Anna Whitehouse

29th May 2010

Studio

I'm looking at a very busy next few months, with 4 exhibitions, finishing university, moving to Harrogate and setting up my studio.

I am moving into my house in September and am currently converting the dining room into my studio. The house was almost derelict when I started and so is needing a lot of love and attention! I've been working on the studio since April and (with a lot of help from my dad!) it is almost ready for North Yorkshire Open Studios on 11th June. It's been weeks of stripping wallpaper, plastering, filling, sanding, painting, rebuilding doorframes, ripping up and laying new floorboards as well as building a new fence and gate in the front garden after a little old lady crashed her car into the garden wall (she was fine, my wall wasn't though!)

One of the most interesting finds was when we ripped out a cupboard and found an old fireplace hidden behind. It had been retiled in some cheap green painted tiles however the inner part of the fireplace was still intact. I decided to remove the cheap outer tiles and retiled in slate, finishing with a large wooden mantelpiece. Round the side of the chimney wall and under 9 layers of wallpaper I found a small hand painted area with the words:

Decorations
B Thorpe & E Bradley
Sept 1948

I decided I'd like to keep it and so after some careful masking tape application and a couple of layers of paint I have a little bit of history framed on my wall.

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10th July 2010

The calm after the storm…..

It doesn't feel like long since I last blogged about my studio and work but then I realised it would have been the end of May and it is now July... Last time I was on here I said June was going to busy and it certainly didn't disappoint!

My hand in for uni was Monday 7th of June and I opened up the kiln to find that it had misfired and the glaze on my final work had not melted. It wasn't the assessment that I was upset about but the fact that I had the first weekend of North Yorkshire Open Studios and I had no work to show! So after the 1pm deadline, while everybody else went to the pub to celebrate, I ran straight back to the glaze room to frantically re-apply glaze and re-fire before getting kicked out by the cleaners at 7pm.Wednesday morning came and I switched off the kiln. Slowly (and preparing myself for the worst) I pulled open the kiln door to find a sea of beautiful, blue (and definitely melted) glaze. After a huge sigh of relief and a thank you to the kiln gods, I packed the work to take back for Open Studios.

Open Studios was fantastic and thank you to all of you who made the journey to see my work and me. Getting feedback from people who weren’t my tutors or fellow students and hadn’t seen the work before was great. It’s always interesting to hear what other people see in my work. Where I may have looked at the structure of an ammonite for inspiration, others have mentioned seeing waves, scorpions and even an Elvin tower design from an online fantasy game!

After the first weekend of NYOS I had to rush back to Manchester to take down my assessment work and put up the degree show. The show looked great and it was nice to relax if only for a few hours on the Friday preview night. The following day was the 2nd weekend of NYOS and with the fantastic sunlight pouring through into the gallery space it finally made me realize I had finished uni and summer was here.

Earth and Fire at Rufford Abbey was the next date on the calendar and as well as being able to exhibit work, was a great way of celebrating the end of uni. All the students and potters are able to camp in the grounds and the smell of BBQs and the sound of guitars and drums carried on the breeze all weekend.

Thanks to all of you who came to see my work at any of the exhibitions over the last few weeks. Like I said, the feedback I received was so useful and really encouraging after a turbulent year in the studio.

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10th July 2010

Work experience with Mari-Ruth Oda

The week after Open Studios I returned to Manchester to pack up the rest of my belongings and move out of my flat. I also managed to arrange some very last minute work experience with Mari-Ruth Oda at her studio in Stockport. We’d been trying to arrange a time for me to go since March but as is life, both of us had to keep cancelling and putting it back!

Mari graduated from my course at Manchester in 1996 and went on to do an MA in Ceramics at Wolverhampton. She creates beautiful, elegant and organic sculptural forms, mainly in clay but has also worked in bronze, acrylic and wood. Influenced by the Japanese concept of worshipping nature, Mari’s work develops from her observational drawings of bones, fruit and vegetables, the human figure and landscapes.

As I now believe most graduates suffer from, approaching the end of my degree I started to panic that I didn’t know anything and that I needed more skills! I emailed lots of different ceramicists asking for experience, but as is with the nature of the work, most people work on their own in their studios and there would be very little for me to do. As Mari makes larger sculptures extra hands are often very much appreciated and so I was able to work with her on pieces for 100% Design and an upcoming sculpture competition.

Her studio is situated in an old mill as seems to be the norm for many Manchester artists, giving a second life to the old industrial landscape. Walking in was like entering an Aladdin’s cave. Large work recently unpacked in one corner, shelves with boxes and tools and a bench with a sculpture ready to be given the touchabley smooth finish that characterises Mari’s work.
 
There were many boxes labelled with the word ‘maquettes’ and through the translucent plastic I could glimpse the ghostly, miniature forms of ideas past, present and future. Some of these forms were also dotted around the room on the shelves and it was funny to see and hold these pieces which were so similar in scale and form to my tactile pebble collection from the previous year. For me these were finished pieces, but for Mari they were the models and starting point to a larger piece of work.

Working with Mari Ruth-Oda in her studio was a great opportunity for me to see an internationally renowned ceramic artist at work and she was so friendly and helpful with the questions I had for her. It also let me get my hands dirty again after 3 weeks of not making anything, and without the stress of a deadline, was a welcome relief.

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30th January 2011

InteriorsTalk

Thank you to Emmy Watts for mentioning me in her ceramics focused editorial of Interiorstalk…… http://www.interiorstalk.com/newsletters/issue_44.html

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29th June 2011

North Yorkshire Open Studios kicks off the summer in style!

Thank you to all that came to visit me at my studio this year. It was a fantastic 2 weekends and great to hear feedback on the new work!

I hoped to wind down a bit afterwards but it was still all go getting work packed and sent to Leeds Craft and Design Centre for their 'Life's a Beach' exhibition and also getting more work made for the RHS Harlow Carr exhibition which opened today.

I am travelling to Aberystwyth tomorrow as I am working at the Biennial International Ceramics Festival over the weekend. It’s going to be a great event with demonstrators, kiln building & firings, slideshows, films & lectures, exhibitions, trade stands and bookstalls. For more info go to www.internationalceramicsfestival.org

On the way down I am stopping at Everyman Art Gallery in Manchester to drop off my large 'Rhythm' wall piece and some Sculptures for their exhibition running from 15th July till 5th August.

It’s always all go in June, and this year has been no different. Hopefully I'll get some time to unwind after Aberystwyth and feel a little more relaxed when I get back in the studio.

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27th October 2011

Studiopottery.co.uk

I have just been selected as a full member of www.StudioPottery.co.uk.
The website is a fantastic resource for anybody interested in ceramics, with over 400 profiles on selected British and International makers, list of potters associations, blog, marketplace and information on many galleries and upcoming events.

This website was invaluable when I was at uni studying ceramics and it is a privilege to have been selected as a member and now have my own page. Follow the link to check it out.