Easter greetings

Oh dear, I really have been lax. About the blog that is - not about anything else - except perhaps the washing ironing and vacuuming - but what does that do for the soul?? In other areas I have been rushing round like a maniac and this Easter weekend break is deliciously welcome. Just wish it would warm up a bit.

I have been busy with my Creative Partnerships work and not been in the studio much. But I did get the results of the wood-firing at Rufford which were kind of okay but not spectacular. It was a bit of a damp squib (literally) of a firing as we ran out of dry wood. I think this was caused by a combination of high winds during the firing and the fact that the wood was quite thin - both factors leading to a very fast burning rate. It was not a total disaster however, as the kiln had reached temperature; it just didn't get the soak at top temperature over a couple of days which we normally do. The effects of this is that the glazed surface is not so exciting and a bit dry in places. Some people's work was more effective according to the type of clay they had used. Mine tended to be quite dark brown in places but not bad. I was particularly pleased with our dog's tombstone which has finally been completed - I made this with my daughters when our dog died quite some time ago - poor thing - he was always running off - a saluki greyound rescue dog - and he had no idea about cars whatsoever, and finally met his maker on a dual carriageway near home. We were devastated but the tombstone (RIP - Run in Peace) is a nice marker for his grave.

I digress. About the wood - wood for a firing needs to be both seasoned and protected from the weather - we have a large shedload of the stuff at Rufford - I will post a photo - but its still drying out. We do have another firing coming up in April so hope the woods okay for that. But if anyone reading this blog knows of any good supplies of wood please please let me know.

I have not made any other new work though have a couple more pieces in the making. Have been doing some glaze testing as well, with some interesting results. I also finally fired my students work - sorry students! - and it is really fantastic. I hope they like it too.

I'm hoping to get three days of solid making in the studio over the Easter hols between family visits and trips out - decided not to go on holiday but just potter - we all are so busy during term time that its nice to just spend a bit of time at home. Besides the garden is in dire need of attention though its looking quite good there's lots of tidying up to do.

As far as preparations for Open Up, they are mostly in my head. I do have some nice ideas for some small pieces of jewellery and I will continue with my button making. Some of the pieces that came out of the Rufford firing are composite pieces and I am really excited by that - an earthbound fishy shape becomes mobile on a pedestal of fins, an exotic sort of seedhead is propped on a strange stem, so I'd like to extend this repertoire. I've always liked collections of things and these seem to be like strange objects in a museum display. In fact I think a visit to a natural history museum - or the Pitt Rivers Collection in Oxford, may well be what's necessary.

Well I think I might sign off now - the sun is shining and there is both work and play to be done!!

Happy Easter.

Sarah

Where does the time go?

Where indeed. I haven't stopped. Until now. And then it's only because an afternoon session in a school has been cancelled so I have two seconds to myself...

Perhaps this is self-inflicted though, with too many fingers in too many pies, and some of them very labour intensive pies.

So what have I been doing? Well, not alot of time has been spent in the studio, though I did have an intensive few days preparing for a wood-firing down at Rufford. If you haven't heard about this facility, let me enlighten you.

Down at Rufford Country Park (in Nottinghamshire, near Clumber Park and Sherwood Forest) there is an outdoor Activity Centre where workshops take place and also where the Rufford Wood-Firing Society (of which I am a member) has two wood-firing kilns. Wood-firing is a hugely labour intensive activity, and running a group of disparate people from far and wide (members have hailed from as far afield as Cornwall, Kent and Liverpool and occasionally the visiting potter from Australia or other far-flung corneres of the world) with egos and personalities to match is also quite time-consuming and difficult. We need a large number of people in the group because firing the larger "anagama" kiln (big enough for several people to get inside for the packing) is a big undertaking requiring a lorry load of dry wood that needs to be organised, chopped and stacked, and then five days and nights of non-stop stoking - not to mention a day of packing and half a day to unpack following a week's cooling. We work on a four hour rota but given people's other commitments to work and family, this can sometimes be quite hard to fill. I have to say though, once you are down at the kiln site doing your shift, it is magical, and all the troubles of the world are forgotten in the peace and calm of the woods.

