'Very Good'

‘Very Good’ Lecture – Norwegian Crafts, National Museum for Decorative Art and Design, Oslo. 21 November 2013

(This is part of the lecture that I gave recently in Oslo on the subject of the relevance of craftsmanship)

I have been reading a book by Robert MacFarlane (2012) called The Old Ways. In it he describes exploring ancient routes, on foot and by sailing ship. He talks about the way in which the creators and followers of these paths and roads have left their traces on the landscape and how present-day wanderers connect to past generations through those marks and signs, whilst adding their own for future generations.

MacFarlane defines the ancient Celtic word immram as a kind of sea-voyage from the known to the unknown. It can be used to describe a pragmatic journey, one from A to B, but also a mystical spirit-voyage, something like the Aboriginal walkabout. Through this journey the present can be reunited with the past and the real can be connected to the unreal. 

Whilst reading the book, I was thinking about how this could also describe the act of making. There are similarities. For one thing, making is not a static activity; it requires movement, often repeated movement, like walking. For the most part, the paths that the maker treads are familiar; we know our tools and the way to use them. But from time to time the conditions change. This is analogous to how a skipper of a sailing ship must constantly be alert to subtle signs that the wind direction is going to change. The tools and processes that makers use also need to be responsive and evolve. Traditionally, the knowledge and skills are passed on from hand to hand. Once they travelled the world along trade routes such as the Silk Road, and now they can be passed on over the Internet via YouTube. 

A few years ago I held some fourteenth-century pots excavated at the farm next door to where I live. When I put my fingers on the marks left by the potters’ hands, I felt an almost tangible electric current arcing back over 600 years and uniting us. It raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

Making is a voyage of discovery, one where we adapt our knowledge and experience to unfamiliar or unknown landscapes. For me, it is a way of visualising the abstract, of realising an idea or concept as an artwork. Recently, Grayson Perry described an artist ‘as a pilgrim on the road to meaning’.[1]

I would like talk about my practice as a way to explore how the methods I use have contributed to the blurring of boundaries between art, craft and design. I hope that this way of working will encourage the viewer to ask ‘what and why’ not ‘how’. Having said that, in making my artworks, I am very interested in the ‘how’, as I am using emerging technologies that were not designed to do what I try to make them do. But I hope the viewer will go beyond that stage and start to unpack the narrative and react to the ideas that the works explore.

We are now in the early stages of a new Industrial Revolution; over the past 20 years digital technology has made massive changes to the way things are designed and made. According to Grayson Perry, if Michelangelo was here now, he would be making CGI movies. And can you imagine what Da Vinci would be doing?[2] Designers and makers have always been interested in materials and processes, for without them it is impossible to realise an idea as an object.

Technological advances often create new movements in art and design. For instance, the American portrait artist John Rand invented the paint tube in 1841. Before that, all oil paint had to be prepared by an artist or assistant in just the small quantities needed for the day. You could therefore say that French Impressionism would not have happened without Rand, as the paint tube allowed artists to paint outdoors. But when we visit the museums in Paris to see Monet’s paintings of water lilies, do we think of John Rand?

Something similar is happening now with emerging digital technologies; there is a growing community of creative people appropriating these new tools and adapting them to purposes for which they were never intended. And as a result, there are questions being asked about the place of these new tools in the practice of makers.

My particular interest is in making meaningful objects that explore both the actual world and the virtual world of computers. To achieve this I use some of the new tools that are available to us, particularly Additive Manufacturing, which refers to the technology commonly known as 3D printing.

For me, the attraction is that this technology allows previously impossible objects to be made.

Many people, and this includes many of my colleagues from the studio pottery world, think that 3D printing simply happens by ‘pressing the button’, but through my works I hope to demonstrate that the new tools I use require the acquisition of new craft skills and thought processes.

Yet being seduced by this wonderful new toolbox is unlikely to produce great art or craft. I agree with Peter Lunenfeld when he writes that technological enchantment leads down a slippery slope to the ‘media of attractions’, defined as ‘[a]rtefacts of digital culture whose appeal is essentially their perceived novelty. They attract less for what they mean than for the fact that they are’ (Lunenfeld 2001: 173).

Working in the virtual world of the computer does not teach you about materials and processes. It should be underpinned by working with your hands, testing materials and exploring processes. In other words, it is a matter of learning by doing. Getting involved in making things at an early age and staying involved must surely be the way forward in order to reach a level where tacit knowledge and haptic skills can be applied almost subconsciously to the creation of a meaningful object.

I might not go so far as to say that we need a new Arts and Crafts movement, but if we do, I would like it to have a less romantic vision and a more inclusive philosophy than that of William Morris. I would want it to embrace the new technology and recognise the craft of working with code. I believe C.R. Ashbee, who was an important proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement, would have agreed with me for the most part, as he quotes his friend Frank Lloyd Wright in his journal:

“My God” he said, “is Machinery; and the art of the future will be the expression of the individual artist through the thousand powers of the machine, - the machine doing all those things that the individual workman cannot do. The creative artist is the man who controls all this and understands it.” (Wright, quoted in Hanks 1979: 79)

With this I am not saying that I have all the answers, but I would like to describe the journey that I have made as one possible route to creatively combining the old and the new skills and tools. I define myself as a Maker, someone happy to explore the overlapping grey area between art, design and craft.

