Shoe People Lawyers

I recently finished these two rather snooty looking gentlemen. Their bodies are made from vintage wooden shoe trees and the heads are high-fired porcelain. I have a big box of vintage shoe trees (thanks to Stephen) so expect to see a few more 'shoe people' turning up on here...

New Rabbitmen

At last I have got around to taking photographs of my 3 new Rabbitmen. The one with his hands on his head is modeled on my youngest brother. (There is also one with his hands behind his back and one with hands clasped in front.) So now there are 6 different poses altogether.

They look as confused as ever...

These new ones are also in an edition of 25 and are currently on their first outing (at the AAF Hampstead).

Hello Again!

It's been a challenging few months and there have been a lot of changes demanding my attention.

I did carry on with my MA though and finished the first module which involved doing (and writing about) lots of different methods of printmaking. I also made some ceramic pieces and took part in a sketchbook project organised by an American university.
As you will see I got a bit obsessed with depicting men in bird suits...

We have now started the essay module but I am also carrying on making work and experimenting in the Fabrication and Printmaking depts. at UWE aided by the excellent, ever patient technicians.



Lino print

Porcelain Birdman

Drawings from the Sketchlook project



RWA OPEN EXHIBITION - Coaching Emerging Artist Award

The Rabbitmen were selected for the RWA Annual Open Exhibition and I attended the PV this afternoon. I left it to the curators as to how the figures were installed and they arranged them on several small shelves at head height and above. I was quite surprised although I don't know why really. So far everyone has organised them differently (and that freedom to group them in various ways is part of the work). Looking up at them feels quite odd to me (as well as being a very unforgiving vantage point!). Interesting though.

 I was also lucky enough to be awarded one of the prizes. 'The New Creations Coaching Emerging Artists Award'. My prize is £240 worth of creative consulting with a company called New Creations Coaching. I'm looking forward to finding out whats involved. I think it will be really useful to me at the moment. Stephen snapped this photo with his phone as I was recieving my prize.

I will have to go back to and have another look at the exhibition. I noticed work of some particular favourite artists of mine, including Nicola Bealing and Kerry Phippen but it was very crowded (as PVs should be) and I'd like to have a good look round when it's quieter.

From View Gallery website

First Impressions 2014 Winners

Published by: VIEW GALLERY Nick on 06 Sep 2014 

Congratulations to Lizzy Drury and Kate Williamson who

were awarded first and second prize at the First Impressions 2014 student art exhibition.
A packed gallery admired 50 pieces of amazing art created by students from the South West region and further afield. The art work for the exhibition was selected from hundreds of submissions and then a judging panel, including celebrated Bristol artist Beth Carter, deliberated hard before choosing the top 2 artists.

The work of this years winner, UWE graduate Lizzy Drury, covered the entire back wall of our gallery with her triptych ‘Abandonment’. These stunning graphite drawings not only were visually spectacular but had an intriguing narrative that kept us captivated. Many viewers were debating the story behind the content that evoked mixed emotions; some people found the work sad and unnerving, others were amused and fascinated. We are looking forward to working with Lizzy next year as she makes new work for a show in the gallery (the winner’s prize).

Runner-up, Kate Williamson, also at UWE, attracted huge attention and conversation about her 3 sculptures, The Frog Prince, Baby Bird and Rabbitmen. These beautiful porcelain (and other materials) pieces are technically impressive and high in aesthetic quality, but it is the narrative that stood out for the panel. The Frog Prince and Baby Bird achieved a level of anthropomorphism that many artists attempt but so few succeed in this way. They pieces were touched and talked to with such sensitivity. Whereas the narrative in these two pieces was reasonably straight forward, based on known stories and myths, the Rabbitmen left the door wide open for the viewers interpretation. In placing the pieces in various positions the interactions and conversation of the installation changed, providing a moving narrative that is personal to the viewer. Kate’s prize is to be taken by View to one of the top art fairs in London next year where her work will be admired by thousands of people.

Congratulations to Lizzy and Kate and to all the students who made the exhibition stage. In the opening night we were delighted that some of the students work was selling and attracted lots of enquiries. The aim of First Impressions is to give students exposure and also the opportunity to experience the whole exhibition process, from submission through to exhibiting and potentially sale.
The standard of First Impressions is increasing each year and we are already looking forward to seeing next years submissions.

Good News!

I was awarded the 2nd Prize at the PV of the First Impressions exhibition in Bristol! The prize is for the View Gallery to take my work to an Art Fair in London next year. I also got to meet the sculptor, Beth Carter (who was really lovely) although I was rather nervous and have since thought of loads of things I would like to have asked her...
Lizzy Drury, who was on the DAA course with me won the first prize with her beautiful drawings of deconstructed teddy bears.
These photos come from The View Gallery's Facebook page (there are loads more on there).

The View Gallery Student Exhibition

The catalogue is now available to look at online. There is some amazing work. The winner will be announced at the Private View next Thursday. Wish me luck...

                                                   

The Rabbitmen are in Crafts magazine....

advertising the Synecdoche exhibition in London! It felt amazing opening my copy and seeing them there.

