Lost Souls Forever

What a bizarre week. Where do I start? Yes Anna, I am going to be a daddy, Chris is pregnant! (that's the good news over with) .And it's good to hear from you. I have had an interview with the National Trust for a Custodian Post-no-one has rung me back so I presume I haven't got the job. My regular job rang me to say I hadn't got my "expression of interest" form in which could rule me out from re applying for my existing job. I've just been informed that I have a months notice on my day centre job as they can't afford me any more- the finances are up the swannie. So the prospect of unemployment looms from all the effort I have put in for two posts over the last ten years. Do I give a shit? Yeah, I am quite shell shocked really, even though I've conditioned myself to not be after previous experiences (that's a story in itself!...). I'm most upset that i'll be leaving all my students, who I've worked with and grown up with. The person in charge of the purse strings has never even sat in on one of my sessions, never seen me teach, never seen me interact with people, never will. Welcome to County Council Policy, where accountants rule. Anyway, to quote artist David Mach.... "Get hard" Don't let the bastards grind you down, it's their loss, and mine too. My friend Rose does say it's all for a reason, a learning curve, I'm inclined to agree. Now for a picture, something relevant... Oh by the way, Retford has been flooded in Biblical proportions, sewerage has been floating up my drains, how quickly things pail into insignificace. We (Retford) were even on news 24. This is the supermarket car park.

I'm Henry the eighth, I am.

Well this could be a long entry, appropriate to match the day I suppose. It's been a great day though. Started at 4-30 this morning (after about two hours sleep) in order to catch the 5-50 train down to Kings Cross. From there to Vauxhall by tube, then out to Hampton Court Palace which I made for 9-15.

I just missed the connection at Vauxhall which meant sitting and waiting for half an hour, staring at the magnificent and spooky MI5 building. I did wonder if I could get arrested for taking pix of it?!

Anyhow...

My workshop started with coffee and biscuits then a tour around some of the palace looking at the pottery and tiles in situ. I had 6 very lovely ladies to demonstrate my potting skills to. A job made in heaven! And they're paying me! They were a really good group, very interested and willing to get dusty. We ended up with dishes, tiles, bowls, ocarinas, all sorts of creations.

It all wound up at 4-00 and I caught the 5-00 train back to London. The Victoria line was absolutely packed on the way back to Kings Cross, the train stood for 10 mins because of overcrowding, the announcer was going batty telling people to move down the train.

Actually got to Kings X early so managed to sink a pint in the platform pub whilst killing time. I ended up home by 9-00 which is pretty good going for a days work I would say! A total result of a day. I can't wait to do it again. Here are our collective works...

And here we are! Who said work should be a chore!

Soft

Just for once I have no pictures to show. I'm so incredibly tired by the combination of job insecurity and impending fatherhood, which includes a perpetually sick partner...(she is not well...) I gave myself a little treat tonight and played with my clay down in my shed! It was partly for my own pleasure aswell as preparing for a very glamourous job on Saturday down at Hampton Court Palace in London. I'm demonstrating Tudor pottery for the day. We are touring the Palace looking at some of the ceramics in situ, then having a go at reproduction, unfortunately with air dry clay, but that's the only way we can do it without kilns and fire of course. I'm such a purest, I hate the stuff, but it serves a purpose, education wise. Meanwhile... in me shed, I've been playing with real clay, some of which I've had stored up for a couple of years. It stinks...! Stinky clay is good. It means it's old and pliable. It smells because all the organic products in it are breaking down and giving off methane (an eggy smell). It also means all the individual ingrediants, such as flint, silicon and quartz have all mixed and melded together, making a really pliable and consistant material. I'm going to bang some medieval replica tiles through the day centre's kiln tomorrow, they are going to be once fired. This means drying out the clay tiles, then coating them with a thick lead glaze. As the tiles are quite thin they should hopefully fire without cracking or exploding and also glaze over effectively. Lead glaze melts at a quite low temperature so should give a nice finish. This saves firing twice, which is the usual method. To give a nice aged, medieval finish, I'm going to sprinkle on some silicon carbide and iron oxide, which will spoil the glaze, giving it a bubbled and speckly finish. I forgot how much I love ceramics, it's basically modern alchemy. I am an alchemist! ">Link

Like a house falling into the sea

This has been the wettest week ever. Our street is flooded, we can't move the car, there are fire engines pumping out. Luckily it hasn't risen to our house, unlike some of the neighbours.My allotment is sodden too. ">Link

Everything is utterly soaked! And my wellies have sprung a leak.... This is the view from my onion patch. I don't think i'll need to water tonight. Ironically,I haven't watered my glasshouse for the last three days, so everything has wilted! Shit!

We are all made of stars

Unfortunately I have had to hand in my notice to "Alberts Kitchen". http://albertskitchen.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/

I've increasingly found that I can't keep up the momentum of juggling two jobs, self employment, selling on ebay, gardening, playing in a band and my impending immortality!

The band has had to go on the back burner as there is so much travel involved, I've driven home late at night so many times and wondered how I didn't put the car in a ditch through sleep deprivation!. I have officially burnt the candle at both ends and in the middle. Time has come to shift priorities,-god that sounds so grown up, especially for me! Time for a picture....

Anyway, deepest respect to the two Richards, I'm hoping to stay as a sort of associate member of the Kitchen, as I can never hang up the banjo! Might already be in for a gig in Newark soon, can't wait, although touched with abit of sadness in a way. Life goes on.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

This is slightly old news in a way as it happened last saturday and sunday, but here are some pictures from this years Riverside Festival. Last year we all dressed as pirates. This years subject was "The seaside". My changing booth/picture postcard booth was placed outside and worked well. A lock ness monster was paraded through town, bands played, fairground rides spun and all had a very nice weekend. To top it all the sun was shining! (although more on sat than sunday). I wore a very fetching and mildly retching stripey swimsuit (sort of!) while Frances and Victoria had bathing costumes that were very memorable.

The Riverside festival is such a great event for Gainsborough, it really brings the place to life and advertises what is usually a sleepy backwater town that just happens to have one of the best Medieval buildings in the country tucked into the middle of the town.

It also means we all get to dress up and have fun whilst promoting the place!

The mandarins on the Council who continually neglect us should take note of that.

I'm not allowed to express an opinion though-it's official and contractual apparently, I have to clear it with my employers before I comment on that sort of thing. Well fuck them.

I can't believe a year has passed since our Pirate day, how time flies and things change. ">Link

Box frenzy 2

Here it is, the finished masterpiece. You step inside and stick ya head through the whole to become a jolly fat sailor. ">Link

Got to keep on walking...

My latest creation is for the Riverside Festival. Every June Gainsborough has a big party with a theme. This year's is "seaside". We are all dressing up (I have some sort of bathing costume!). There is a parade through town and lots of activities. My contribution is pictured, there will be a polaroid camera so you can have a pic taken with a jolly sailor body! It's not finished though, stay tuned... Much more importantly, the lady inside the box is my very good friend Donel, whom I used to work with, but now lives back home in Iowa, U.S.A. with hubby Jonathon and soon to be daughter. It was so nice to see them all. She beat meet to breaking my own news to the boss....

">Link

Baby Frattelli

Everything is coming up rosey this year. I seem to be getting good at propagation...

(Hi auntie El !!)

Been busy restoring finds from Newark and Swinderby antiques fair. Two more mandolins will soon be back on the circuit... It feels good to create new life in things....