A Catch up - (Standing in Gardens)

Section 1 – A Lack of Apology

I usually begin a blog entry with an apology for not updating this page regularly enough. I’ve decided that I’m going to stop doing that as from this post. Apologising I mean, not neglecting this webpage. Of late this web page has been so neglected, if it were a cat it would be dead.. not just dead but it would probably have reached the compost stage of decomposition. As this web page is not a cat I am comfortable in abandoning it for a few months to whine and scratch in a dark corner of the internet until I can be bothered to scrape it up and tap out some more meaningless gumph to an audience I could probably count on one paw.

Section 2 – Horsforth Walk of Art

Horsforth Walk of Art was an event that took place a long time ago back in July. I didn’t write a blog about it at the time and I’m not sorry for that. Many, Many local artists and performers took part in this massive event displaying work in public spaces and gardens and providing hands on activities and demonstrations. Luckily, I have a very generous friend who was able to offer me use of his garden in order to display most of my work and (after carefully transporting boxes and boxes of delicate morbid sculptures) allowed me to stand next to them while absolute strangers walked in and out of his garden. A brilliant part of this process was being able to interact with people and seek opinions and criticism rather than hide behind the safety of the internet. In order to give you an idea of some of the comments I received I’ve compiled a list of my favourite feedback .. (All true)

“Ï appreciate the talent it takes to make something like this.. but I wouldn’t want it in my house” – (Man in Blue Coat)

“Urgghh.. I wouldn’t want that on my mantelpiece” (Man in Green Coat)

“Ohhh my God! What a nice big garden” (Lady in Green Hat)

“I really have no idea what the hell any of this means but my son did something similar once” (Man in Trilby)

In addition to chatting with people about what they would, or would not put on their mantelpiece, my extremely patient wife and I also ran a small sculpting activity group. This enabled both children and adults to have an opportunity to try their hand at clay sculpture. Through doing this I learnt many many things...

1.If you put a lump of clay in front of a child it makes them quiet.

2.If you put a lump of clay in front of an adult they become either competitive or uncomfortable.

3.Given a lump of clay most children will make a mouse.

4.The clay owl is lying on its back because it is tired.. it is not dead.

5.The Weirdopus is the king of all monsters.

Overall, it was a extremely enjoyable (but tiring) weekend and I was genuinely touched by the amount of strangers, friends and family who took the time to pop in. My only regret is that I didn’t have chance to look around all of the other exhibitions. I shall be sure to escape next time and have a proper gander.

Section 3 – Woodland Series

Just for the sake of trying something different I’ve started a series of woodland animals in clay. I’m going to cast these in the next few weeks/ months so I’ll be sure to provide an update of my progress via Instagram (which I do actually keep quite up to date). Early feedback has been very positive, especially concerning the suspended Running Hare sculpture I am currently working on. This is apparently considered mantelpiece friendly and, in addition, I've also been infomed that Hares are "well trendy at the moment" so that's a bonus.  When completed, I’m going to paint the resin casts up in autumn colours and I should then have enough to place a limited number on etsy along with the Advocate figurines mentioned in the last blog. I’ll put a gallery of all these items on this site which is long overdue a tidy up.

This is the end of this blog.. I shall return when I have both more to say and the motivation to type it. Thank you for persisting to the end of these ramblings.

Much Love

Pete X

The Advocates and Walking in Horsforth

For a while now I’ve been toying around with the idea of moulding and casting while searching for a form which is simple to reproduce. I first attempted this process (with varying degrees of success) last year in trying to replicate my old friend Boris the goblin*. On this occasion I managed to produce ONE successful copy while destroying the original... I suppose in that respect all I achieved really was a clone of a goblin.. An expensive and time consuming process which proved to be of no benefit whatsoever.

I have now moved on from this experience and created a small “series” entitled The Advocates.

Each of these three characters is dealing with a separate dilemma.. illness, depression, and frustration. I designed the Advocates in order to present a group of individuals each having their own  tiny dilemma. They exist to evoke a little solace in the fact that there’s always someone worse of than ourselves.. to provide a little comfort and empathy.. all wrapped up in a small desktop companion. 

This series represents “round two” and gave me the opportunity to have another bash at moulding. In order to reproduce this series I needed to get my head around the process of constructing a mould out of silicone and casting copies. Overall, I have discovered this process to be extremely boring... no fun at all.. monotonous.. and at times dangerous. To reproduce copies of the air dry clay originals (which are quite fragile) I chose to cast them in a far more sturdy laminating resin. I carefully picked this material by searching the word “resin” on amazon and picking the cheapest product. I now have a room full of stinky resin copies which are awaiting painting. Not that it’s been a simple process. Many a hard lesson has been learnt over the past couple of weeks inclusive of an event whereby I nearly unintentionally exterminated the household with hazardous fumes and an odd “carry on-esque” debacle that began with me spilling corrosive chemicals on my trousers and ended with someone having a relaxing bath rudely interrupted.. (the less said about this event the better).

Anyway.. Success is a relative term and as far as I’m concerned the battle is won. I shall complete a webpage section as always once they are all painted up and ready to flee the nest..

Which brings me onto the fact that I shall be exhibiting some of my work as part of Horsforth Walk of Art on the 2nd to 3rd of July. It’s a fantastic event which gives artists an opportunity to present and sell their work within the community and I’m really excited to be part of it this year. If you can make it please come down and have a chat and a skeg around..  I’ll probably harp on a bit more about this in the next post anyway.

Here’s a link with more information about the event as well as a list of all the artists taking part.. 

http://horsforth-woa.org

Ta Muchly

Speak soon

Pete x

* Boris is a failed experiment in clay and nothing more than this..   (see Boris section for more details)

Organic Sculpture... and the Sadness of Clumsiness

I’m sorry. There’s been a very prominent lull in my motivation following the Christmas period. I blame the depressing weather, lack of tinsel and abundance of airborne viral infections for this.. Although I think I’m over it now.. Plus it’s pancake day soon. Anyway, I have managed to muster some creative enthusiasm and (for those who haven’t been bombarded with shaky 3am Instagram pictures) come up with a new series of surrealist sculptures. I use the word “series” incredibly loosely as, to be honest, they’re one statue away from being “a couple of sculptures” but, whatever, three’s a series.. well a trilogy.... over thinking this...  shut up!

I started working on this style all the way back last year when I was playing about with constructing an organic form sat upon a much more structured cube. I liked the contrast between the two completely different styles and the challenge to marry them into one form, each complimenting the other. I was obviously so inspired and excited by this initial prototype that I dropped it on the floor and failed to revisit the idea for four months or so.. It’s a horrible feeling dropping something you’ve worked on for hours. I saw a documentary on the sculptor Henry Moore who, upon breaking one of his sculptures whilst transporting it, said something like “it came from nothing, so why should I be sad when it returns”.. I lack this philosophical insight.. when I drop a sculpture it makes me sad.. and angry.. Some people break things when they’re angry.. I simply mourn the loss of the things I have broken.. and their return to nothingness.. and wear black for a few days... and drink a bit.. then move on.. Slowly.

So eventually, upon coming out of mourning, I finished this “series” of three sculptures all of whom seem very possessive of their allocated objects. Each figure is a representation of a different human emotion and all are modelled using air dry clay and then painted using a combination of airbrush and... well.. normal brush. I’m hoping to extend this series and revisit developing moulds so that I can produce some copies. Hopefully, this will open the opportunity to produce some to sell or give away or hide in people’s gardens. Anyway, I’ll put more pictures and hopefully a more concise description on the site as soon as I develop the motivation to do so.

Happy Pancakes

Love Pete x