It is a risky business - you are never quite sure how the pots will come out - each firing is different and other factors such as type of wood and clay used and placement in the kiln are crucial. The work is generally not glazed on the outside as the point of a wood-kiln is that the wood ash deposits on the pieces as it travels through the kiln and when this reaches a higher temperature this melts into a glaze on the work. This does mean variation on each piece and the shape and surface texture will also play a part in the resulting effects. I find the wood-firing works really wonderfully on my pieces - I use a very high quality white sculpting clay that results in a golden brown subtly variegated glaze on the best pieces. I also play with different textural effects which can be really exciting as the wood ash deposits on the extremities and tends to highlight both the form and the surface decoration.

I had been working on two scuptural pieces based very loosely on diatoms and microscopoic organisms but did not manage to dry them in time for the firing. Hopefully they will go in the next firing which is due to take place in April. As the gallery in London has requested wood-fired pieces I am hoping some decent work will come out of one of these two firings!! Although I do have some fall-back pieces, thank god.

I must go to work on my research project now - I have been commissioned by Creative Partnerships National Office to look at the work that Creative Partnerships has done in Pupil Referral Units and to look at recommendations for future working practice. This is a nice piece of work to supplement my studio practice and my other work as a Creative Agent (mentor, liaison, consultant, project manager) and Creative Practitioner in schools. It needs a concentrated span of time, however, which is very difficult to find!!

Who knows when I will next be in my studio. I will write and let you know, and will get some photos of my most recent work.

Till next time.

Happy spring!

Sarah

18th February

Well I missed posting a blog last week because I was fighting valiantly with my computer - I think, eventually, I won, although the victory was rather pyrhhic as it still rules my life. I also spent almost no time in the studio as it was half term, and my daughters, though teenagers, had all sorts of projects and events which they needed transporting to, and there were various DIY chores around the house to be done...yawn yawn. Nice to spend some time at home though - a rare commodity these days.

However, I did run a course last weekend in handbuilding - had some excellent students who produced some really exciting work - coiled, slabbed, pinched, and even some throwing. I have run quite a few weekend workshops in my studio and I meet some very interesting people that way, and with the best ones its always a two way process with me getting as much inspiration from the participants as they from me. It really gave me a thrill when I went into my studio this Sunday past and saw the students' work drying out - they had really been quite experimental and daring.

Yes I had a few hours in the studio on Sunday - I felt really inspired. I have been working on a couple of pieces for some time - snatching half an hour here and there - which is not an easy way to work with clay as you need to manage the drying so carefully if you want to carry on working on a piece - and on Sunday they really came into focus. That is how I work- I will start making and will have some idea in mind, but this will be developed as I go, and the original idea could change quite dramatically. I can spend quite a long time just looking at a half formed piece, or working on it, refining it, but not actually finishing it - delaying finishing it whilst I consider the options. This is probably the most exciting bit for me. Once I've worked out where I want to go with it, it will probably be finished quite quickly. But that working out can take quite a long time - and will probably also involve a bit of sketching, research and revisiting the wealth of visual imagery I have collected over the years - much of it from the natural world and with a scientific slant to it.

I am quite interested in working in pairs at the moment - looking at how two things might relate to each other or fit together - or not as the case may be. But I also quite like the idea of repeat forms in nature - so that what might seem to be a seed pod might also be a body part or a microscopic organism or an ancient long extinct creature. I seem to be working on both of these ideas at the moment.

I have a wood-firing at Rufford coming up so I am hoping to get these pieces done in time for that. I also need to start preparing for the exhibition which I have in London in June - I have been asked to put three pieces in a sculpture exhibition in a fairly well-known ceramics gallery in Greenwich. The gallery owner particularly liked the wood-fired pieces, and as the wood-firings are far and few between, and a group effort, it is really not something you can leave to the last minute.

Must go do some teenage taxi-ing - more on the wood-firing next week.

Have a good week!

Sarah

February 4th 2008

Hi. I have been asked by the lovely and extremely dedicated Open Up Sheffield and South Yorkshire team to write the blog this year. I have never written a blog before, and I have to say, rarely read them. But clearly some people do, and I guess the format is up for grabs.

