56...The Brighton Art Fair and it's cast of colourful characters

On my stand 

This weekend I've been working at the annual Brighton Art Fair. I always enjoy this show as it is close to home, and run by a friendly team of people who make sure it's a show for both the artists and visitors to enjoy. This year it was particularly well curated and there was a stunning variety of work including lots of 3D as well as 2D work.
I borrowed a large painting from my friend Jane Denman as a backdrop to the stand...and sold it almost straight away!

Spidery Poppy

I had several new pieces of work for sale as well as some old favourites, and took a huge order for 8 sculptures on the first day to go to a sculpture park in Surrey. That'll keep me busy this winter.

Sophie Abbott     www.sophieabbott.net

When you work at an art fair for several days you get to know your neighbours really well. This year I was lucky enough to be next to Sophie who after seeing me standing for a day, bought a stool in for me to perch on. It makes such a difference when you are with people who you really get on with...although actually, most of the artists are great to talk to as we all share the same sort of life and have the same worries and experiences to discuss during quiet moments....and usually a warm bottle of wine hidden somewhere in the stand for the late afternoon when you are flagging!

Shyama Ruffell      www.shyamaruffell.co.uk

Both Sophie, Shyama and I are part of Four Walls, represented by Lara Bowen who takes our work to the big art fairs in London. Of course when our work is sold through an agent we pay a large amount of commission but that in turn makes it a risk free show for us, and we don't have to stand and sell our work for 3 days which is a killer on the feet and back.

Adrian Turner    www.theopengallery.co.uk

 This was my other neighbour who coincidentally also lives at the bottom of my road in Brighton, as well as along the road from me in France. He photographs the sea from opposite sides of the channel, and creates large, serene images by some complicated method that I don't understand, but which are very effective. The image he is standing in front of is St Valery en Caux on the Normandy coast.

Alexander Korzer-Robinson

    This was one of the most  successful artists of the show, he transforms old books into works of art by cutting out all the text, page by page, and leaving the images behind. What is left is a miniture world inside the book. They are georgeous and were flying off the wall. By Sunday there were only a couple left. One day I would love to buy one of these.

Maria Rivens

This artist is my favourite. She make beautiful collages from old books and the pictures nod heavily to the 50's and feature plenty of mushrooms. Some of the images are quite trippy. I have bought a small one of hers and hope to invest in a larger one someday soon.

Alexander Slatter    www.alexanderslatter.co.uk

This is Alex, a regular at this show who always has a ready smile, especially when standing at the wrapping table having a sold painting bubblewrapped.

Organisers, Anne Marie Francis, Sarah Young and Jon Tutton

Finally it's the end of the show and the organisers who have been running around keeping everyone happy all weekend get a chance to take the weight off their feet for a moment...and probably contemplate the next show, in only 10 days time in Fulham. www.palaceartfair.co.uk

And that's it for me. Dinner is being cooked and I am going to crawl onto the sofa, put my feet in a bowl of warm, minty water  and watch (ahem) a bit of X Factor.                                            

55...A monster mushroom, a disaster and Le Chateau de Vascoeul

How to stuff a giant puffball

Take one Puffball as big as your head

Cut out the middle and stuff with lovely things

(in this case onions, chestnuts and apricots)

Tie up with string and smother in lashings of butter

Bake until brown......Mmm, Mmm

An infuriating week in the studio. Lots of help from my two students but a disaster of my own making.

Jade and Megan

Being distracted in the studio, I picked up the wrong glaze and spent a day brushing it onto this Bishops Pom Pom before realising right at the end that it was the wrong glaze.

Half done

It took us another half day to wash most of the glaze off again and the rest of the day to replace it with the right one. In the end however, the sculpture did not survive the firing. A couple of the petals pulled away from the side and stuck to each other in the kiln, this happens sometimes, and it is usually my fault as I have probably dried it out too quickly or unevenly. I would like to say I live and learn....but I don't. Ah well, it will look nice in my garden with all the others!

Megan painting cherry red

Happily this Poppy Pepper Pot which is a commision for a new client is coming along nicely. It is being painted cherry red before it goes in for its bisque firing and it will be glazed with a translucent blue glaze which will make the red come alive.

