Decals

At last the decals have arrived and I have had great fun placing them onto the gold tea-set whose provenance is still a bit of a mystery. The colours at first seemed too dull but apparently they should brighten up when fired. The name and date fits well around the gold crown mark on the bases.The bird image looks great on the teapot and I have hidden one or two small motifs under the plates and saucers. I had them fired but don't have images to show yet as the majority went off to be in a photo-shoot for Brides For Cornwall magazine straight from the kiln.
The image opposite shows the process of application. First the image is cut out carefully fairly close to the edge . It is then dipped into warm water and then slid into position on the pot . All excess water is removed first with a rubber kidney then a gentle dab with a paper towel . The ceramics are then fired to 850.
Postscript : 11/6/09 It looks as though the tea set is circa 1950 and a Japanese import and may be valuable. The Geisha in the bottom of the cup is a lithophane applied to the porcelain at the slip stage .

London June 2008

Three very different exhibitions I visited that show something about my influences and passions.



Exhibition Super Contemporary “fifteen commissions from some of London’s most dynamic creative’s" alongside Brit Insurance Designs of the Year .
Cabbage Chair was commissioned by Issey Myake to reuse the paper used in pleating his fabric and comes in a compact roll that you then peel .
From shaved sheepskin aprons to plastic electric chairs to rabbit rubbish bins designed by Paul Smith

Also at the Design Museum I found this great book “New London Style” by Chloe Grimshaw on eclectic interior design.( Thames and Hudson 2008 )Excellent pictures of the private dwellings of the most exciting current young creative’s in London.
A new way of creating interiors is about the creation of something original it takes years of looking dreaming and collecting before a house finally becomes a home.




Tracey Emin “Those Who Suffer Love” at White Cube, Masons yard (near the Royal Academy) from 29th May to 4th of July.
I love her drawings and this exhibition has been put on to celebrate and coincide with the launch of her new book “One Thousand Drawings” a collection of her drawings and monoprints. Another book to buy. Some of the larger figurative pieces are stitch onto blanket with beautiful line qualities and expressive mark making that evokes an honesty of vulnerability and emotion .She is a superb draughtswoman and as she says “there is a simplicity and modesty about this show tat has made me feel very happy and complete, like I have gone full circle and I’m back to what I really know.”

Richard Long Tate Britain 3rd June to 6th September
“Heaven and Earth “
I only went to this exhibition because my work is about drawing on the exploratory walks I do around Cornwall and his is about recording his walks. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as I have seen bits of his stuff before and not been very impressed but this one is fantastic.
He walks amazing distances both in England and abroad (eg 603 miles in 19 days)being in and observing nature and sometimes making an ephemeral mark on the landscape and recording it before moving on or recording lists of sights and sounds to then display as a piece on his return. I have been discussing some form of written material to accompany my designs and now understand the power of this as an art form in itself.
For example:


RAILWAY LINE
A PAIR OF BUZZARDS
THISTLES
IRISHMANS WALL
WHITEHORSE HILL
STATTS HOUSE
WINNEYS DOWN
EAST DARTS RIVER
SANDY HOLE PASS
A DEAD SHEEP
BROAD DOWN
SHEP BONES
COTTON GRASS
CLAPPER BRIDGE
MIDDAY
GORSE
GRANITE BOULDERS
SECOND FOX
SMALL WOOD
WEST DART RIVER
NAKERS HILL
OLD CHINA CLAY WORKS
RED LAKE
PONIES
FIRST SUN
CAIRN
BRACKEN
STONE ROW

“A Straight line northward walk across Dartmoor ENGLAND 1997

In the middle large gallery he had assembled installations of large stones from a variety of sources, which contrasted dramatically with, the interior space and were the most amazing colours.
STONE LINE 1980 slate
NORFOLK FLINT CIRCLE 1990 Flint
RED SLATE CIRCLE 1988 slate
ALPINE CIRCLE 1990 basalt
BLACK WHITE BLUE PURPLE CIRCLE 1998 Swiss stones
BASALT ECLPISE 2000 basalt

Living and Giving

Living and Giving (Mary Queen of Shops) 8th June 2009

A haven amongst the glitz and glamour of the newly opened chandeliered Westfield Centre in Shepherds Bush is a Charity Shop raising money for Save the Children , MIND and Trees for Cities only open for three weeks Mary has transformed the interior into a clean well presented friendly place to visit with bargains to die for. They have approached celebrities, designers and top end shops to donate goods and a lot of things are brand new and therefore total bargains! My bargains were an embroidered and printed (totally inspiring see opposite) blouse from Monsoon , a still in the box classic shirt from Margaret Howell and a beautiful black sleeveless evening top (that I gave to a friend) plus a box of 3 rose soaps.