Yesterday I packed up and delivered the artwork which is going in the exhibition next week. My contrbution is all very rabbitty. Accompanying the herd of rabbitmen is the original rabbitman collagraph and the Rabbit Suit for Mr Messerschmidt. The exhibition is being organised and curated by fellow students from UWE and I'm taking my turn at invigilating next Saturday. So if you're in London next week do pop in to the Embassy Tea Rooms, Union St, SE1.

'The Daughter of the Minotaur'

The female minotaur sculpture is next up in my series of posts discussing some of the ideas behind my work. She has elicited a huge variety of responses from those who have encountered her. Some quite sinister. Perhaps because Jesus with little children is such a familiar scenario.

 

 

 

 

She is actually an amalgamation of several ideas and influences. My father used to tell us how, as a small child, he was occasionally taken to visit an old aunt whom he was obliged to kiss and hug. It is a common enough childhood experience. He used to dread it. To his young eyes she has a wobbly cow-like chin and huge breasts which he feared may suffocate him as he was clutched to them! The Daughter of the Minotaur represents those characters and situations which convention (and adults) seems to approve and accept but we, as children, are really not so sure about. Sometimes it's all in the child's vivid imagination (as with my father) but unfortunately sometimes the minotaur is very sinister. 

In this second piece I have started to develop the minotaur's story. She is not an altogether sympathetic character I'm afraid.

 

Her age should mean she is revered but her circumstances are not very grand. She is an imperious creature, sitting in a rather dilapidated armchair, reliant on relatives (those she still has power over) to do her bidding. I have put her on the sort of trolley a child might pull along.

One day I will create a series of pictures featuring my minotaur.
(This is a little drawing from my sketchbook)
But I will continue to be intrigued by other people's interpretations of The Daughter of the Minotaur.

The Good Girl

A few people have asked me about the stories behind some of the sculptures which appeared in my post on photograhing my work.

I thought I'd start with this piece which actually has evolved a bit since I photographed it.

In several of the classic Fairy Tales the bad daughter/stepsister ends up with frogs and toads coming out of her mouth and the good girl (who is always the most beautiful one) has 'pearls and roses dropping from her lips...'

It's a good example of how moralising the tales are and when I was reading one of them some time last year I just thought oh!.. for heaven's sake....You really can have too much of a good thing!

So this girl has just been too much of a goody-goody.

The piece above is made with actual beads glued into a pile which was quite difficult and didn't really stand close inspection. However it was much admired on my shelf at uni so I thought I'd try and find an easier way to make more of them. Below is the latest version (although it's not such a good photograph)



I made a silicone mould of the original (destroying it in the process). Then I cast it in plaster. I painted it with pearlised paint, added a few extra beads and some roses. The legs are still made of porcelain.

I haven't got it quite right but it's getting there....

Frog Prince update

No, the life size Frog hasn't turned into a Prince even though he has been kissed quite a few times. But he is now finished and being assessed at uni at this moment along with all my other work. Here he is clutching his paper crowns looking a bit forlorn...

I thought you might be interested to see some more work in progress pictures showing the various stages in his creation.

I've already shown you the making of the head mould. It took 33ltrs of porcelain slip to cast it! I'm not actually communing with it here but checking that the last of the slip has drained out. 

 

The leg moulds turned out to be more tricky to use than the head mould. I would put the pouring hole in the side if I ever made such a thing again. Here they are drying in the sun with the arms and hands.

At least they didn't slump in the kiln which was my main worry. Paul, the ceramics technician at UWE, fired the parts very slowly just to be sure. They seemed to shrink even more than usual though.

 

The armature for his body is made of wood and a cut up mannequin torso. It's very sturdy!

 

 

He is padded with foam (and a lot of duct tape) to make him look rather portly and slumped.

 

Fitting his fabric covering was really difficult because the cotton I used was rather thick making the hand sewn parts very hard work.

 

 

Now he's patiently waiting for the right girl to come along!

 

 

 

Big Frog Prince

Among the sculptures I photographed last week was the Frog doll who despite being covered in kisses had still not turned into a Prince.

Well, I have decided to try and make a life size porcelain Frog Prince doll. It's a bit rash as there's only 4 weeks till the assessment and I've never cast anything even half this size. But I've been thinking about it for a while now and I think I have to just get it out of my system.

I started a few of days ago by modelling a huge head in clay on the kitchen table.

 

 Then I moved outside and, over the next couple of days, I made a two part plaster mould of it.

 

I inserted pieces of plastic into the clay at the place where I wanted the mould to open.

 

Then I gradually built up the layers of plaster to make a 'splash mould'.

 

Finally I prised open the two pieces, removed the clay and left it in the sun to dry out.

 

It's very heavy and will take quite a while to dry out even in the sunshine. I will certainly need help when it comes to casting with the porcelain slip. I just hope it doesn't collapse in the kiln! I'm going to do the legs next. And don't all the daffodils look pretty outside the studio  (can't say the same for the inside).