Here are those lovely pic's I promised

I love these sunsets against barbed wire shots ..


















and this is my favourite rock face

Beautiful lichen on a beautiful day....

Spring is here and the ponies have come down to give birth.

Lovely mountain ponies, a separate genus indigenous to the Carneddau mountains

Thanks for your visit, have a lovely day :)

Making little shoes.

Having made and attached one shoe to my satisfaction I now have to make sure the other one is the same size and shape :)
Ta for your visit
Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

Stand beside your European friends - holiday in Greece this year

I have heard some appalling comments from people lately regarding the Greek people.  It is faceless bureaucrat's and unscrupulous money dealers that we should be mad at not the Greek people.  So although this blog is usually about my artistic endeavors today I am posting a plea to all Europeans to please holiday in Greece this year and show your solidarity with the Greek people.  I am ashamed that the rest of Europe wishes to blame them for their woes when I thought the whole point of a European union was to all pull together.

Thanks for reading my 'rant of the day'.... more art later, got some great lichen pic's yesterday :)

Tales from the studio

She is getting there, should have her finished today then the posts will be strictly on kinky clay :) ta for you visit x

Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

Erotic work in progress

New post up on kinkyclay.blogspot.com of Rodeo Girl in the making.

Unfortunately my sculptures were not shortlisted for the Summer Exhibition this year.  Maybe next ....  at £25 each I am not sure if it is worth it, seems like vanity to keep entering.  There is a funny post below about my attempt to enter :)

There are other exciting developments afoot at BCW Designs so watch this space....

Thanks for your visit.

Yee ha!

Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

Rodeo girl

Just put the head on her with a load of slip. Have to let it dry into place a little before smoothing and adding hair so that it stays where I have put is and doesn't fall off!
Thanks for visiting, more on kinky clay later. . .
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I been #GIMP - ing again....

I did finish it in CS5 but find I use both programs now, time to make a donation to those lovely GIMP developers I think :)

Old Rose

Rosa Hillingdon in flower in January!  Layered over some old wood used as a workbench but no longer in use.  Using layers in a thoughtful way to lend providence to the final piece of art.

These two are from a marvellous G+ theme called hack this photo.....

Sunset heaven in a beautiful country.....

This week I have had business meetings to discuss my web space, tutorial times booked for Mathematics and consultations for potential design work.  What about the sculpting??   Well I have called a halt to all other activity today beside this post and then I am off out to the studio to get tunnel vision on finishing Rodeo Girl.  It's the only way!  This was a beautiful sunset across my studio roof.

                             

A rock which has been a marker and a seat for many generations of humans in these hills....

One of those Aah moments :)

Thank you for your visit, see you again soon.

Getting the head right. .

The full picture history of this piece is on kinky clay because it is very rude! However I thought it would be good to put a making post up and this pic shows a basic head before I start adding features. This bit is the most important since it is difficult to change the shape of the head after starting to add. The skull shape is right now and I am starting on making her face, I shall do this by adding a sticky wettish clay and working it as it dries into place.
Ta for your visit :)
Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

Having fun with my #GIMP (:>o

Ice Monsters

Through the Square Window

Seriously hooked on photography ...

It's beginning to get out of hand, I take pics in the morning, work through the day, be Mum in the afternoon then get sod all else done all evening because I'm too busy editing my photos and posting them.  Then interacting with the feedback!!  I'm branching out today ....

First this lovely horse who very kindly tried to eat my camera case as was trying to take her photograph the result is a fantastic portrait :)  she was given a handful of the greenest grass I could find for that.

 I'm not really sure why but I really like this photograph, a rusty old fence gate with personality.

Finally another monochrome study of a beautiful old house falling into ruin.  

@royalacademy Summer Exhibition, a story...

First of all I went to Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery today and got a couple of shots of 'Earth Womb' and Concentric Dreams' while they are there.

I have entered both of these pieces into the royal Academy Summer Exhibition and that is a story in itself which I wrote up below.  For those of you who would like a laugh at my total ineptitude and poor/good luck!

I am pleased to say that I got my submission in to The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition yesterday but, my goodness, what a shambles it turned out to be!  Having ordered the forms last Thursday, after being prompted by a keen patron who offered to pay the entry fee, they did not arrive until Monday (while I was doing observations in a local school all day).  When I looked carefully at the documents I saw that the closing date for entries was on Tuesday!  ‘Oh no!’  I thought ‘how can I possibly get them in on time?’  I promptly sent them an email and they replied saying they understood and would accept the entry for sculptural work by Thursday.  I was observing again on Tuesday so the forms would have to be done and sent on recorded post on Wednesday.  No problem. . .. .  . I thought!!