Over the years I developed the traditional skills of a potter. For the past few years I have been learning to transfer these skills to some new tools, hoping to realise their creative potential. However, for over 20 years my wife and I ran a pottery studio where we designed, made and supplied masses of functional domestic ware to shops, galleries and stores such as Habitat in the UK and Barneys in the US and Japan. The work we produced was decorative and functional. So over time I developed the craft skills and tacit knowledge required to produce lively pots.

These pots are very much about the materials and processes that I used to make them. I was trying to freeze a moment in time, capture a curve with grace and energy and record the effects of flame interacting with rich lead glazes. However, in the 1990s, the work began to move away from the purely functional. I started creating pieces that investigated the abstract nature of forms, using surface treatment to create harmony or disharmony and to create illusion and uncertainty for the viewer.

Alongside my love of ceramics I had been developing an interest in digital technology. When websites came about, I thought it would be useful to have one. I wanted to design the website myself so I went to an evening class and learned to write HTML code. I discovered that it involved a different way of thinking, a different way of problem solving than what I was used to as a ceramicist. And I had also heard of something then called Rapid Prototyping, which referred to digital techniques for creating 3D prototypes. So I thought ‘Fantastic, I can make anything!’ But how could I bring these two worlds together?

In 2006 I was fortunate to be accepted by the Royal College of Art to undertake an MPhil research project. I needed a break from running the pottery business in order to develop the ideas that had been bubbling away for a number of years.

At this stage I started using CAD software and found it to be a very useful tool for exploring variations of a form. It makes it easy to develop numerous iterations of an idea, and, even though the virtual is no replacement for the actual, there is enough visual information to determine whether the geometry and proportions are going to work in reality.

Once I was happy with a design on screen, I could translate the virtual into the actual using traditional pottery methods. Through this investigation, I could explore the relationship between the traditional craft skills that I had amassed over the previous 20 years and the new digital tools that I had become interested in. In an early RCA project I tried to create a Torus form using traditional techniques, but I could not achieve the exact shape, scale and control over the proportions that I was looking for. So I began exploring a number of iterations of the form using Rhino CAD software, returning to the wheel at each stage to throw what I had virtually created on the computer. Once satisfied with the form of the piece, I then had a full-scale model produced by CNC milling, which shapes the object with high precision. From the resulting prototype, I cast a mould and then slip-casted the object from that. The final outcome of the project is called The Event Horizon, and I still hope it engages viewers in a sensory experience, rather than encouraging them to focus on how the work is made.

After this exploration of how traditional and digital tools can be creatively brought together, I came to the conclusion that they are only tools and that there has to be a reason for using them, whether it be a desire to explore, an idea to communicate or a problem to solve.

My final practical research project at the Royal College of Art was the first fully digital piece that I made. I believe it gives insight into the thinking and the craft that went into its production.

The project was intended to test the digital software and hardware, but I also wanted to tell a story with the work. I decided to redesign an iconic object from the first Industrial Revolution. Inspired by Josiah Wedgwood, the great ceramic innovator of the eighteenth century, I chose a tureen from the 1817 catalogue. I recreated it on Rhino software and gave it a delicately pierced surface inspired by bone and the natural objects used by Wedgwood and his contemporaries as sources of inspiration for many of their designs. The pierced surface also refers to the artificial bone produced by Additive Manufacturing for medical reconstructive surgery.

The tureen was printed on a ZCorp 3D printing machine in a type of plaster material. It was then infiltrated to give the plaster material more strength and then coated in a proprietary non-fired ceramic material, formulated to closely resemble Wedgwood Black Basalt.. For some versions I used traditional Wedgewood colours, like the pale blue we know from Jasperware pieces, and sometimes I used very strong modern colours.

The next project I did was based on a 1766 Sèvres porcelain jar with a lid, which I found on display in the Wallace Collection in London. Through this piece, I wanted to explore the cultural and financial value of objects. Its theme is pretence, but it also explores making and the importance of skills. I wanted to compare the materials and processes used in the manufacture of the two pieces. The original Sèvres piece is made of porcelain, a beautiful but non-precious material that has been skilfully fashioned by artisans. At the time when it was made, porcelain had been given enormous cultural and financial status, primarily through the patronage of the French Royal Court.

In contrast, my response is made of nylon, a useful but simple everyday material. The design took me about 150 hours to create on the computer. It was then printed using extremely expensive technology, coated in non-fired ceramic material and then carefully decorated with artificial gold leaf. It is now in a private collection in New York, appropriately displayed alongside an Andy Warhol painting. So how do we equate value and worth? And how does craft fit into the calculation? These are questions I try to address through my work.

Today there is an ever-expanding array of new high-tech tools at our disposal. They are all worthy of exploration, but I do not want to use them just because they are glitzy and new. They must enable me to convert an idea into a meaningful object. And I hope that my practice plays a part in demonstrating that the making of thoughtful objects – whether they are categorised as art, craft, design or some hybrid – is a process and must be responsive in order to make those disciplines relevant to the times in which we live.