I am a ceramic artist (mainly) with a studio at Persistence Works in Sheffield. I do lots of other jobs too, mostly in education, and mostly to do with Creative Partnerships. I have a permanent battle on my hands to juggle this work where there is a direct correlation between going out and doing a job and getting paid, and my work in the studio where there is no such correlation. I also have a mostly losing battle in the studio work between making commercial stuff which I can sell more easily, and indulging my artistic meanderings to make what I want, regardless of the client group. I could also do alot more to get my work "out there". Which is partly where Open Studios comes in. Of course, it doesn't get the work out there, but it does give it exposure, and I love the contact with the public. I know not everybody does, but I have found the Sheffield audience pretty receptive to my work, and I love the comments they make about it. I make quite large, sculptural forms which are sensual and evocative without being representational - I love listening to the interpretations people put on them - and it makes me think about the work too. I like the fact that alot of the people coming round are either artists themselves, or have a keen interest in the arts.

Doing Open Studios also concentrates the mind. It is an opportunity to show your work at its best and to network. And its a deadline. I think like many artists, and others, I have a love-hate relationship with deadlines, but I couldn't do without them. They often bring out the best work - but sometimes at considerable cost to my health and well-being. On the other hand there is nothing so satisfying as working all out to get something done and then being able to sit back and appreciate what you have produced with your blood sweat and tears. And it makes you tidy up the tip that the studio has inevitably deteriorated into - in my case anyway.

I have not been in my studio much recently, having had alot of other stuff on. I am beginning to think now about what I'll be making and how to arrange the studio. I do in fact have some ideas for much more commercial work which has come out of some of the sculptural pieces I have done. And, whilst I can't, and don't wish to, wean myself off the large-scale stuff, I will be working on a range of smaller items. I also like, perhaps a bit esoterically, making buttons. My daughter has an idea for little figurative pieces which she wants to make - and it'll be fun having her there to help on the day.

Which brings me to another point - unfortunately due to staff shortages Persistence Works will only be open for one day on the 26th April. This is a real shame, and I just hope that people realise this and make the effort to come round on that day. There is always the possibility of phoning any particualr artist and making an appointment to visit, but that goes for the whole year and is not specific to Open Studios. Its so great when there is a real buzz around the building with visitors and artists.

Well, I went into my studio today and searched again for my lost/misplaced glaze recipe book. this has all the glazes in it that I have been using over the last five or six years, plus alot of names and addresses for my mailing list. I am gutted to have lost it - my only hope is that in fact I brought it home sometime before Christmas and in the holiday melee it has been misplaced. I shall sign off now and go look for it amongst my mountains of paperwork and books. Till next time...Sarah

15) Winding Down

How did Open Up go for everybody? I thoroughly enjoyed visiting a few artists on my days off and generally turn–out seems to have been good. For me, the second Sunday was much quieter than the first and those I visited on the Saturday commented that visitor numbers seemed to be down compared with the Bank Holiday weekend.
I always find it interesting to study the statistics of the event once Sharon has collated the information from the visitor and artist questionnaires. I have to confess that I didn’t push the paper- work as much this year, particularly when my visitors clumped together at the busy times. I also found that selling cards distracted me somewhat and was quite time consuming. Most of my visitors had visited other artists, or planned to before the event was over, with many seasoned campaigners visiting five or more.
Generally, the people who purchased original work tended to be people I already knew, whom I’d personally invited along. The people showing interest in either commissioning a picture or receiving tuition were people who’d been attracted by my entry in the brochure. This year I decided to advertise that I would do a demonstration at 2pm each day but this did not appear to specifically attract people. As I always have an ongoing piece of work on show I think that next year I shall just demonstrate on request.

I first started this diary in early February and it’s hard to imagine that fifteen weeks have passed and that this is the final instalment of my ramblings. There was snow on the ground as I wrote my second instalment and now the trees are in full leaf and summer is just around the corner. It’s been a very hectic period of time for me, one way and another, but I’ve enjoyed trying to do a “blog” and hope that in some small way it has attracted people to Open Up and struck one or two chords here and there.
“Thank you” to my son, Peter, who has been a great help with the posting and particular thanks to those of you who have read it and provided feed-back. I hope that the rest of 2007 will be a fruitful year, whether you are an artist creating work or someone who appreciates it and wants to learn more about the processes involved.

