of the RWA galleries, for the 159th Autumn Exhibition.

The show is looking spectacular – will it be the best year yet?

All works are for sale, so you’re bound to find something to suit your taste and pocket. The exhibition opens on Sunday 30 October at midday.

Lots of people looking...

One lady nearly in it...

I'm a bit giggly about the catalogue. Here I am on the same page as HRH The Prince of Wales. Giggle.  Kept an eye out for him but no sightings. Perhaps he was at the party last night. Leaning on my kaleidoscope nibbling on a vol au vent. I like to think so.

 

Hands Dirty at Half Term

 One earthenware and one stoneware kiln full of jugs this half term. And one bowl! Happy to get my hands dirty again.

RWA Autumn Exhibition 2011 - Selected

I'm delighted that the kaleidoscope has been selected for the 159th Autumn Exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol.

The exhibition runs from 30th October to 31st December 2011 here...
Royal West of England Academy, Queen's Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1PX

Bristol Museum

Popped down the road from the RWA to Bristol Museum. Had a false memory of how much Long Line was exhibited there - only found this one cruet set, nestling amongst a few pieces of Kitchenware. Shocking!

M and I liked this Dorland ware...

Found this Delft pattern on the left, designed by Honor Elliot.

I really like this Clarice Cliff teaset. Very delicate.

RWA Autumn Exhibition 2011 - Preselected

The kaleidoscope has been preliminarily accepted for the 159th RWA Open Exhibition. J and her son A helped me load it in to the car on Friday night. J borrowed a sack truck from her cousin L. M and her husband B met me in Bristol on Saturday morning to unload it, wheel it in to the RWA, take it up in the lift, unpack and install it. Thankyou everybody! M has had two pieces preliminarily accepted too. At this very moment our work is sitting in the same building as work by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Louise Bourgeois, being looked at by the RWA panel of Academicians, Goldfrapp composer and musician Will Gregory and writer, curator and art critic Nicholas Underwood. I'm going to regret all that smug name dropping if I get an email on Wednesday saying "please come and collect the giant kaleidoscope because now we've had a proper look at it we don't want it." Watch this space.... 

Googling Myself

Doing a bit of googling myself, as you do, and came across a mention on this blog...

http://hi-inspiremeplease.tumblr.com/

So here's my blog quoting what they wrote about me on their blog...

brilliant ceramics display - “the triangular space and mirrors reflect the pieces to infinity.”

I loved how this work was displayed, I thought it was so clever. Looking back through Jo’s blog I can see there is an on going development to this mirror idea:

“April 07, 2011 - Been mucking about with mirrors in an attempt to think about how to resolve my clay work. What am I going to exhibit? How will I exhibit? What do I want people to see in my work? What do I want them to think?”

This makes me feel slightly relieved as everyone’s been telling me: “you’ll make it work”, “it will come to you” and “it will come together”. (I haven’t yet believed it)

Jo’s blog has given me a bit of hope, knowing that you don’t need all the answers straight away!