The technique we used is quite simple; bisque fired work is painted with copper, iron and manganese oxide and then placed in a smoke chamber along with colour enhancing ingredients such as coffee grinds, copper wire, salt, soot, sea weed and hydrangea heads. We made salt and coffee bombs ( salt and coffee grinds wrapped in a sheet of newspaper) which we placed inside and beside the vessels so that when they get hot they will burst and give the ceramics an intense blast of colour.

Once the ceramics are placed on a layer of sawdust another layer of sawdust is poured on top…

Some newspaper is torn up and placed on top…

It is lit….

And once the sawdust catches fire, it is time to replace the lid so that the sawdust will glow and smoulder rather than burn, allowing the smoke to decorate the surfaces. The barrel will reach about 8-900 degrees Celsius.

My next sculpture and smoke firing workshop will take place at Dudley Road studios on Sunday 12th February and there will be a plate making workshop on Sunday 5th February. To find out more please go here

Plate making Sunday 5th February 11-3pm at Dudley Road Studios.

Decorating the plates, Sunday 19th March 11-3pm

We use under glazes and oxides to paint the plates after they have been bisque fired.
To find out more and to sign up, please go here

‘My images, like icons, reflect a sacred world where all things are connected.’

My contact with Faith Nolton began after I stumbled across her paintings on the internet and felt an immediate connection. Looking at Faith’s images, I felt that she could show me new ways of exploring, and so I called her! I never do this, normally, but it was the beginning of what for me has been an extraordinary journey into the unknown.
I have always used clay to tell myself stories about what is going on in my head – and through the creative process I often discover what I really think or feel about something. I think art fills that function for many artists, I am certainly not unique in this. But in Faith I sensed that her explorations were focused and her images spoke to me about journeys to other realms of reality, places I could recognize. I wanted to venture further into this, and Faith has shown me how to go about it.

Faith’s paintings often describe what she encounters during her Shamanic journeys; “When I first discovered shamanism over 30 years ago”, she writes, ”I found simple ways of exploring life that are deeply loving and personally enriching. This perception had already been with me on an intuitive level through my painting and poetry.Shamanism is an ancient natural relationship with life, in which all things are related, and connected - a web of energy that is affected by our actions, thoughts, emotions and intentions.
It is not a ‘religion’, but enables one to live in a larger waveband of sacred experience and understanding, with the guidance and loving support of personal spirit helpers.”

Faith offers a ‘creative consultancy’ service which includes guidance on meditational/dream imagery, art technique and development for individuals and small groups in her studio near Cardigan in Wales. Or you could do what I did – call her! Due to the dreaded spammers, I won’t give her phone number here, but follow the links to her website and you’ll find all the contact details there.
She is also busy writing and illustrating a book on making sacred art which will be published during 2012.

If you like any of Faith’s images, you are welcome  to download them from her website

This is my workshop diary for January and February in case you would like to learn some of my techniques and have a bit of creative fun in Hastings. My workshops are suitable for beginners and people with previous experience alike. I look forward to seeing you!

Thursday morning workshops; Five sessions

A new five session series of ceramic workshops is starting up on Thursday 19 January 10.30-1 pm. These workshops are suitable for beginners and for people with some previous experience alike. I will be introducing some new techniques at each session, but I am also happy for you to do your own thing.

Thursday 19th; bowl making, introducing textures. We make the bowls inside moulds so we do not use a potter’s wheel.
Thursday 26th; coiling techniques
Thursday 2nd February; slab building techniques
Thursday 9th; decorating with under glazes
Thursday 16th; glazing and smoke firing, please follow link to see more about my smoke firing classes!

Cost; £125 for the full course, including all materials, firings and tuition plus refreshments.

One day Wonders January and February 2012

 

The story goes that a young girl went to the woods to gather fir cones. Feeling tired she sat down next to a hill and as she leant against the rock it opened up and she was invited inside by the king of the mountain. All night she danced and feasted with the beautiful people, but in the morning she woke up outside the hill with her basket of fir cones.
‘I must have been dreaming’, she told herself and walked home. But a new family now lived in her old house and she didn’t recognise anyone in the village. Nobody knew her.  Finally an old man said he had heard stories about an old couple who had lost their daughter in the woods many years ago when he was a child.

Abraham Gibson, the London poet, wrote a poem about this piece

The Abduction 

A kiss is a weapon

it can strike you

Or stand guard… about your world

Loneliness is not bitter

if there is

… sun light in your soul

We do not care for summer

the birds chatter too loudly

the branches

… steal light

from the sky

Music is not ours

if we cannot hear its heart beat

love is not content

if we…

cannot hear its sigh

He found her sensuality

beautiful / disturbing

it reached him…

through her breath

over miles

and

across streams

The sun filtered

through the trees

like ribbons

The deeper he ventured

into the forest

the tighter

the ribbons

wrapped around his veins!

Be my soldier

Be my king

Hold me while I sleep

Be my soldier

Be my king!

Madness is a holding fast

and a letting go

His melancholy a dance with pain

that aches with hope

How do you keep a song quiet

that entices your every mood

if he could hear this music…

Who else could?
Their meeting place

was stained

ram shackled

danced over

And she has never been seen again

half of his mind…

still waits for her

half of his mind!

half of his mind

is being chased by the grief

Be my soldier

be my king

Be my soldier

be my king!

To see more of Abraham’s work, please go here http://youtu.be/Le7d2cHw2LY

‘The Abduction’,  a bronze sculpture inspired by an old Swedish fairytale about a girl who is abducted by the fairies.

I made it in plaster of Paris  and then had it cast in bronze in an edition of 6 at Livingstone art founders in Matfield, near London.

To find more  Christmas presents, please go to www.annakeiller.com

A new gang of Fat Bird sculptures came out of the smoke bins this morning – I’m very excited about them and I hope you are, too.

If you are looking for that unique Christmas present, then have a look here. I send all my work using the post offices special next day delivery.

All through the night the smoke chambers have been working and this morning these little owls emerged, bleary eyed.

I am busy cleaning them up and taking their picture so that they can go on my website later on today. It’s so exciting!

This is a link to the owl page.

There will be some new Fat Birds as well later on today. I send my sculptures using special next day delivery, so if you would like to give a bird to someone as a Christmas gift, it will arrive in good time (this is only valid for Great Britain – if you live elsewhere then please contact me and I’ll see what I can do – I sent a little Owl to New Zealand recently, and it arrived within a week.)

Fat Birds are flying out the door at the moment;

This couple went to Preston

And this yellow Fat Bird flew to Leamington Spa…

I have a new collection of Fat Birds and Little Owl sculptures in the kiln waiting to come out, so watch this space!