With Best Wishes
Anne

14) On a roll

I only got to visit two artists on the first Saturday of Open Up but visited a few more this Saturday. In each case the work was beautifully displayed and the venue well signed. It’s really helpful seeing how other people go about opening their studios and it helps you to discover for yourself what makes people feel welcome and if there’s anything you do which puts people off or makes them feel uncomfortable.
I found myself surprisingly busy last Sunday and Monday – I needed lots of help greeting people and seeing them safely up and down our tricky stairs and I lost count how many drinks we produced. So far, we’ve had a much greater turnout than the previous two years and at the busiest times I felt that I couldn’t really give the attention I wanted to each individual. Three at a time was fine, but when I got up to five or six I never really got a chance to build relationships with my visitors.
Many of the people on my mailing list came back again, which was very gratifying, and several who’d bought pictures in the past from Hallam Art Group exhibitions called in to see me. So far, I’ve had seven children accompanying their parents and they were fantastically behaved and enjoyed choosing key-rings, fridge magnets and bookmarks to buy. Their enthusiasm was lovely to see and one little boy just enjoyed making appropriate animal noises as he passed each picture.
So, a tiring but exhilarating couple of days and I look forward to this Sunday.

13) Ready, Steady, Go!

I’ve had several people comment this week on what a lovely brochure Open Up produces. It’s a real pleasure to read. It still surprises me, however, as to how many people are unaware of this annual event, despite having an interest in the arts. To several people I’ve discussed it with it came as a complete surprise.
At this point I’m always slightly nervous but I know that when I get into it I shall enjoy it, despite feeling quite tired at the end of the day. The studio has had its annual spring clean – pastel dust gets everywhere – and is presently looking incredibly tidy. The payback for that is that the spare bedroom is bursting with all the things I’ve moved out!
I’ve still to make final decisions on pricing but I have done a rough draft and then I can adjust the odd painting. This year I’ve got cards and prints to sell as well so during busy spells I shall need the help from the family for sales, drinks and answering the door. The event this year will be a fair indicator as to whether spending money on prints (albeit small runs) was a wise move.
I’ve got a good supply of tea, coffee, juice, milk and biscuits which I tuck away in a corner to keep people as safe as possible and I’ve put up all the necessary signs such as “Private”, “Toilet”, “This Way” and “Please Take Care on the Stairs”. The local shops have kindly displayed a couple of posters and I’ve laminated some to display outside the house and at either end of the road. If it does rain they should stay in reasonable condition.
So, that is about it for now. I’m going to take the opportunity to visit a couple of artists today and then its all hands on deck tomorrow. I would like to wish all artists and visitors an enjoyable and fruitful event and I look forward to meeting some of you over the next nine days.

12) This and that

It seems no time since I was writing the last blog, but a lot has happened since then.
The weekend exhibition at Hallam, whilst not very well attended, was good for me, with two sales and several serious discussions regarding possible future commissions. The demonstration seemed to go well – at least I enjoyed it – but I’d like to find a way of evaluating what the general public thought.
Monday was a hectic day and at tea-time I really didn’t feel in the mood to go to the Open Up launch party at the City Hall. However, once I got there I soon brightened up and it was a really good event. The venue was just the right size and fitted the purpose very well. Hilton Hotels kindly supplied the drink, the University Jazz Band played brilliantly (if a little loudly for easy conversation) and the event was well attended – well done Sharon for planning it all! I had some enjoyable conversations with a whole host of interesting people, some of them artists displaying their work, some friends and invited guests and others either sponsors or members of the City Council.
Wednesday was the day of my mother’s funeral and was much less traumatic than I had feared. I’m really at my happiest when I’m being creative so I decided to do the large floral tribute for the top of the coffin. My mother loved gardening and so I gathered lot of beautiful things from the garden and the florist provided the base and some special “accent” flowers. I began to wonder what I’d taken on as I created the 4ft outline with ivy and hosta leaves but it turned out better than I dared hope for and looked great.
My preoccupation with other matters has meant that I’m behind hand with distributing my Open Up material so that is my next priority. I did remember to invite the florist, so I’m proud of that! Once Monday comes round I need to shift a lot of clutter from my studio and carry out a serious spring-clean. One blink, and the event will be upon us, which is when it gets really exciting!

