Deposited in the Bank

I was so happy when I got a visit from Charmaine the interior decorator for the soon to be opened Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Thank you to Robert Joyette, a fellow artist who had left my number with her. 

As I had not fired any of my work and did not have my own studio/showroom I invited her to the pottery studio that same afternoon.When she arrived with Erica of the famous pepper sauce I instantly liked her and she liked my work. I was commissioned to produce the pieces I had displayed  plus four paintings and two glass panels. 
St Vincent here I come !

Complete selection of smaller pieces

Large carved bowl

Pre firing. Large commissioned Water Carrier with
 the smaller original next to it

Large Lush vase

Pre firing. Commissioned large Water Jug with original 

I was so upset when I opened the kiln.
Any -how being the repetitive worker I am I was happy to make them all over again
and use these as planters in the garden for some kind of vine.

Small water carrier after firing and polishing

One of two fused class panels made in collaboration with
Michael Ross

Fire Dance acrylic on canvas. The framing was chosen by Charmaine 
and is a triple frame that I think works really well and was put together by the
lovely team at Rogers Framing Studio in Kingstown.

Fowl house

House inspired by the PMs old residence 

The Water Carrier

This is my new project The Water Carrier. I will be posting images as I progress

along with sketches and some video. She is inspired by the traditional pots and decoration of the Kalinago people, our local monkey pots and water jars and my interest and fascination with the Benin bronzes and all things feminine and of water  . Enjoy 

This a mix of two local clays, a smooth yellow and very rough grey that  I had to
soak and sieve a couple of times before I mixed it.
The pot is made using coiling and is hollow. The bowl at the top has a hole that opens out into the main body of the vessel.
I am planing to carve into the bowl and body of the pot.

I love carving into clay. There is a point where it becomes leather hard and it is firm enough to take some pressure and have some bite when it is cut with a knife. At this time you can get a lot of detail and still correct any mistakes. 
I did some drawings a while back but haven't really looked at them since, so I started this piece free hand. So far I am happy with what I have achieved.

Carving the bowl. Speed x 2 .Opps continuity is a bit off !

I still have a lot of cleaning up to do but I will tackle that once I have carved the main body and joined the two together

I have drawn the pattern that I will carve into the body. The bowl and body will have a seamless join when complete. 

I have begun carving the main body.

Sketches

Sketches

I have started carving the main body. 

More carving of the body

Carving the bottom

Plenty of cleaning up to do

Getting there

Complete

The next stage is to leave to dry and fire 

Fired and polished

Exhibition of new work

Jump up to Junk heap

The compound that I take a pottery class in and also teach my jewellery workshop is

also used by the mass band SVG Players. I was flattered when the band leader Pollard Pilling

asked me to give him a hand with some of the costumes. The overall theme was At The Movies. I was asked to work on the Avatar section painting masks and Snow White where I would make the Seven Dwarfs. 

I have worked in London for ten years making all types of constructions for anything from christenings to outdoor festivals and fetish parties. Under normal circumstances I would say, no thank you.I don't think I need to go into the reasons except the main one that I question...Snow White in the Caribbean ? That didn't really work for me. Anyway after having a conference with my friend and healer Marilyn who told me nicely to stop being so silly, I went ahead. Below is the outcome.

The costume won the Queen Show

The nimble fingers of Pollard Pilling with his original drawing and example of
Dwarf no 1

The dwarfs pre glitter and fixing to costume.It took two days to draw up,cut, stick and
paint the fat boys. I also had a couple of helpers. Not sure of the time. My face says about 1.30 am. 

My favourite bit adding the glitter. The head wrap wasn't a fashion statement but there to keep glitter out of my locs. It didn't work.

One day your a winner in the Queen Show the next your on the scrap heap

Island Images

I have joined the arts group Art n Action and this is my first showing. It is

a mix of Vincentian artists and also artists that have made St Vincent their home.

There are fifteen artists showing painting, photograph, collage and digital work.