James and his tile

In the middle of the week we were visited by a warmshowers guest (www.warmshowers.com). This is James who had cycled over from Durham and is at the start of a 2 year tour. After leaving us he went east towards Strasbourg where he will pick up a well known cycle path that follows the Danube. Then on through Eastern Europe..Turkey where he will pick up some work on a farm, then onto Iran and China! He is raising funds for charity as he goes and has a blog documenting his travels which we will be following with interest. His budget is £5 a day. He is only 24 and a really nice bloke....we wish him well and a Bon Voyage.  www.therideround.com

Pineapple Lily at Chateau de Bosmelet

Over the weekend we had some guests staying with a car so it was nice to be driven around to see some new places. We popped up to the Chateau de Bosmelet where I had an exhibiton last year with the 5Ways Artists from Brighton, and it was nice to see one of my sculptures being displayed in one of the lovely rooms in the chateau. Afterwards, we went onto the Chateau de Vasceoul which has an annual exhibition of an Internationally well known artist. This year it is Corneille.

Madame Citron

Around the grounds are some fabulous sculptures by artists such as Dali, Bracques, Volti and lots more;

Bisexual dragon and children

La Vie en Rose

The weather this weekend has been biblical. We are flooded at the back of the house and discovered two roof leaks......Oh joy.

However we were rewarded with plenty of rainbows...I saw this one when sitting on my kitchen doorstep.

My blog is one year old this week. I have enjoyed writing it over the last year and I'd like to take the chance to say thanks to everyone who has left nice comments and encouraged me to keep on writing it. It's a great way to keep a journal and so I shall move on into year two and hope to take you all with me. Thanks and Merci a tous.

54...Getting ready for the autumn shows

This is the beginning of a busy autumn period now with 3 big shows on the horizon. I have to be thinking up new designs all the time so that my displays look fresh..and because some people come to most of my shows and want to see new work. Sometimes I have ideas bumping up against each other in my head, usually as I work on something else and other times my mind is a blank and I have to go out with the camera or reluctantly get out the sketch book (I'm a terrible drawer and can only really work well with charcoal). This week I started a new sculpture that I have been turning over in my mind for a month or two.

Like much of my other work this design relies on an understanding of the Fibonnaci sequence. This one was coloured as I went in a two tone of dark and lime green, it will be finished with a translucent blue glaze. I was pleased with the finished form (I'm not always!) and decided to make a collection of these, but playing around with colours.

Starting blue seedcase

So today Megan (my work exp student) and I started on a blue one. The internal form is thrown a couple of days in advance. We have to have a little production line going as each sculpture uses hundreds of little components that have to go up and down in size, so we sit together listening to Radio 4 and get stuck into a day of close work and building up of form.

By lunchtime after an intensive morning we are halfway there,

and by tea time it is assembled. Now it has to sit and dry for several weeks before it can be biscuit fired and glazed. Next week I want to make another one in a third colour, but I haven't decided which just yet.

Trombonchino

Out in the garden my monster squashes are inching their way towards the house. This variety are Trombonchino's and they are becoming a favourite. They can grow up to a metre long, and are both a summer and winter squash. I have been baking them in slices all week with olive oil and rosemary....delish!

53...Channel Hopping

Lollipop PomPoms

This week has been back and forth across the channel. To France last Tuesday to pick all the veg in the garden and to start on a new commision, back to Brighton Friday night to steward at Firle on Saturday and at the Sussex Prairie Gardens on Sunday and back to France tomorrow,  Monday morning, where my studio and a work experience student await.

Bells of Ireland

The Plant and Art Fair at the Prairie Gardens was a great success, even though the heavens opened mid day. There were several thousand visitors most of whom seemed to be staggering around with bags full of grasses or other plants which they had bought from one of the stall holders. When the rain came the barn which had been set up as a covered eating area with straw bales to sit on, was suddenly full of people munching on the lovely home made cakes from the tea rooms.

Pink Tip Angel

I have really enjoyed having my sculptures on show in these gardens, the planting is very special and my forms work well tucked in amongst all the plants. They will still be on show until mid October.

