Pesky glazes..

I am finding glazes very hard to master - due to mostly a lack of interest and impatience!! I feel I am more of a 'maker' - I enjoy putting pieces together and printing patterns but have not got the patience or delicacy for applying colour. Glazes are too unpredictable!

Vase no2 ruined with a badly mixed glaze:





Perfectly spun tapas dishes ruined by glaze too thick..

(least now I have learnt what I did wrong..!)





For the next pieces I will be doing, I have decided to use oxides instead with probably an overcoat of transparent glaze. I am also trying a thin layer of glaze for the big letters (see images below) which will hopefully lay mainly inside the lines of pattern. 


I like more the raw quality of oxides and their ability to highlight textural pattern. Lets hope these work out like I want them to...

Mosaics

My mum is undoubtedly very happy that I have finally taken those numerous bags of tiles off her and have now started a mosaic project! 3 years on - after efficiently starting a collection of unwanted tiles - I have begun a mini project sprucing up an old bed box.

Is pretty basic and un-intricate but think it'll be a nice storage box/coffee table for the living room.

Future Makers Trail

This weekend, I was able to help out at and showcase the Future Makers Trail booklet I made for Manchester Craft and Design Centre at the opening of their new exhibition: Tactile Illusions by Elizabeth Winstanley.

Alongside the trail, there was a craft activity in studio 2 and there was a particular bunch of enthusiastic crafters who stayed for the duration!

A successful day and a successful outcome for the public engagement team at Manchester Craft and Design!

All participants in the craft activity will have their work displayed in the front window for the duration of the exhibition, thanks guys!

Martin Creed: What is the point of it all?

This weekend I went to the Creed exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Lured in by the promise of interactive, immersive environments, I was slightly disappointed with some of the work displayed.. Creed's work is slightly crude at times but his concepts are interesting and I really enjoyed the balloon room!


I really felt I was a child back in a playground - no one could see me and I enjoyed running around, disappearing into and out of the balloons!

Ceramics course

The 3rd week of my Ceramics Course at Trafford College..

I am in the process of making a second vase (what am I going to do with all these objects?!) and have to decide what glaze to put on my first..

Apart from the really long bus journey every Thursday night, I have really enjoyed this course so far and it has reaffirmed that I want to be doing something practical with my hands EVERYDAY.

Week one of my search for employment in the arts begins...

Training

Yesterday, I attended a training day at the Cornerhouse Manchester. 'Creative Consultation with Young People' was a course run by arts training organisation, ARTSWORK. The course was a great opportunity to meet other art professionals and share experiences of engaging young people. I feel I now have an overview of how to organise a consultation with young people and hopefully, would be better at delivering a session, taking in to consideration all the issues discussed.

Lampshade making

I have been doing some crafty things recently so I can keep my roots in the artistic world. This one was a lampshade making course at Ministry of Craft Manchester.

Beautiful place, with a quaint kitsch vibe - a nice way to spend the afternoon. 

Thank you Sam!