11) Highs & Lows

Life has been full of new experiences over the last year – most of them very positive and exciting. I’ve found new doors opening for my art, one of which has been a number of requests for tuition. I’ve often discussed my techniques informally with people at Art Group, but booking a one or two hour session and being paid for it, demands that I really come up with the goods and meet the needs and, to a certain degree, the expectations of each individual. This has proved most enjoyable and I’ve learnt a lot in a short space of time. Being part of Open Up has been worth it if only to advertise my services as a tutor and I’m keen to hone my teaching skills yet further. I was really thrilled to be asked to do a demonstration this Sunday at the Hallam Art Group Spring Exhibition. Generally I don’t do demonstrations because people like to see a completed painting at the end of it and I work too slowly for that. I tend to do talks and slide-shows instead. What I have always done for Open Up is have a piece of on-going work available, and my materials spread out, so that I can demonstrate on a small portion of the picture when required. I’m really looking forward to Hallam – to see if I can concentrate on the art whist talking it through with a larger audience.
One of the less positive experiences over the past three weeks (but no doubt character- building) has been the illness and subsequent death of my mother. She was taken ill on Easter Day and against all the odds survived for ten days, but it was a roller–coaster ride with several false alarms. I tried to plan the Hallam demonstration and my preparations for Open Up as thoroughly as possible, knowing that things would almost certainly go “belly-up” at some point. I don’t need to get any more work produced but I do need to be “bright-eyed and bushy tailed” for both the demo on Sunday and the Open Up Launch Party at the City Hall on Monday. Fortunately, I feel tons better now, after a couple of good nights’ sleep, but motivation and concentration don’t come easy at a time like this!

10) Money, Money, Money

I said that I’d look at the knotty problem of pricing this week, a subject I find many artists reluctant to discuss.
The difficult thing about pricing is that it’s not just a case of comparing one picture with another by the same artist, but also setting a price in line with other artists. If one person sets their prices very low it potentially undermines other artists who are asking a more realistic price for their time and skill. The other difficult area , I find , is when you’re in that in-between ground, no longer an amateur treating it as a fulfilling hobby, but neither having the “street-cred” of a well established artist whose work is starting to become collectable. I remember a neighbour being shocked when she saw one of my pictures in a commercial gallery with a price-tag of £200. I tried hard to suppress my anger and explain graciously how little I would receive after 30% commission, £20 frame and mount, £3 materials, £3 hanging fee and two week’s work! This is where Open Up can provide a real opportunity to educate those who visit, so that original pieces of art become valued.
I now have a sort of system to help me which fairly compares one picture with another and gives me a “ball-park” figure which can be tweaked. I keep a record of the hours spent on a picture and multiply that by the hourly rate I’d like to get ( in a real world, that is, not what I might wish I’d get!) and then add on the cost of the frame, which can vary considerably. Commission will also need to be taken into consideration. This system stops me selling things too cheaply when I’m feeling down or having a run of poor sales and stops me pricing things too high that I’m particularly fond of. This system works well for me and can be flexible too.

