Frittery…
… I think completely made up but meaning when I can’t settle to anything. The opposite of focus which is a thematic goal for me this year. It’s apt for this site’s progress too. The novelty of the redevelopment has worn off and it feels not seem less enough again, more of too many unresolved bits. Ngh.
Emotion of the day number 18, with thanks to Be Manzini
Preparing for Sheffield Creative Guild Sessions
I was really gratified to find I am fully booked for the business planning advice sessions I am hosting for Sheffield Creative Guild this month. I’ve been preparing for the first set of bookings tomorrow and really excited to meet the practitioners.
Sarah Grace Dye
I am really looking forward to meeting Sarah, I love paper, artists’ books and all things folded. Having seen the photos from Sarah’s recent studio move and the absolutely beautiful space she’s created I’m going to have to work really hard to stay on topic in the limited time we have as I could spend hours discussing found objects and why we’re drawn to collect things.
Katy Billington
Katy has some stunning prints and the making behind them in her feed. I probably have more prints on my walls than anything else and I find the process intriguing. How a printmaker can reverse and isolate all the elements in a composition is so impressive to me. Katy uses lots of different printmaking techniques sometimes combining them.
THATLOOKSQUEER
Strength is often portrayed as a physical triumph over adversity, challenging a commonly held convention and testing ourselves to the limit. But what happens when we break? How do we heal and centre?
A Fallow Time: Strength in Isolation by THATLOOKSQUEER
This writing from my third booking tomorrow is really beguiling. I particularly loved the description of Phoebe Davis’ work in Site Gallery last year. Describing a fallow time earlier in this pandemic resonated with me too.
Depleted…
… despite the blue skies and crisp air. Recovering from a deadline the day before and generally feeling the weight of things. Not helped by, in site related news, my Reading page still eluding me. I want a simple route to embed books without supporting amazon and the like and may have to resort to photographing covers myself.
Emotion of the day number 17, with thanks to Be Manzini
Bifurcating…

…split or torn would have suggested too much force whereas I am trying to describe a deliberate separation to be seeking respite and hibernation whilst keeping part of me present, responsible and alert to the current crisis. I’ve learnt leaving this post series too long makes it much harder to start lightly and fluidly as it was intended.


Emotion of the day number 16, with thanks to Be Manzini
Strata I Sketchbook
Documenting this sketchbook helped hone why they’re such a key part of how I develop work. Continually reframing the composition of pages and elements I revisited the textures, surfaces and shapes I was interested in when putting the pages together. I tend to work with several projects in mind with so much not realised in sculptural form. Sketchbooks continue alongside making and documenting and bringing them online has added another dimension to the research and revisiting process.
Sketchbook highlights






Strata I Sketchbook slideshow
Reverential…
Emotion of the day number 15, with thanks to Be Manzini
…a suspicion formed that the later in the day I wrote these posts the more maudlin prone they are. So I set the vague area of emotion much earlier on and in honour of a dear friend who I saw for Bragazzi’s coffee, crisp winter walking and most valuably continuous, ranged and insightful conversation that was so needed.
Toilworn…
Emotion of the day number 14, with thanks to Be Manzini
…before settling on Toilworn I went from slog to toil to toiling, enjoying learning the verb toil comes in part from Latin tudiculare to crush, grind. I’m toilworn in body and spirit today and the worn part to the word feels particularly evocative of that knackered feeling. It’s potentially the first word in this writing series that conjures sculpture to mind. More post about The Daily Journeys We Wear to follow to pick up this thread..
Continuing to revisit The China Hall
“The China Hall is one of those buildings that on first stepping inside elicits gasps of wonder – with its high barrel-vaulted ceilings, immense space and visible remnants of its former industrious past.”
From British Ceramics Biennial website (delivered by The Clay Foundation)
I agree with the British Ceramics Biennial site description there’s certainly something about the sheer scale of this space. That work continues to be commissioned especially for it is especially wonderful.










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Revisiting The China Hall, Old Spode Works
As part of the rebuilding plans for this site I wanted to make much better use of the reams of photos that document my past exhibitions. These were taken when I delivered my work to the British Ceramics Biennial in September 2013. The space was incredible, absolutely cavernous with so much of the last industry, an all encompassing culture, in evidence.












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Disinclination…
Emotion of the day number 13, with thanks to Be Manzini
… a tricky one to pin down this. I was trying to describe the seeking of distance or perspective to remove the immediate Covid related pressures, lack of autonomy, control, the mulling over micro decisions. A brief and cold trip to the allotment helped be reminded of things that follow a different rhythm. Here’s some of my Dwam figures weathering the recent storms.