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Surface Tension is now open

What an incredible 24 hours! I simply would not be here without the help and understanding of my amazing man. He has carried, hung, and helped move ceramics and supporting paraphernalia around Richmond in order to get this exhibition up on time. He has shown immense patience and understood that my stress levels required careful management and gentle treatment. He deserves a medal! The owners of the gallery have also been hugely helpful and given advice and cups of tea willingly.

The exhibition is now open from 12pm – 5pm Wednesday – Sunday for the next three weeks and I would love it if a steady stream of visitors decided to come and call.

Below is a little taster of what is in the gallery.

The Naming of Things

I love creating new work and, as I work, I know why I am making particular pieces – I understand the story I want a piece to be a part of. The trouble comes when I try to give a piece a name, then I am stuck. Words fail me. Everything seems corny or gauche.

Enter a wordsmith! This weekend I had a truly wonderful time telling the stories of my work to my daughter and, in exchange, she suggested names. This has had a remarkable effect. Whereas before I was struggling to envisage the work in the gallery, now that pieces can be called by their name, I find that I can picture them in the exhibition. I have discovered the flow through the work and can imagine how it is going to look.

Daughter and I played with myths, etymology and implication. We made up words and created order out of chaos. Now I have an exhibition!

Image: Robin Shelton, name: to be revealed.

A friend told me once that she thought if you knew the name of something, you were more likely to remember it. I am hoping that, by naming the works in my exhibition, people will remember to work and, more importantly, the message that I am trying to convey.