Hanks, David A. (1979) The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, Mineola, NY: Courier Dover Publications.

Lunenfeld, Peter. (2001), Snap to Grid: A User’s Guide to Digital Arts, Media, and Cultures, 1st ed., Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

MacFarlane, Robert (2013) The Old Ways, London: Penguin.


[1] Reith Lecture, 2013. BBC Radio 4, 05 November 2013.
[2] Ibid.

13.06.08 – The Exam

RCA SHOW ONE finished on Sunday evening and everything was packed away, so when Monday came I was free to concentrate on preparing for my exam on Thursday.
I had been advised to re-write my presentation, concentrating on the outcome of the project and future plans, with less emphasis on the background to it.
I discussed the mock exam with Alison on Monday, Liz on Tuesday and Martin on Wednesday, so had pretty consistent opinions of what I needed to say.
When Thursday came I was actually feeling relatively relaxed, certainly far more prepared than for last Thursdays mock exam. I had arranged both test and finished pieces in the Seminar Room and when the panel came in asked them if they would like to inspect the work. The panel was made up of Jeremy Ainsley, the Head of Vehicle Design, who chaired the meeting, Mike Hose, my External Examiner and Alison Britton. My supervisor, Martin Smith sat in as an observer, but couldn’t comment or ask questions. After my presentation, the questioning was good-natured, though I struggled a bit with some of the wording of Mike Hose’s questions. At least I remembered to ask him to elaborate.
After about 45 minutes of questions they seemed happy enough to retire to consider their verdict, leaving Martin and I to discuss the proceedings. They returned ten minutes later and Jeremy Ainsley announced that I had passed. Mike Hose asked if I would re-write the Introduction to my written report as he thought it needed to describe the project in a more engaging way for future readers.
After that I was invited up to the Senior Common Room for a lovely lunch, then almost straight back to it. I had a meeting at Imperial College with Nick Leon and Carolyn Runcie of Design London to discuss my plans for a research project at the RCA next year.
Back at the RCA the research cluster greeted me with a bottle of champagne!
Then Ray and Jeannette cracked one open when I got back to the house!

SHOW RCA

There's been a great deal of last minute firing and preparation for SHOW ONE which opens on Friday the 30th and runs through until the 8th of June. Alongside Ceramics and Glass there's Painting, Photography , Printmaking, and Gold, Silver, Metal and Jewellery.
There's a break then the Fashion Show, followed by SHOW TWO for the rest of the departments which starts on the 24th June.

Best check the dates and times on the RCA website

09.05.08 - getting ready for Show RCA

Now that the thesis has been handed in, it’s down to finishing the practical work in time for the exam and the Final Show. Preparations are going ahead at quite a pace, joiners busy cutting and nailing, trucks delivering materials. The Hockney Gallery is even having a temporary extension! The dates for the first part of the show are 30th May through to the 8th of June. After our show there’s the Fashion show on the 11th, then the second half starts on the 24th. Check the RCA website for full details.
I’ve been trying to sort out the glaze problems, trying different levels of Manganese. The results were not very encouraging- all the tests had some pinholing, maybe I should try a lower temperature, as the oxides will flux the glaze. Phillip Wood, one of the visiting glaze experts came in, so I discussed the results with him. He suggested that the recipe is checked on glaze calculation software to see if it’s correctly formulated. He gave me a base recipe for a 1080° glaze that I made up with a 2/2/2/2 addition of copper, manganese, cobalt and iron oxides. He also gave me a matt black glaze recipe. I made up them both and they are in tonight’s firing.
On my way to Euston this afternoon I made time to visit the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road. What an excellent gallery. There was a very moving exhibition of photography called ‘Life before Death’. Large photographs, in pairs of the same person. The first taken a few days before their death, the second taken immediately afterwards. They included people of all ages from infants to the aged. It is a powerful and emotional exhibition.
I went along to see the ‘From Atoms to Patterns’, textile designs for the 1951 Festival of Britain that were based on crystallography images of molecular structures.

02.05.08 – Handing in the thesis!

Friday was the day I handed in my thesis (or written report); three cone bound copies placed on Martin’s desk ready to go down to the Research office.

So far there’s no great overwhelming sense of relief as I’ve still a lot of practical work to complete in time for the examination. The writing is just part of the project, a fundamental part that has stretched me in many ways, but which could not have been completed without the practical work.
In addition, I need to plan ahead for my post-MPhil life. Will it be at the RCA? I certainly hope so, whatever happens I need to be involved with the French company and their revolutionary ceramic materials.
Other activities this week included booking the Eurostar to Paris so that I can collect the ROSL Trophy. I managed to get a little throwing done and make up some glaze tests, which are firing as I write this.
On Thursday evening I went to a bio-nanotechnology evening organised by Design London, held at Imperial College. There was nothing of direct use, probably more of value for the Design Interaction students, but an interesting insight into the future. One of the short talks was by a chap who works for the National Physical Laboratory, a government agency that measures stuff. Sounds boring, doesn’t it. Well this chap spends his time in Second Life, encouraging bright people to get together to discuss ideas around technology. I had no idea that Second Life was being used in this way, but as he explained, it’s all created by the members, so why not?
It was a productive, but tiring week, waking very early on a couple of mornings with my head churning through the various parts of the project.