The staffs has been brought in from charity shops around the country to give them the experience and help them to go back and transform their own shops. There are also plants for sale and shoes, bags, etc good service and a good experience. There is an Oxfam shop in Manchester that has a similar experience but not as friendly. So lucky I just happened to be going there to do the Li Edelkort seminar .
See the programme about transforming shops on
BBC2 Mondays 9 until 10pm.

The finished apron

The apron
A great pattern but far too big for me and unfortunately instead of testing it on cheaper fabric first I made the finished piece . Still it will fit someone even if it wont fit me . At the moment it is pinned ready to alter but I think it would be better to leave it and make the pattern smaller . An interesting quirk to the pattern is that there is one long length of piping that goes all the way around and the cross over at the back means it can be slipped over your head with no fastenings .

The New G Spot

June 3rd 2009 Peter Cross Lecture “The New G Spot”

A fascinating lecture by the business partner of Mary Queen of shops all about the new way of shops and retail and also the new way to create design.
“Innovation through creating value through sharing, giving and collaboration.”

They have an advertising agency that also deals with shop launches
As in the programme Mary has on television on revamping failing businesses.
The three important things to look at are
The EXPERIENCE you provide for consumers.
The SERVICE provided
The SPECIALISM your shop provides.
Creativity improves a brand and during a recession the strong brands get stronger and far from people wanting to cut back they are more likely to dress up or spend on luxuries to cheer themselves up.
There are three lanes of shopping:
The SLOW LANE is considered deliberate and is about the experience and specialist goods with good service.
The MIDDLE lane is about replenishment, topping up of goods.
The FAST lane is impulse buying the want it right now, now products.
Or in other words must haves, need to haves and nice to haves.
As a designer it is a good idea to define oneself by high quality service providers and ask the question is this good for my world and me.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH HE SAYS THAT THE WAY TO INNOVATE
Is not by asking the consumer what they want but by following a deep-seated hunch about a brand and its consumers.
GIVING IS THE NEW TAKING.
From greed and gain to generosity and giving.
The new rule of engagement has three core principles
SHARE
GIVE BACK
CO-CREATE AND COLLABORATE.
Being open and honest about where the product was made, materials etc sharing the story of the product.
Advertising is then word of mouth which may well be on a blog, face book etc as well as literally, painting an environmental/ ethical picture as with Starbucks shared planet theme giving people the right to reply and also giving things for free.
Making shops places for selling and dwelling i.e. a place you want to be rather than feeling put off by bad sales people and poor layouts etc. We need to be real and authentic.
As an aside Mary has set up a charity shop for 3 weeks in the new Westfield shopping Centre at Shepherds Bush London for Save the Children with donations from celebrities a must for my visit this weekend!
I like this recession it is cutting out the crap and bringing us back to real values and good life experiences

Painting the Warmth of the Sun

Painting the Warmth of the sun 2/6/09

A DVD presented by Patrick Heron on the experience of painting Cornwall through his eyes and those of his contemporaries.
This is well worth a watch just to glean the insights into the creative process as much as any thing and hear some very poignant statement s and phrases such as

“We have infinite possibilities if we just let it flow.”(Alan Davy jazz pianist and spontaneous painter)

“Experiencing the totality of the landscape “ (Patrick Heron)

“Three foxglove summers.” (I love this comment this year is a foxglove summer!) (Peter Lanyon)

“Love imagined into paint” (Peter Lanyon)

“A needs to see and discover.”
(Terry Frost who went to Camberwell and drew his boat shapes at Mullion Cove on the Lizard where I have been recently to view the amazing array of cliff top wild flowers)

“The spirit of Cornwall” (Patrick Heron)