I had a business meeting on Wednesday morning (more about that another time) and started printing out pictures after getting home at 1.30pm.  All that had to be done was filling out name, address, names of work with dimensions and materials, no CV or artist statement was required, simple?!  It should have been.

First of all my printer would not take the nice glossy photo paper that I had purchased.  After a lot of fiddling I realised that I needed to gently push the sheets in since they were slipping on the runners.  At least it was working even if it was now 2.30pm.  The first one printed off with odd margins so I resorted to a different software package to print the next one, having to fiddle again to get it to take the paper.  Hooray!  A decent print, I set up the next one then had to rush off for the school run at 3.15pm.

Now the fun really started, I got the paper to feed after a few tries and the photograph came out with lines across the bottom third!  The rest was good so I tried another after checking the status to make sure the inks were OK on the printer.  The printer seemed to think it was fine so I set up the picture and printed it off, with the usual fiddle.  This time over half of the picture came out in the wrong colours, agh!  It was now 4pm.  I fiddled with the ink cartridges and now the printer told me it was running out of magenta and kindly informed me that I could change it any time I liked, grrr!  Blood heating up now, I showed great restraint and did not throw the printer across the room.

Time marched on and it was now 4.10pm.  I shouted to my son; ‘you’re with me – NOW!’ bless him, no questions he just ran to the car and sweetly empathised as I ranted about shonky printers on my way into Bangor.   I got to a shop selling cartridges and was bewildered by the immense array of different cartridges for the same company.  I looked through and could not find the relevant printer type on any of them, I asked for help and a member of staff came over and started to slowly look through as I had just done.  I told him I was in a great hurry and he continued to move at the pace of a stoned snail as he looked through their database to see if they had one in stock.  Eventually I gave up – he looked disappointed as I ran off saying; ‘they’ll just have to go as they are or they won’t go at all!’  The time now was 4.45pm, the last post was around 5pm and the journey back home would take about 15 minutes…….

When I got back to the house I left the car outside and rushed in to print off three pictures, on paper this time, of my other submission.  This is in a dark red clay called Kuiper Red which I over fired to give it a dark blue black look in places.  The pictures were a sort of bluey monochrome, omg, how unbelievably unprofessional I thought.  I gulped down the rising lump in my throat and tried to make the best of a bad job.  My handwriting was appalling as I put my name and all of the relevant details on the back of six photographs.  Quickly checking that everything was in order I ran back to the car with my dog and my son sitting in it, patiently, if somewhat bemusedly, and whizzed down to the post office.

The lady behind the counter frowned at me when I said I needed it on next day; ‘We’ve just finished batching them all up for the day’ I put my hands together in an imploring gesture and started to sink toward the floor begging her to take it for me.   Fortunately I am a regular at the post office – sending off submissions for exhibitions, customer packages etc. So she took my envelope with a wry smile.  As the last recorded sticker went on the post man came through the door.  He just happened to be the same chap that delivers my post for whom I am regularly taking packages for the neighbours (handy for him that I work from home) so he waited – somewhat impatiently, with lots of good humoured grumbling. 

What a palaver!!!?  By 5.15pm it was in the post, hopefully it won’t be thrown out as soon as it is looked at and the images are enough to prompt the judges to want to see the real thing.  It is in the lap of the Gods and the judges now, if any of them happen to read this I apologise for my poor photographs and scruffy handwriting.

On a final note:  I am finishing my teaching observations today.  I have been quite put off the idea of teacher training since the paper work load is so ridiculously high that it will be impossible for me to run my business for a whole year.  However, I have been offered more private tuition work and feel the full PGCE will make me a better teacher at all levels of classes so I am still undecided.  I will be looking seriously at developing my programming skills instead and am considering an MSc with a view to becoming a front end web developer using HTML5, PHP and java.  This would in some ways suit my art practice better, particularly when it comes to bringing art and science together.

Thanks for your visit.

Lovely photographs from a frosty morning

I got so many lovely photographs that morning it has taken till it's getting warmer to get right through them!

 The view from the top of Moel Faban across the Glyderau to Moel Elio in the distance.

A large impressive rock covered in lichen that you can see on the right in the picture above.

 Frosty bokeh!!

How many gremlins can you see in those amazing frosticles?  I love it when it is cold enough to do this around the stream. The light was hitting a rock poking out of the stream through a thick rhyme of ice. 

A new post of Rodeo Girl going up on Kinky Clay.  