Back at home this weekend, the spring had finally arrived and I could get out and enjoy it. I mowed the grass, did some gardening and got out for a bike ride. Vicky and I walked Blue through the fields and up through the woods with the purple haze of bluebells and leaves unfurling almost by the minute. A wonderful time of the year and I'm very lucky to live in a place where it can truly be appreciated.

04.04.08 – Evaluation

The first part of the Easter break was spent at my brother’s in Austria. Vicky and I went out for a few days to meet our new nephew Luke, who is my brother & sister-in-law’s first child. Chris is like a dog with two tails!
After what we thought was going to be a brief trip back to winter, our landing at Stanstead was delayed by snow. The rest of Easter was cold, but I did manage to get out for some good walks with Vicky and Blue.

Apart from settling back in Cumbrian life, I spent many long days writing up the Evaluation section of the thesis. It’s a demanding section, pulling together themes explored during the project and relating them to other peoples work. A lot of time was spent thinking and writing about how I allow for subjectivity in the evaluation of this project. I had originally planned to have an evaluation and a conclusion but they seem to have morphed into one. I emailed my efforts to Martin and Alison, so I’ll see what they say.

In addition to all this, I'm looking for generative software to use on the Wedgwood project (if it goes ahead). Sometimes called algorithmic geometry software it can be used to generate 'natural' forms such as bone structure or plant growth. If anyone out there can point me in the direction of Rhino compatible software I'd be very grateful.

Next week is going to be a busy one, with World of Interiors interview as soon as I get in on Tuesday, tutorial on Wednesday afternoon, Grace’s fashion show at Brick Lane in the evening. Thursday morning I have a meeting to discuss applying for a SMART award towards next year’s research fellowship.

14.03.08 - The Wedgwoodn’t [continued]

After teaching in Carlisle on Monday I caught the evening train down to London. I had to be at the RSA for the Design Directions Ceramic Futures competition at 10 am the following morning so couldn’t catch my usual train.
The interview, at the smart RSA building just off the Strand, went well. The panel of judges, which included Martin Hunt were genuinely enthusiastic about the project, but at this stage I don’t know the results. We were told that we would receive notification before Easter, so I have up to a week or so to wait. I really don’t know how I have faired; I think the Wedgwoodn’t project fits into the RSA criteria very well, it’s about innovation after all, I’ll just have to wait and see.

After returning to College I continued with the practical work, throwing, casting, turning and firing the kiln a couple of times.

On Thursday I went up to Wedgwood with Martin Smith and Tavs Jorgensen. They were going up to discuss the re-establishment of links between the company and the RCA. We had a good look around the factory where Wedgwood is committed to continuing the production of their prestige ranges. Apparently the Japanese, who are a major market won’t buy the work unless it’s made in England.
After lunch, we returned to the Design Studio to discuss my project. I met Angela Hull, the prestige manager, who along with the rest of the team seems like someone that will be enjoyable to work with. I have some work to do before designing gets underway; they need a costing for the Wedgwoodn’t piece to enable them to work out feasibility and numbers.
I have spent some time thinking about the pieces that I would like to re-interpret, there’s the First Day Vase and an Acorn Vase that I would like to have a go at.












Co-incidentally I was looking at the MoMA on-line exhibition of the Design and the Elastic Mind show and found the work of Neri Oxman, an MIT researcher with a background in architecture and interests in ecology and computer modelling. She has used algorithmic generative modelling software to produce some architectural models. I spent some time trying to find out more about the technology, and have emailed her. I expect there are students at College who know something about it or students across at Imperial College. One way or another I’ll find out more.
If anyone reading this can point me in the right direction I'd be really grateful.

07.03.08 – The Complete Tureen

After a late Sunday night tidying up after Ceramic Art London, I had a very early start so that I could catch the 6.30 Eurostar to Paris.
I enjoy the journey by train, it’s certainly the best way to travel long distances.