Meanwhile in the French garden the fruit and veg are all ripening early this year. I am already storing apples and pears in the cellar and the garden is full of the sweet perfumed scent of ripening Quinces, it is such a beautiful smell. I am eating beans twice a day, freezing and pickling them. The Squashes are threatening to take over the garden and there are Strawberries every morning for my porridge. It is very satisfying although there is also a slight sense of panic as I try to bottle and store everything as I hate to let anything go to waste.

Giant Puffball

The mushrooms are all coming up early this year too. I have found some Boletus in the garden where I haven't found any before, and these giant puffballs are popping up all over the place. They are edible but huge, and you get fed up eating them pretty quickly. It's a pity these can't be stored......

52...Ealing Riots, a Wedding Cake and a village lost in time

I came back to Brighton this week to find out that this lovely gallery where I show my work had all it's windows and door smashed during the Ealing riots. It was even captured on video  Ealing Riots
However the paintings that were taken by looters were recovered by neighbours and an Asian man who presumably lived locally, stood guard at the door and protected the gallery until the police were able to arrive. I know the gallery owners are trying to find and thank him. Unfortunately  my sculptures were in the windows and there has been some damage but happily the gallery is insured. Some buildings near by were burnt out. I'm so glad that didn't happen here as it would have been awful if the lovely work in here had been destroyed.

On a happier note my brother got married this weekend, and we all had tea and cakes at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. It was a lovely wedding and they put a lot of effort in making sure that everyone had a good time.

Calvados cake with sugarpaste teapot, cups and saucers

I offered to make the cake for them as it is what I did for a living years ago and in fact is where I learnt the modeling skills I now employ in my ceramics. However, it has been such a looooong time since I last made such an important cake and I have to say clay is a much easier medium! But we got there in the end with help from my friend Jane who is an artist  and painted the lovely roses onto the sugar.

A lovely idea at the wedding was a photo booth in which we all had our mug shots taken and then pasted the photo into a large album as a reminder of the wedding.

Ralph, Jane, Fran, Henry and Roy

Ok, very silly but great fun, and at least the photographer (Roy) got his photo taken.

Little Halland

For the next three weekends I am showing my work in the Lewes Art Wave. I am actually in Firle at Little Talland in The Street. It is a lovely house with 16 artists showing their work, so if you get a chance pop along...it is open 12 -5pm every weekend.

The Street, Firle

Firle itself is a village of horses, dogs and 50's fashion, well at least is was today, the day of the Firle Fete. This is an event which includes sheep racing, rat splatting (?!) and a competition for the dog with the waggliest tail.

Lovely 50's ladies

.....and what a great fashion sense the ladies have here.  The lady on the right is Vanessa who runs Kissy Suzuki and whose Open House it is...for a peek at her retro style check this out...www.kissysuzuki.com

Next weekend I will also be showing at the Unusual Plant sale and Art Fair at Sussex Prairie Gardens. I will be there all day Sunday, come and say hello.  www.sussexprairies.co.uk

 Find me now over at http://theceramicgardener.com

51...Cycling Home. Etretat to Fecamp

Punctures 2 and 3 of 6

A night in Le Havre at a slightly seedy hotel and a morning of punctures. It was drizzly and as we cycled through a forest at the top of Le Havre, the bike tyres picked up little bits of gravelly flint which stuck to the tyres and worked their way in. The forest was full of cyclists and joggers, some of which managed to do a lap as we did our repairs. We then got lost. The idea had been to cycle out of the top of the forest and on to Fontaine la Mallet, but because of the one way cycling system around the forest, and the repair stops, we lost our sense of direction and went round and round. Finally we found our way out (with a little help from a jogger who we had to follow to ask directions..he couldn't stop) and we finally made it to Fontaine for a very welcome cup of tea and probably the best croissant ever. On then to coffee and another puncture on the way, but then the sky slowly cleared and the sun appeared as we came into Etretat.

These cliffs were being climbed by all and we enjoyed watching their efforts as we sat and ate our lunch on the beach.

Wooden fronted house in Etretat

There are some wonderful buildings around France and still many, many wooden ones. This one had little carved people and animals all over it, all of them different.

