More culture

Theatre in the Park last Tuesday, exhibition private views including one in which Luneside Studios participated, and then to round all off, a performance in the Cathedral of Monteverdi's Vespers. With my passion for sacred music this had to be the high point.
....and it was!
A baroque orchestra complete with authentic period instruments circa 1610, consisting two violins, cello, bass, chamber organ continuo, baroque cornet, crumhorn and three saxbuts(trombones sans valves); couple that with a first class choir and four soloists,(two sopranos and two tenors), it made for a really memorable performance to a capacity audience. The strains of it are still ringing in my ears.

Theatre in the Park

Despite the rain, we had a good evening at the Duke's presentation of the Greek play Jason and the Argonauts. The play was a blend of ancient Greek high drama and old fashioned British pantomime in that audience participation was encouraged. It was done in English of course.
To give an example; when it was time for the interval, Hera comes onto the stage and annouces that the the gods will return to high Olympus for their Nectar and ambrosia while we mortals go to the cafe for tea.
Or another, in the final act Jason returns to king Pelias with the golden fleece, Jason gives the "long voyage across the wine dark sea" speech. The king repies, "Like a cup of coffee then?"
We laughed, we were moved. Brilliant.

More Hidden Lancaster

Still enjoying the lovely weather, between showers, and it seems such a waste to go straight to the studio. So I went via a circuitous route and discovered this little gem of a street behind the Castle. It is privately owned and still retains its mediaeval cobbles. The only snag, it is an exclusive address as the number of expensive cars parked there will testify. I had to do quite a bit of manoeuvring to get a shot of this street sans cars. Without the cars you feel as though you have stepped back in time. It hasn't been developed, it is off the tourist trail so it remains pretty much the way it always was. A little gem of street.

Mediaeval cobbles with puddle. Can't resist puddles. Photographing them, that is.

Happiness is...

...glorious sunshine, a heatwave that feels more Cypriot than British, making a lump of clay into a sculptural form while listening to a Bach cantata blasting in my ears via the headphones of my MP3 player, oh, and a bottomless pot of tea.

Making sculpture, whether it is as a carving or modelled from clay, involves the whole spectrum of activity. At the beginning it is quite brutal and aggressive. The rough form is made. When I've made large pieces in the past it has not been unknown to start by taking an axe to the piece of wood. Then there is the carving out of the rough shape, done with a 2kg mallet and large gouge and sending schrapnel flying in all directions. That then gives way to more detailed carving with a lighter touch, then to delicate tap-tapping and finally hand chiseling, just shaving away fine flakes. Then the sanding and polishing and little adjustments here and there.

Modelling in clay has a similar pattern; first the clay is thumped and squeezed to expel air pockets, then roughly moulded into a semblance of shape, then cut and modelled with tools using a technique not dis-similar to carving then smooth with fingers, brush, shaper and a little slip applied here and there. Slip is sloppy clay, rather like slurry which is used either as a sort of glue for to put two pieces of clay together or to smooth the finished surface.

The whole process can be quite absorbing and exciting as the piece finally comes into being. Such is the joy of making art. The picture shows a piece I did today. It stands about 20 cm (8") tall. It now needs to dry out, - slowly. In this heat, no mean task. It has been sprayed with a fine mist of water and covered in a plastic bag to slow the evaporation/drying. If it dries to quickly the whole thing will start to crack. It may be some time before it gets cast. Ideally as a bronze but more likely finish up as a plaster cast. Its much cheaper as plaster, I can probably do it myself whereas bronze casting will involve taking it to a foundry and I could end up paying the wrong side of £200 to have it done.

But... if someone out there would like a bronze of it then let me know.

Cowled Head - completed

Finished at last. I beeswaxed the sculpture yesterday evening and gave it a final polish today.

Voila!

Self Portrait

Making a self-portrait is something that most artists do from time to time. I have usually done one every year or so by drawing "from the life" with the aid of a mirror. This time I worked from a recent photo.
As you may have noticed, I have included it in my profile. It's time I updated it anyway. That last one was done in Larnaka three years ago. Doesn't time fly?

Not just sculpture

I have been drawing/painting as well. It is a sculptural concept but 2D work none-the-less. These are two separate works each on 300 gsm. paper and 35 x 50 cm., slightly bigger than A3. I did the one one the left first. It is primarily a graphite drawing but with a little colour added. On completion I wasn't entirely satisfied with it so re-did it as a monochrome drawing. In both cases I aimed to have the centre of the picture in sharp focus and fusing out towards the periphery. It is a style I have developed of late; I do this to focus the viewer on the central theme of the subject.
The work is titled "Libation". Of course there is Cypriot influence here. On the one hand the quasi-Hellenic figures and the other the reference to an ancient culture.