Splat – pats – match

Yet more calamity!  I attempted to make a very large figure over 6 ft.. whilst trying to manouvre it, the bugger flew forward catapulting  – floor-ward

My back went in the process, causing what was to be a month of pain..though this new belt stuffed with hot water bottle was a boon..

It took four of us to lift splat man back up…

I know what your thinking ‘a vast improvement’, maybe so.. but a mould  .and a bronze of it? I couldn’t justify the expense.. so started the rebuild.

This hammer gut cast went well .

Tied in new armature for his arms.. and set about pumelling the clay.

Then a couple of days later, blow me if it didn’t collapse again!

So ..stripped it down welded the destroyed armature back on, and decided to attempt proffessionalism..

The amount of clay it takes to make a six and a half foot figure.

The rebuild in brief..

He is quite heavy, too heavy to lift back and forth, especially with the back as it was, so I had a notion.. Every time I crash a car, the only thing I keep is the jack, just incase!.. the moment had  finally come to use them..don’t worry I have lots more..

I think they’re quite jolly.

So the rebuild went on in earnest too many twists and turns to bore you with..

I had a mould made of the head every now and again, so I’d have a number of different heads for the body later on..Alice made this one.

Then, this was a bad day, he ended up blind and  5 stone heavier.

He’s getting nearer .. mould will get started in a couple of weeks time, i’ll continue working on him.. I’m making him beacause I need a larger figure to work out new ideas with.

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The wax bath is busy..body soup.

I’m putting a few together, the one on the left is the figure made for the ‘Catcher’, I found out I really liked him. there’s an awkwardness and skewed deportment that attracts me, He seems to be making a very tentative offer..

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I picked up a bundle of ‘Paris Matches’ from a brocante in France this summer. I can’t stop looking at them. They date from 1939, Hitler was just about to enter paris.

The magazine was launched in 1938 and closed in 40. Relaunched in 1949, distinctly different from its earlier version.

The Third Reich are omnipresent, Hitler  Goebbels, Georring et al feature regularly, socialising.  It has an ethnographic dimension, and social commentry, blending style fashion and society, aswell as exposee’s. Its poignant, and the photography is incredible, the large format and paper quality is wonderful, reminding me of my favourite old Phaidon’s.  I find myself pondering mysterieous lives, sandwiched in a brief moment of history, an uneasy attempt at carrying on as normal, unnerving imagery and sinister undertones seem to haunt the pages. Not understanding the french text helps to mystify and dramatize. I don’t think my IPad snaps do it justice. I may feature a couple of pages in each blog…then again you may never see them again!! so make th most of it..

This guy is spying on Hitlers house in the mountains near Salzburg..beautiful!

This is whats going on in the house, the Italians are paying a visit..what a window and the flowers, one almost blooms with a swastika.

Gosh haven’t traffic lights got boring.

The faces! the fruit on the dead womans chest, the figure holding the sprig.

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The Queen doing life saving..would be amazing if her knees ended up in one of my sculptures

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Since i’ve lost the lovely Butley Creek as a backdrop for photographing my work. I’m location hunting for new places to shoot the work (an unexpected new pleasure). Bet you don’t know where these shots were taken..yes there is a prize..

Starlings infuenced the recent work..

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The adventure took me to the western Isles of Scotland, it was haunted by the highland clearances, abandoned houses, here was once a crofters view.. bloody sheep..though we did see a Golden Eagle

Followed this house home,

Back home,  during a leaking emersion saga, I stumbled accross some of my old photo’s from my India days, late 1980’s, look at these houses in Varanasi, as it was called then. Do you think those rowers were hungry, I think i was lucky to get out of there..

Patan the third royal city of Nepal, I lived just round the corner from here, studied traditional casting with craftsman with thousand year oral histories..

Gods house.

Not a house but a pre firing oven for moulds cast in the Dokhra traditon.in West Bengal.the moulds are to the side.. I may show and tell you more one day..

Actually why wait,  here’s a little snapshot: South India, Madras (Chanai) ,Tamil Nadu .. A traditional kiln my mentor and master ‘Vejavelu’ built, to fire moulds containing my art works.

A kiln made of cow pats..

And Straw

covered in a clay slurry

The clay fired, resembled a wasps nest, one tap and it shattered, the dried clay had kept the heat of the flame in. The timing and temperatures were perfect, as was proved in the fired moulds.

Yes thats me looking on at the specialist metal pourers, who were employed to pour the metal.  Topless.. consider what we wear. the theory was that sweat deflected the heat..all 1200 degrees of it.

Maybe more next time, Mercury guilding? Nepalese – Dokhra casting.? write in with your requests..

So its good bye from me and goodbye from him,

Until next time fair viewer.

Check out website, and next months edition of ‘Hole and Corner’ magazine (nearly as good as ‘Match’) for a deluxe feature on my goodself.. Incase you haven’t heard of it!!! check out the website. Its a collectable high production arts quaterly, distributed over East – West coast America, Paris – France and the Uk among many others, using top photographers and feature writers . Out on the 15th of December heres the link..

http://www.holeandcornermagazine.com/

The Show at Messums new Space in Tisbury, Wiltshire opens on the 3rd of December finishing in February.  A three man affair featuring new ‘exciting’ work from me, Sean Henry and from Brian Taylors archive. A figurative tour de force..

http://www.messumswiltshire.com
http://www.instagram.com/Messumswiltshire/
https://twitter.com/messumsthebarn

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Gosh its an exciting world..and I didn’t even mention Trump.