Michel greeted me at the lab, taking me immediately to see the completed Wedgwoodn’t Tureen. My first impression was relief and excitement that the project had actually been achieved. On closer inspection, the surface finish was not quite as smooth as I expected, but Michel said that Gilles would be bringing in a second piece that he was still working on. Whilst waiting for Gilles to arrive, Michel and I discussed some of the technical aspects of the material and process in order for me to put forward strong applications for awards to fund my proposed research associate post.
About half an hour before I was due to leave Gilles turned up with a superb Tureen. It has the correct shade and sheen to match black ‘Basalt’ or ‘Jasper’ and the surface texture is much smoother. They have spent many hours working on this project and I am very grateful for their assistance and the support of Rapidform back at the RCA.
I packed the pieces very carefully and headed back to London, arriving just in time for my meeting at Wedgwood on Regent Street. I met the Design manager, Matthew Harrison, who listened to my explanation of the technology involved in producing the piece. He then brought in Frances Mossman, Wedgwood’s Global Design Manager who is really enthusiastic and would like me produce a range of similar work for the 250th anniversary next year. Though exciting, the implications will need careful thought. I have less than 2 months to complete my M.Phil and that mustn’t be put at risk.
The rest of the week passed in a blur, juggling throwing, slipcasting and making arrangements for next weeks visit to Wedgwood at Barlaston. By chance Martin Smith and Tavs had planned to meet the Design team to discuss re-establishing a connection between Wedgwood and the department and it seemed a convenient opportunity to join them. Martin Watmough from Rapidform is also coming to discuss the technical side of the project and to offer Wedgwood a service.
This week also saw interviews taking place and again I was asked to sit it on the Research student applications. There are some strong candidates this year, all of them would add something to the department and to the Research cluster.
Just before I left on Friday we got together to make the final choices. So there will be excited and relieved applicants, as well as some disappointed ones.
The coming weekend is likely to be a busy one, balancing the demands of College with a home life that needs some catching up on.

26.01.08

This week has been a rollercoaster- with some good progress made at College in both areas of writing and making.
My Tuesday morning train journey was spent designing some glass pieces that could be produced using rapid prototyped moulds. The moulds need to infiltrated and cured and then will withstand considerable heat. They can also be used for low temperature metal casting. When I was previously at the company in Paris, I saw a mould that had been used to cast aluminium. The surface didn’t appear to have been affected at all by the hot metal.
On Wednesday I went over to Paris to collect the Wedgwoodnt Tureen that had been made in black for me. It is to have a black ceramic coating made to look like Wedgwood black jasper. Unfortunately when I arrived Gilles was rushing between labs trying to prepare the right mixture for the coating. As the afternoon continued it was clear that he was struggling and I came home empty handed in the evening. The black tureen looked excellent, it appears more ‘see through’ than the white version. On Thursday I heard that the Wedgwoodn’t Project has been shortlisted for the RSA Ceramic Futures competition. The interview is on March 11th and there’s some preparation work to do beforehand.
I then had a tutorial with Martin, primarily to discuss the ‘Context’ section of the thesis. He raised a few points that I need to address, but fundamentally he was happy with it. I now have to start tackling the ‘Making’ section, once I’ve gone through the whole ‘Sensing’ section to see how its three parts read as a whole.
Through the week I had been casting and firing the kiln, on Thursday I added some manganese dioxide to the Potclays glaze in an attempt to make it more metallic. The results came out on Friday and they are the most successful yet. The cone form looked very interesting with red or white light inside it, creating a volume of floating light in the central space.
Friday afternoon was spent at the V&A having a look around Collect. I felt overwhelmed by so many beautiful objects, but underwhelmed by a lack of content in quite a lot of the work. As Chris Lefteri says in his introduction to ‘Ingredients’ “…the importance of an object and its physical manifestation has diminished… new technologies have provided consumers with a new level of engagement with the object.”[1] I was looking for story telling in the objects, something that I could emotionally engage with, and something beyond the well crafted.
I returned to the V&A later for their Friday Late, an evening of themed ‘craft’ related activities, some of which were participatory. There was Ballroom dancing on a beautifully stencilled, icing sugar dance floor, casting your finger or toe in chocolate, a graphic design ‘playgroup’ and some interesting time-lapse films. I managed to be roped into a Charlie Chaplin impersonators Victoria sponge production line, having to dress in bowler hat, false moustache, walking cane, apron and latex gloves! It was a bit of fun and I was given a piece cake as a thank-you.
Saturday morning was spent in College, continuing to develop the glass mould design, and then it was an afternoon spent on the slow train home to Cumbria, writing up this entry.

[1] Ingredients, a Materials project by Chris Lefteri. No. 2 Sept 2007 www.moreingredients.com

18.01.08 – Thinking about Making

The decision of what pieces to produce for my examination is not an easy one to come to. The torus form is satisfactory, but the big question hangs over the cylinder/disc pieces. I am concerned about how they relate to the torus form and their similarity to Martin Smith’s work. This is a risk when similar themes are being explored through simple geometric forms. The inclusion of light [and possibly liquid] in my pieces will distinguish them to a certain extent, but links are bound to be made. It is a subject that I must raise with Martin at my postponed tutorial.

I took 3 more successful casts of the torus, biscuit fired the first three, two of which are seconds but were used as glaze tests later in the week. The metallic glaze that I made from Liz Aylieff’s recipe is causing me problems that I cannot afford the time to deal with at present. It is still blistering so I bought a small amount of similar glaze from Potclays. I managed to get a test into another student’s firing on Wednesday, the results are OK, black and shiny but it doesn’t have the metallic quality of the one Liz gave me. I may be able to add more manganese to it but that may risk a return to the blistering.
In preparation for making the cylinder series I threw a large wall section from which I took a plaster cast.

In contrast to the practical work, at this stage of the project the writing seems to be more manageable, or at least predictable. The thesis has a structure, I know what the contents are, the subjects to be explored, and I have just to get on with it.

