Tag Archives: Wimbledon Artists Studios

The creative Vibe is alive and well.

It is wonderful what a calming effect this aquatic life is giving me.  I have managed to make a load of work this week, despite the heat in my studio, which in August is normally enough to drive me out.  It is just as well really.  The pressure on me to create was growing exponentially.  I had 4 more works to make for an exhibition in Cornwall at Tregony Gallery which starts in early September; I have a lot to do to prepare for Kew Gardens in October – it might seem ages away but I shall be in Canada throughout September; I had a commission to finish for a 70th birthday present and I need to restock my shelves at Klay London.  So a wee bit of making was always going to be a good thing.

IMG_20160804_121725However, the desire to create is also an ephemeral thing – here one minute, vanished the next so it is always a huge relief to me when I turn up at the studio and find that I can get right on with it.  The days when I seem to need to spend an hour or more on Facebook, wash the floor, tidy the shelves and still the urge to make does not come are really very difficult.  Does anyone else have this problem I wonder?

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Finished works – one a commission, one destined for Tregony Gallery
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I suddenly wanted to make big!
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Please form an orderly queue for the kiln

 

Anyway, this week I have been churning it out.  The kiln has been fired 3 times and the shelves are groaning under the weight of drying works.  Phew, what a relief!  But the best thing?  At the end of the day, covered in dust and feeling tired, I can sit on the pontoon beside the boat with a glass in my hand and my feet in the water and watch the cygnets practicing their one footed swimming – and BREATHE.

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One legged swimming will take place after a rest in the sun.

Less is generally More

This week I had a meeting with a client about a commission that I am doing for her.  We were discussing the decoration for the interior of the piece.  She had previously provided me with several architectural plans and I had spent a while trying to work out which to use.  Now she had some better plans and she also had a map of the area which is the subject of the piece.  This meant that we were both in danger of becoming a bit overwhelmed by choice.  We tried out all sorts of combinations; she was so attached to the story behind the commission that was hard for her to decide what was the most important part.

The Battersea Vessel low res
Tell the whole story –
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Or keep it simple?

 

In the past I have done very simple and, with equal success, included lots and lots of information all overlapping.  So which is best?  And how am I going to glean from a client which one they would prefer?

The problem is that until the images have been transferred onto the piece it is impossible to see how they work with the piece.  It is only when the transparency reveals the drawing and its relation to the markings on the vessel that you know if you have got it right.

A brainwave struck me as I was grappling with this.  I need to be able to see the impact of the drawn lines before I order the decals.  Why I didn’t think about it before I do not know but I am off to find an online stockist of transparent  film which will work with my antiquated printer right now!