La Dame au Chapeau a Benouville

Cycling up out of Etretat we came across this quirky Salon de The and it was one of the best stops that we had had. Service was completely at her own pace, and the tea came in one of a collection of old teapots and lustre ware cups and saucers...more english than an english tea room. We decided to have the local cider, which is nothing like cider in Britain, it is lower in alcohol and more fruity, perfect at lunch or tea time. Unfortunetly we were told that because of the licencing laws we had to have cake with our drinks.....Oh dear, 2 Friands, a Caramel slice and a Pain d'Epice please! Everything was presented wonderfully, little flamingo sticks in the Caramal slice, slices of orange on the Pain d'Epice and a knife with an orange segment for a handle..all delicious! This is the first time I have been tempted back into catering for many a year. She has a great website to check out too at   www.ladameauchapeau.com   I think I could live here.

Silouhette of the Benedictine Monestry

We followed a cycle trail across country into Fecamp which was perfect until the end when it cruelly took us over the cliffs and down into the town. Again, because of the rubbish signs we ended up on the beach at one point. Who do I write to in France about their signs?...I think someone is having a laugh.
We found a restaurant which had exactly the menu we were looking for...lots of seafood, and some very comfy seats for our weary backsides and smiley, easy service.
Next morning we had the devil in our tails and made our mid morning stop for coffee by 9.30, this meant we had time for a leisurly ride back the rest of the day.

Water Mill at Cany Barville

Hamish discovered this old abandoned mill by the lake at Cany Barville, such a shame it's not still used as it is such a lovely building.

Hamish proudly showing shredded tyre

 Finally we parted company at Guerres, Hamish and Mark for the ferry, and H and I for home. Hamish who had been on dire warning not to turn up with a rubbish bike, cycled on this shredded tyre the whole journey and didn't get a puncture until just before getting back on the ferry. Ah Hamish....you gotta love him!

Home grown bounty

Arriving back home was good owing to cycling shorts which were rubbing badly enough to give me a pain in the proverbial, but a bit sad too as there is nothing like setting off each morning and not knowing what you are going to come across as the day goes on. We had the BEST time and are already planning a ride up the Seine to Paris next year, and then a month long ride around France.
Also, waiting for us was a tree full of ripe nectarines, sweet corn, blueberries and more runner beans than you can shake a stick at. Off to the hammock for a couple of days now.

50...Cycling in Calvados. Day 3, Honfleur to Le Havre

Honfleur

Honfleur is such a georgeous place that we decided to have most of a day here with just a short cycle ride to Le Havre later on. Saturday they have a market here so we were able to stock up on food for the next couple of days when we knew a lot of the shops would be shut (15th Aug is a big bank hol in France and most things are shut on mondays anyway). Mark and Hamish being boat people looked around the Maritime museum and H and I checked out more galleries...I wanted to see which ones were selling ceramics. Honfleur is one of three places which have the most galleries in France and there was a lot of contemporary work around at reassuringly high prices. I found one small shop which was ceramics only but it was the owners work and she told me the french didn't really understand ceramics yet...gosh. I must say most of the sculptural work was bronze, fibre glass or papier mache but there were one or two with ceramic sculpture that I may approach. I usually sell my work in Britain, it is just easier on all sorts of levels, but Honfleur is temptingly close to where I live.

Childrens wooden tiles

We had lunch in a park before setting off for Le Havre, and I discovered these sets of tiles made by local school children. There were 4 sets arranged in colours, these being the green ones. I thought they looked lovely.

Pont de Normandie from Honfleur

From the park we could see across to the Pont de Normandie which we were going to be crossing, and as the weather was closing in we decided to set off.

Going over

It is not a cyclists dream to go over a bridge like this, but we particulaly wanted to see it up close and get a feel of how big it is. It is a beautifully elegant structure, and would have lovely views on a clear day. Luckily the French are great with cyclists, and there is a cycling lane at the side of this and we actually got over quicker that a lot of the cars....and it was free for us (this is a toll road)

After the bridge there is a route for cyclists all the way into Le Havre which takes you across a nature reserve and docks. This was a really interesting route, nothing here is human size. It is difficult to show the scale here, but this ship was immense and was slowly being loaded with huge crates.

Luckily this boat had been cut in two so Hamish won't be able to tow it back to Shoreham!

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