On Thursday I had a rare evening out with other folk from College. We went to see Paso Doble at the Barbican, a performance by two artists using 10 tons of clay as their medium to tell the story of evolution and man’s impact on the environment. It was an extremely energetic performance, spectacularly creative. Clay and pots were pivotal to this theatrical event, so it will be interesting to see how [or whether] the ceramics media respond.

11.01.08 - Decision time

I came down to College on Monday this week, planning to make an effective start to the term.
Everything was in place for the casting of the torus mould and I managed to cast one each day. I shouldn’t be surprised that there is so much to learn each time a new form is attempted. With the torus I had to develop a sequence whereby I could handle the heavy mould allowing for careful filling, emptying and the removal of the cast. Correct timing is crucial, the cast has to be of the correct thickness, it has to be left in the mould until it’s firm enough to be removed without it distorting etc. etc.
By Friday I had 2 perfect casts and two slightly less than perfect. Thursday’s had imploded, probably when the slip was drained from the mould. I had applied talc to the surface of the mould that may have contributed to the problem.
I had a quick chat with my supervisor, Martin Smith, about the writing that I had done over Christmas. He agreed that there should be a stronger narrative throughout the section, so that’s something I need to attend to before long.

I spent some time thinking about the rest of the practical work that I need to produce over the next couple of months. The torus form relates well to the thesis, the cylinder pieces explore perception but they don’t relate well to each other and the cylinder strongly remind me of some of Martin’s work. The mirror black glaze links the two forms but the resemblance to Martin’s work is something I need to discuss with him.
Meanwhile, I need to carefully think and design forms that relate well as a group, and can illustrate the thesis.
So the plan for this weekend is to work on the designs and reread the writing. Plus I would quite like a bit of home life!
Rhino rendering of disc 11. I plan to incorporate 'lightwire' in the groove just below the rim.

Rhino rendering of disc 12. In this one the 'lightwire' is planned to fit in the groove where the wall meets the base.

14.12.07 - End of term juggling

Last weekend was spent finishing off the design presentation for my RSA Design Directions, Ceramic Futures competition entry, the deadline for which is today.
I decided to document the project as a blog, reflecting the fact that the project use digital technology [rapid prototyping] and unconventional ceramic materials.
After returning to College on Tuesday, I went up to RapidformRCA to check on the progress of the build. A test piece had come through but was extremely fragile; one handle had broken, but the piece looked amazing. The next stage was for Alastair, the technician who has been assisting me on this project to strengthen the weak points in the FreeForm software and then have another go at building the piece on the Z Corp RP machine.
Meanwhile, I was also busy chasing the Ideal Standard slip that I’m planning to use to cast my torus form.

On Wednesday I had a tutorial with Martin Smith, primarily to discuss the section of the thesis on Perception that I recently wrote. Comments were positive, with some suggestions about topics that I need to develop or add.
He also said that I should work out what practical work is to be produced for the examination. I mistakenly thought that I had longer to produce those. So the pressure is on.

Over the Christmas period I need to start writing the Context section of the thesis, looking at artists who are exploring similar themes. Most of the work that resonates with me is non-ceramic, which Martin thinks is a problem as the project is rooted in the ceramic medium. I’m not sure how to deal with his own work and need to look more closely at whether should be a candidate for inclusion.

The rest of the week was spent organising my trip to Paris next Wednesday, and liaising with Michel, who is coming over from Paris on Tuesday to bring the equipment that RapidformRCA have ordered and to work on my piece. I have been anxious that the Wedgwoddn’t piece might not be ready in time and couldn’t keep hassling Alastair, as he has plenty of other tasks to be getting on with in the College.

Thursday evening was the department Christmas party, which apparently lived up to its long held reputation; so much that College insisted that we have a security guard!
I thought things would be quiet when I arrived in College on Friday morning but the place was awash with water, plumbers and cleaners. The radiator in the technicians room had burst at 4.00am flooding the glass workshops, clay store, corridor and research area with steaming black water. I helped to get the place straight and 90 minutes later it didn’t look so bad. However, the real damage had been done down below in the research offices.

The rest of Friday was spent trying not to check on Alastair and start thinking about the work I need to produce.

26.10.07- writing about perception [and making moulds]

Monday was spent reading about perception and starting to put down some words towards that section of the thesis.
I remember coming across the writings of Richard L Gregory FRS, the Emeritus Professor in the Department of Neuropsychology at Bristol University last year and was interested in his work on illusion, which he uses to further his investigations into how sensations are interpreted as perceptions. In looking for online definitions of perception I came across his website. It’s a valuable resource that allows readers to download all his research papers. What is particularly useful about Richard Gregory is that he is at the forefront of current research.
Philosophers since the Ancient Greeks have studied perception. Since that time the dominant theory has been ‘passive perception’ – whereby perception came predominantly from the interpretation of sensations, in a linear way. However, the theory of ‘active perception’, is gaining momentum. Richard Gregory states that perceptions are 90% or more stored knowledge governed by rules generated through experience as we grow up.
In other words, when I look at a container, my brain doesn’t have to rely on very much visual information, as it knows what to expect from the countless times it has previously encountered a container. It will contain something or have the ability to. As a potter who has made many thousands of ceramic containers my brain is taken up with the aesthetics and function of the object, rather than identifying it. But I suppose that is what most of us do to a greater or lesser extent.