9) Happy Easter

Happy Easter! At last it really is starting to feel like spring- the sun was streaming in when I woke up and I’m off with some friends (plus my trusty camera) to walk up Win hill. My two sons are coming too, to give them a break from revision and get some fresh air. The garden is really starting to look good and the lawn has had its first haircut. Now I’ve got a weekly job for the next 6 or 7 months!
Once again, I don’t seem to have got more than a couple of hours painting done in the last week but I have achieved all sorts of other things. I’ve mounted and framed three pictures, visited the printer (who incidentally has done a fantastic job getting the barn owl just right), given 2 hours tuition and cut lots of mounts for prints. I’ve also been to the picture-framers to order two frames for myself and three for someone at church.
My main job, however, has been to spread out all the pictures I’ve produced over the winter and decide what to put in The Hallam Art Group Exhibition on the 21st/22nd April.
Tonight is selection night and I need to have my list done and make decisions on titles and prices. It’s always hard to anticipate what kind of work might sell best at a particular venue and it’s made slightly more difficult with Open Up just round the corner as I don’t want to find that I’ve sold my best pictures beforehand (that I should be so lucky!). Several paintings of cats and alpacas have been put on one side with a view to printing in the future and I need to make time, hopefully next week, to re-visit the Mayfield Alpaca farm to discuss options.
In next week’s blog I thought I might look at the age-old problem of pricing your work. In the meanwhile I hope that this lovely weather continues and that you all enjoy a bit of rest and relaxation. I’ve got a busy but enjoyable weekend ahead as I’m singing with a choir at several special Easter services and if Monday’s good we hope to offload years of accumulated clutter at a car boot sale!

8) We have lift-off

On Monday morning a small team of artists assembled at North End Printers to collect all the publicity material for Open Up 2007. Its quite a major task for Sharon (Project Manager), collating the numbers of each item requested by the artists – A3 & A4 posters, flyers, full colour brochures, questionnaire sheets and a hints and tips leaflet. The printers help by counting the items and packaging according to postal district. Each volunteer then takes the packages for one of the districts and sorts them into carrier bags for each of their artists. These are then taken to Crookesmoor Community Centre on Saturday for the participants to meet over a cup of coffee and collect their material.
It’s time to start thinking about my mailing list. Over the past year I’ve got more organised and now I keep a record of people who visited last year or have bought a painting during the year. I tend to find that people happily give their consent to go on my mailing list and I stress that this is not just about selling paintings but the opportunity to meet up again and for them to see how things have progressed over the year. The colour brochures are a bit heavy to send through the post but I deliver quite a few by hand and distribute a large number to The Sheffield Society for the Encouragement of Art, Hallam Art Group and the Country Market (formerly WI) at Broomhill. They really are lovely brochures and I enjoy going through it each year.
This year I noticed that two artists living close to me have dropped out, which is a shame. It will be interesting to see whether that has any bearing on the numbers who visit.
My son has wasted no time scanning the new dates and logo into the blog – “Thankyou” to Peter, so it really is full-steam ahead now.
The future’s pink, very pink – let’s hope its rosy too!

7) Danger- Photographer at large

Had a satisfying morning framing up a couple of paintings and then went on in the afternoon to plan what I’m going to do next week. I’d like to get one more picture done before the Easter holidays so I spent quite a long time printing out animal photos and then manipulating them on the computer.
Digital photography has proved invaluable for my work as you can click away, delete what you don’t want and then manipulate the image as required. I used to have to take my photos down to town to get them resized but now I can do it all at the click of a button. Nor do I have to wait until the film is finished before I can show them to a client and we can identify possible poses. I reckon that I probably need to take 30 – 50 photos to come up with two or three which are really special, and the rest are invaluable resource material. Like people, animals have characteristic poses and expressions and I’ve learned to check which photos are representative of that particular animal.
I use three different cameras for different purposes – the Fuji digital for everyday use, an old Olympus SLR for recording each painting I produce (it produces much better close-up pictures than the digital and can be operated manually so that I can compensate for poorer indoor light) and an even older camera of my father’s which I use to take slides for illustrating talks.My biggest photographic problem is obtaining wildlife pictures that are of sufficient quality for my detailed work. I would eventually love a digital SLR with x8 optical zoom, but they don’t come cheap! People at art group are very helpful in passing on material which they think I might be able to use but I have to be very careful not to infringe copyright. I’m not in the league where I can afford to pay the going rate (about £70 I believe) for a photograph from a professional wildlife photographer. I have, however, teamed up with an amateur, but very gifted, photographer from Dronfield whom I met through an “A Rocha” Members’ day – an exciting Christian Conservation Charity. He, very graciously, lets me use some of his work for a nominal charge. Thanks to him I have acquired some lovely photos of birds, particularly owls, robins and kingfishers and some animals too.