Save that Date: Art in Action 2013

Everyone who enjoys watching artists and craftspeople at work, won't want to miss Art in Action  at Waterperry House, Oxfordshire  this year (July 18th- 21st). 


Once again we will be transporting our workshop to the Metalwork and Jewellery section of the event, and hope old clients and new will visit and watch us "in action". Both Gordon and I will be on hand to explain our techniques, talk about possible commissions, and show off new work from the studio.

Come say hello!

Over the Moon!

Swan in Flight

We couldn't resist getting our most recent design out in the sun for a photo shoot. This swan in flight is a reworking of an earlier design from the portfolio, and will be available for purchase soon. We started this design at "Art in Action" last year, so only 6 months from start to completion! I love it in silhouette over the moon cardinals. It reminds me of the Felix Neck t-shirt I had in the 70's (did we have the bumper sticker too?)...I am sure their logo used to be a swan silhouetted over the sun. Anyone remember?

More pictures to come!

Flight of the Hare

A popular weathervane from the portfolio, this version of the stylized hare is the fifth in the series.  And it's off to new it's home in New York!

The hare is photographed over the pine trees of the Duchy of Cornwall's Guy's Estate.  These managed woodlands boast dramatic views of the Golden Valley and are home to deer and pheasant. To get this view, we pulled on our wellies and tromped over a few fields dotted with hay bales. We could still see bits of snow on the Black Mountains.

The hare measures 28 inches long, and is designed to rotate over a fixed crescent moon. The overall design measures 31 inches tall. 

Squirrel Weathervane

A few weathervanes went out just before Christmas with designs based on previous commissions. The first was based on our green woodpecker weathervane, replacing the shunya yantra with the client's house name. Then another based on the same design, instead using a grey squirrel and a pierced Canadian maple leaf. And finally a smaller version of our hovering kestrel weathervane. 

But the breaking news is our new wood stove  (installed last week).   After much research we decided on a Relax wood stove. The guy who did the flue had never seen one before and neither had we actually, until we opened the box! It is top loading and we can pack it full of large logs, offcuts and even sawdust and it pelts out heat. Brilliant. A friend has just built a rocket stove for his workshop, so it will be interesting to compare the two as winter progresses.

Artist's Bowtop Gypsy Caravan

Openlot bowtop caravan

A beautiful original wagon in lovely condition with professionally hand painted exterior.

Good wheels & tyres, and working brakes. Includes stove, large kettle box, good canvas sheet, rear window, new steps and bent shafts. Pull-out double bed with plenty of cupboard space. Has been dry stored in winter.

Reluctant sale :(

Our full advert should be  here within the next week.

Poetry

We spent some time in Pembrokeshire last week, mostly around the cathedral city of St. David's. I love the sea, so for me it felt like coming home. Having bumped into illustrator Jackie Morris on the beach, we had a long chat about the direction of our work...I have so many sketches dreaming of becoming weathervanes, so I can't wait for the new gallery & studio to be back in order. I also seem to have adopted a new obsession with wild flowers after strolling the coast path with the dogs. Most people come back from Pembrokeshire in love with seals, dolphins & puffins...

The charming little rabbit weathervane has now left for Virginia, and the apple shipped off to Norway as well, so the studio is all but empty as we finish building work. Spending days in the office where I found an old poem of mine:

oh the winds they are so great
rattling at the garden gate
knocking at my kitchen door
as they blow across the moor
whistling through the trees so high
pushing clouds across the sky
spinning round the weathervane
I hope these are the winds of change

Okay,okay slightly simplistic & the first line is even a bit Monty Python ("oh Lord you are so great, so absolutely huge"...wasn't Eric Idle great in the closing ceremony of the Olympics!), but the Dartmoor days were when our kids were small. Surely I was reading Maurice Sendak's
Chicken Soup with Rice: A book of Months:

"in March the wind blows down the door
and spills my soup upon the floor
it laps it up and roars for more.
Blowing once, blowing twice
Blowing chicken soup with rice."

hear Carol King singing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syAtmgKqc9c

Cardinal Letters

The extra-large apple weathervane is now nearing completion, with the leaf and stem fixed in place, and only the arrow left to attach. We starting assembling the cardinal letters (N,E,S, & W) yesterday, finishing this morning & then headed into Hereford to collect the last bits of kit for next weeks demonstration. The city was considerably quieter today than yesterday when the Queen paid a visit!

We are also looking at woodstoves for the studio and are interested in the Relax range of workshop stoves. I guess it all started with looking at Deom Turbos mentioned on a French blog...I think the Deom is from the Netherlands. I would love to hear from anyone who has used one.