Paintings created for the exhibition. Acrylic on wooden panels

Hand painted and hand stitched journals/notebooks on sale at the exhibition

I have never been into beauty contests but we had a visit from the Miss Carival contestants and they were all lovely.Miss  St Vincent recognises
one or my images 

Earthly Bodies

This is a selection of the clay bodies we have found in St Vincent. The verity
is amazing and we have not really begun looking yet. The colours and textures are
 wonderful to work with and I am excited about the idea of finding some in my
back yard. 


The island is really effecting my work, there is a theme of fertility coming through that
was not planed. All around me is lushness , it rains things grow, I plant a seed it grows. 
I am a city girl so I am totally mesmerised by the beauty of the land and the people. 
I was walking through Kingstown and felt that I actually live here, I am no longer just a
visitor staying for a few weeks, this is now my home.  

HOT HOT HOT

Some more beauty from the yard. I actually planted the chives , pepper and
mint. Those who know me will know why I think it's a big thing, my pot plants in
London never lasted for long. I am really amazed and thankful that I am in this
space right now where I can be closer to nature and work with nature to nourish
myself and family. So to seasoning the fish. 

Today is so hot. My mum and I are so hot and sweaty we are just sitting
looking at how hot and sweaty we each are.
I had to go and water my seedlings and decided to take a walk
down into the yard. 
 96 degrees in the shade ?
Cool under the mango tree and lots of mangos drop. Twelve mangoes, three
in the fridge. Going to shower and then cool mango to eat ummmm

Ticky and I found this smashing pumpkin out the back. 

Pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin salad, pumpkin juice, pumpkin fritters

Bad gal photographer Tickyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Love

I found that I had run out of paper and could not be bothered to stretch another canvas.
So I went into the back yard and everything I needed was there. I love it !

Blossoms from the Plumrose tree

Plumrose leaf

Coconut palm

Banana leaf

Next I will be making some paper

From my Island

I have been carving a collection of fish in various forms from our local clay. These
will be used as test pieces to ascertain the make up of the clay, firing temperature etc.
A little nervous about the whole process but sure all will be well.

     

More of our beautiful clay. The one of the left reminds me of porcelain as it is quite delicate
and cant take much handling and cracks if over worked. It has small inclusions that are quite soft and don't interrupt the tool when the surface is cut into  . The fishy one reminds me of
a robust stoneware, easy to work and cut into. The red clay is powdery and feels as if it is full
of air. It has to be compressed in the hand before and during pinching as the surface cracks easily, I also had to keep my hands moist when working.

More pottery

 Im loving my Goddess vase/tea light holder. 
She is made from locally sourced clay and is hollow 
so can hold a single beautiful flower or a tea light/candle.
Once she is fired I will post more images.
 I like the natural colour of the clay but may also add a glaze.

Pottery in Paradise

This is a great class. The pottery industry on St Vincent was thriving for many years but now is non existent.The Caribs and Garifuna used pottery as ceremonial and everyday functional objects, many of their beautiful pieces are now housed in National Trust building in Kingstown. 

The group aims to rebuild the tradition.

My sketchbook with class notes, and above our first project pinch pots.

 I love being a student again.

The group out on the first clay dig in Lowmans. Hard work. This land is used to grow 

ground provisions.We didn't do too much damage. 

Bagging up. We filled about twenty bags.

Our tutor and master potter Mr Dyer. He makes decent tea pot. 

We also had to drag the bags up that steep hill.

The clay has to be soaked and all large stones

and organic matter removed

Some serious clay preparation skills

The beautiful circle of seven ready to use. At this 

stage its down to the individual how coarse or

smooth you want your clay. I chose to sieve

mine twice and remove much of the stony, gritty

material.

As part of our course work we had to make collection of pots following a 

particular shape. This is actually a really difficult project as it takes

a lot of observation and control. I saw a few tears from some students as 

their pots were squashed because Mr Dyer was not happy with the forms.

My new project. Local clay hand carved vessels

Carved vessel drying. I love the stone colour.