Thanks for your visit :)

Kinky Clay - 'Peg the Rodeo Girl... '

New post at http://kinkyclay.blogspot.com  showing ceramic figurine work of an erotic nature in progress.  Who am I kidding - it's pornographic with no exploitation, confrontational and downright dirty a very extreme way of saying something profound about sexual politics.  if you don't like that sort of thing please don't look and if you are under 18 there is an adult content gate.  However, if you like your art erotic and unafraid  ...  enjoy :)

Thanks for your visit.

British Women Artists #FollowArt

This site really is an amazing resource, to the artist and for art lovers.  I cant' believe the amount of views I have had on Earth Womb and Concentric Dreams, especially over the last couple of weeks.  This is the link to my portfolio on there http://www.britishwomenartists.com/art-list.php?artist=1560  .  It is not complete - yet :)  and  it's going to be changing over time.

Thanks for your visit.

Trees, mountains and monochrome metal ...

Recently we had to do a dentist run, which is quite an expedition around here!  Since we live in one of the most beautiful places it's no hardship and a few lovely photographs can be gathered along the way.  The one below is in the pine forest at Nant Mor, the sun was hitting it as it went down and the moss on the

trees just came to life.

I thought they looked like a gang of different colored young pine upstarts with Mr I'm Acid Green at the front!!

I'm an artist - that's my excuse :)

This stunning sunset happened on the way back as we went up the pass from Nant Gwynant, beside Snowdon.

Like I said - no hardship.....

This one was done for Hawkeas Friends on G+ and their theme of  monochrome.

Presents from #google and an #exhibition opens

I went to the open evening of the Bangor Open Art exhibition and took a photograph of the winners of the judges prizes and the speech.  I am not good with names nor am I attempting to be a journo but I shall try to get a pic of the winning entries and find out the artists names.  They were pretty impressive and I realized how lucky I was to have had two pieces chosen.

The chap with the beard won a runners up prize with photograph of two old local farm hands in a barn, an amazing captured moment as a shaft of sunlight hit one of the subjects faces and gave the picture a Rembrandt feel.  The other chap, standing on his own to your right, won the first prize with a charming painting of high street shopfronts in an almost Lowrie like style.

This gentleman is a local much lauded local artist (and in my ignorance I cannot tell you his name, sorry)  He gave a wonderful speech about the value of the amateur and self taught artist in the realm of the arts.  Lamenting the passing of many small operations that had run short courses and produced many talented individuals as the forward march of academic training in the arts became the accepted way.  The emphasis on academic training has meant that the amateur and self taught artist is looked down upon and undervalued by the art elite, making the value of exhibitions like the Bangor Open  more valuable than ever.  It is often from the self taught that new innovation is born in the arts since they have not had the formal induction into 'the way it is done' and this is as important and valuable as the accepted route.

I had a lovely present from Google the other day.  Having circled a chap from Google on G+ I saw a post asking if anyone else would like a G+ sticker with a camera on it.  'Oh yes please  :) ' I said.   He very sweetly paid the postage all the way to the UK from California and sent me a lovely surprise gift; A piece of handmade paper impregnated with wild flower seeds.  I am going to grow them and take photographs as they grow then stick them up on G+.  Thank you very much to Google, G+ and Richard Hay :)

Thank you for your visit, pretty pictures later.

Bangor Open Art Exhibition

I went to the opening last night and there were a lot of people there and loads  of very varied art works.  I shall try to get some photo's when it is not so crowded if they will let me.  Just to remind you - it is on Mon to Sat 12-4.30 weekdays and 10.30 -4.30 Saturday at the Gwynedd Museum & Gallery.

Of course no post would be complete without a picture soo ......

A beautiful sunset from Red Wharf Bay.

Ta  for your visit and hope you have a good weekend :)

Postcards and kinky clay ....

About to put a couple of work in progress pic's up on kinky clay http://kinkyclay.blogspot.com for all you naughty adults who like their clay a bit rich ;0

The winners of the postcard give away have been drawn from a hat and the addresses have now been collected so if you haven't received an email I am afraid you were not successful - this time. To those who won a set I shall be getting them out today and you should receive them very soon, congratulations.

A quick reminder about the Bangor Open Art Exhibition - the open evening is tonight and the exhibition is open to the public from 10.30 am tomorrow at the Gwynedd Museum & Gallery in the heart of Bangor.

Thanks for your visit :)

Sunsets, sunrises and mountains ......

Some lovely pic's to keep your stream beautiful :)  First sunrise over The Carneddau Mountains.

then, sunset over Moelyci http://www.moelyci.org/

and finally, the view from Tan Y Foel on a magical misty spring morning.

Thanks for your visit :)