Tag Archives: Clay

Cornwall Here I come.

There is a lot going on at the moment but little to show for it because everything is half finished so I think the best thing is just to share the news that I have been taken on by a lovely gallery in Cornwall.

Tregony is known as the gateway to the Roseland Peninsular.  It is an ancient town with its roots going right back to pre-Norman times which now sits at the lowest ‘solid crossing’ of the River Fal, fifteen miles from the sea. Below here it is a case of take the ferry or swim.  The main road is unusually wide – a reflection of the time when the river was navigable to here and Tregony was a busy port.

IMG_7246[1]
Tregony Clocktower.
Now the river is silted up by outflow from agriculture, tin streaming and the china clay industry and it is a tranquil place.  It is also a great place for me to exhibit my work and I could not be more excited about my new relationship with Tregony Gallery.

The gallery is in relatively new ownership.  Judith and Brian Green have been living in Tregony for years but only recently took over the gallery and have worked hard to brighten it and give is a fabulous contemporary look.

I visited them last time I was down and I took the first of my series relating to the Cornish mining industry to show them.  They seemed keen and asked to hang onto it for their summer show.  Imagine my delight when I looked on their website to see my piece in pride of place! Tregony Gallery seems to be the perfect place for me to dip my toe in the waters of the art world in Cornwall, given my love of the Roseland and the link between my work and the mining industry.  I am looking forward to a long and happy relationship with the Greens.

bridgetmacklin3[1]
Coming soon to Tregony Gallery.

Memories are Made of This.

This week I have been making test pieces; some for commissions but others using clays which people have brought me to experiment with.  The results have been mixed but some have been really lovely and I am excited about the promise which they hold.

 

20151114_093020
Test pieces lined up on the window sill.

Of particular note is a piece using material from the hole which was dug last winter outside my family home of 50 years by the men who were replacing the gas main.   They were digging it round when I thought it should have been square!  and they looked at me as if I had lost my marbles when I asked them to let me have some of the material from the bottom of it but I think I might be going to get the last laugh!

 

It is really important to me that this material can be worked into a thing of beauty.  The hole from which it came was directly outside the front gate to the home that my parents bought when I was ten years old.  My siblings and I spent our formative years living here; I got married from this house; both my children were baptised from this house.  Copious tears and shrieks of laughter have been shed around the kitchen table here and now it is being sold.

In fact, indirectly, the hole is involved in the sale of our home.  If it had not been for the gas men digging it, Dad would have had no trouble parking his car and the con men who came to his aid, and then abused his trust by subjecting him to a dreadful scam, would not have upset his equilibrium to such an extent that he was no longer able to stay there surrounded by happy memories.

So this material is for a commission of sorts:  Its for me!  The finished piece will take pride of place somewhere in my home.  I think I might even build a special shelf for it.  I don’t exactly want a shrine for my childhood.  It was good, but not that good!  I just feel pleased at the idea of having something so closely related to so many happy memories in full view.