On Friday some tests came through that are part of my attempt to disrupt this process. I have thrown a series of cylinders; one without a base, one with a cone instead of a flat base etc. each was decorated with one matt black surface and one black metallic shiny glazed surface. I am interested to see if the glazed surface appears to float or loose definition due to the reflections.

The other big project this week was the making of the mould of the torus 03 CNC milled model. When I arrived on Tuesday Stephan was already at work, so I helped him by mixing plaster. Later on he left me to make the top half, which seemed to go smoothly. The following day we separated the two halves but it wasn’t until the evening that I finally removed the model. The mould is a success, but now we have to work out how to slip cast from it. Before catching the train home on Friday I went to speak to Robin Levien who is involved with Ideal Standard, makers of sanitary ware. He was very welcoming, showing me around the workshop below the studio where the team makes highly skilled models from blue Styrofoam. Robin will contact the manager of the Middlewich factory to arrange for me to visit and discuss the casting of the piece. Ideally I need to make the visit before my French trip.

12.10.07 – The Craft of Rapid Manufacture; Drawing and Making

The week started with a return to teaching on the Foundation Ceramics degree course in Carlisle. The CIA [Cumbria Institute of Art} has become part of the new University of Cumbria, which I don’t think will affect me very much. I’m teaching throwing to the first years and overseeing the second years. Both groups are small so that seems manageable and interesting.

Back in College on Tuesday I headed straight upstairs to RapidformRCA to check on my SLA torus piece. The second attempt had again failed at the same place on the rim, so the technician Greg, had a more detailed look and suggested that he strengthen the support matrix at that point.
Like the new hand building techniques I have been using, there is a craft element to Rapid Manufacture. The practitioner needs to know the characteristics and properties of the material and understand the methods by which it can be processed. The main difference between my two recent experiences is that the hand is absent in the making part of an RP piece. That doesn’t alter the need to develop a tacit knowledge as in other skills.

From there it was back to the Ceramics workshops and the familiar, traditional skills of glazing, drying and firing. More time was spent in the workshops watching plaster-sledging demonstrations by the highly skilled technician Stephan, and tutor Tavs Jorgensen. There are some interesting techniques that may have possible applications in my project. The other workshop demonstration I attended was press moulding by Martin Smith. He chose to use one of the moulds for his forthcoming Barrett Marsden exhibition, so it was interesting to see what his current work is dealing with. His demonstration clearly emphasised that to realise an idea, appropriate techniques need to be used; as he said he doesn’t have a favourite technique or one he feels most comfortable with. The process is a complex problem solving exercise where a high quality end result is the goal.

In between the workshops I was also preparing for the torus 03 form to be CNC milled. The material was measured and cut to size, leaving me with enough excess to produce another form.

Back up in RapidformRCA the third attempt had successfully been produced.
Once the material had been cured I took one of the failed ones and the successful down to my workspace to remove the supporting matrix. It was fairly easily removed, but care had to taken not to snap the brittle form. As can be seen in the photographs, the material does not possess the tensile strength to completely support the form. Would another RM material have the properties required or will I have to redesign the form? It won’t be the finished object I have imagined as it’s only 25 cm diameter and the surface isn’t smooth.
I wish to produce an actual three-dimensional version of a form that I can visualise in the virtual world of Rhino 3D software. On the computer screen it can be turned, scaled and I can even pass through the form. With the precision that the software allows me I can explore and develop my particular ideas far more accurately than with paper and pencil. The forms are based on simple geometric models, which with my level of skill can be drawn up on the screen fairly easily. This particular software may not be suitable for more complex intuitive forms. However, haptic modelling software is being introduced into the department, so it will be interesting to see how other students make use of it. I have found that my sketching has become far more simplified, mostly being a rough outline of simple forms. I use them to quickly run through a series of ideas, from which I can select a number to develop in Rhino.

By Friday I was feeling pretty exhausted, having had an intense return to College. However, I have achieved what I had planned. Just before I left I saw that start of the CNC milling process, watching the machine roughing out the beginning of the torus.
I spent the afternoon at the Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park before walking over to Euston for the train home.
It was my first visit to Frieze and an enlightening experience to see so much current contemporary art from many parts of the world under one canvas roof. It was possible to detect some trends, for instance the use of graphic design to convey messages and statements. Oppression, sex and the city are reoccurring themes, though one gallery countered them with a makeshift cinema showing Woody Allen’s film ‘Bananas’!
I missed visiting Origin at Somerset House, but felt that Frieze was more important for me to see.

The train home was extremely busy, but a useful time for reflection, planning and sketching, preferring, on this occasion the less intense experience of sketchbook and drawing pen.

The Great Exhibition 2007

Royal College of Art Summer Show

Kensington Gardens and the RCA Galleries

15–28 June


2007 is the 150th birthday of all the great South Kensington cultural and educational institutions, from the Victoria and Albert Museum to Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, all of which were born in the wake of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
To celebrate this birthday in style, the RCA is holding an even more spectacular Summer Show than usual. In homage to the original Great Exhibition itself, we have erected a huge, custom-designed tent in Kensington Gardens located near the site of the original exposition.

Across the road, the College galleries will be open as usual, meaning that for the first time in living memory we are showing the work of all our graduating students at the same time. Fine Art and Applied Art postgraduate students are exhibiting with Design, Architecture, Humanities, Communications and Fashion and Textiles – the art and design of the 21st century coming together in a radically contemporary take on the spirit of 1851.

Previous Shows have been described in the press as showcases for ‘the cream of young artists’ and a chance to ‘discover big names of the future’. With 385 students from over 36 countries and 20 courses exhibiting their work, this year promises no less.

Week ending 25.05.07

Monday:
The morning was spent in a meeting at CIA to discuss the setting up of a Craft Research Centre. Vicky and I had been invited along with Paul Scott [of Ceramics and Print etc.] and the Cox’s {Potfest organisers].
Jude Stoll has recently completed a survey of craft in Cumbria and along with Ian Farren, the head of the School of Art & Design wished to hear our views.
I started off by raising the thorny question of ‘craft’, a word full of connotations and ‘baggage’. Both Paul and I thought the term ‘applied art’ is a title that covers the range of current practice. I agreed with Paul that there should be an academic tier to the centre to give it stature, and for something for undergraduates to make use of & aspire to.
To support current practitioners and emerging new makers I suggested the setting up of a Hidden Art franchise based at the centre. Jude mentioned that there is interest from a group of makers around Kendal, but she has asked them to hold on until the CIA has looked into it. My feeling is that a Hidden Art franchise is too big an operation to set up amongst a group of practitioners unless they have enough funding to employ an organiser.
The Cox’s seemed mostly concerned about their kiln site at the Newton Rigg College site at Penrith and made very little positive contributions to the wider discussions. My other suggestions were for the inclusion of a digital manufacturing centre or bureau along the lines of Metropolitan Works. This all seems very ambitious for a centre in Carlisle, but later this year it will become part of the newly formed University of Cumbria and an ideal opportunity to aim high whilst there is investment going in.
The next step for me is to attend a meeting to discuss the Hidden Art franchise.

Tuesday:
Back to the RCA and set about producing a model and mould of flat cone 01.
I am looking to produce a one sided piece that would work equally well on a flat surface or wall. Additionally there is the advantage that the piece is far simpler to produce than the two ended cones and allows me to test variations fairly quickly. By the end of the afternoon I had the mould drying in the cabinet and it was off to The Gate restaurant in Hammersmith to help Jeannette celebrate her birthday. Ray and Jeannette are the couple who kindly have allowed me to use their spare room 3 nights a week whist I’m at College. They are keen collectors of ceramics and have a large eclectic collection.

Wednesday:
Nervous preparations for tomorrow’s Interim Examination; I had thought that I was ready, but having looked at Steve’s Summary of Work to Date, I thought mine needed improving.
Had hoped to produce a cast from the new flat cone mould but it is still too wet.

Thursday:
The morning was spent printing off copies of my written work, selecting and cleaning practical work and a bit of last minute panic! As Martin Smith is both my supervisor and Head of Department Hans Stofer, head of G,S,M & J was brought in to act as chair. Heike Brachlow, one of my fellow students came out of her examination saying that he had asked some difficult questions, so my nervous anticipation went up a notch or two. Alongside Hans Stofer and Martin, Alison Britton and Liz Aylieff interviewed me. Luckily, I felt comfortable with the questions and afterwards was told by Martin that I had passed. Next week there will be a feedback session that I am quite looking forward to in the hope that constructive advice will be given.
I have asked to see Liz next week as she raised an interesting observation that the internal space in my pieces appears to her as a passage. It’s not something that had occurred to me as I see them as containers of light.
Finished early so that I could cook Jeannette and Ray a Surprise Tatin. Jeannette’s partial to root vegetables [which Ray puts down to her Irish ancestry!] and the surprise in this recipe is the potatoes!

Friday:
Spent some time thinking about and discussing Martin’s advice on the alteration of the press moulds with Stephan. Having tried to marry the inner and outer cones decided that it would be more efficient to start again with a really precise model. Having rescued 2 large vinyl display boards from the clear up of the fashion show I thought I could laser cut them or use the plotter to print out the surfaces of my new cone 07 form. So went down to the laser cuter/vacuum forming workshop and had some very good advice from Ian, the technician. He suggested making the model on the CNC milling machine in the Darwin workshops, so it was back upstairs to see Neil the technician. No problem with the design, just have to see Gordon in Vehicle Design about a block of material out of which I can have the model milled. That’s the job for first thing Tuesday afternoon.

Sunday:
Went up to Blackwell, the Arts and Craft house near Bowness-on-Windermere with Vicky as Emmanuel Cooper has asked me to write a review of the Gareth Mason exhibition for Ceramic Review. On the few occasions that I have seen his work I have always found it difficult to understand what he’s aiming at, but this time was really enlightening.

Week ending 18.05.07 -The Centrality of Clay

Monday:
Teaching at CIA in Carlisle.

Tuesday:
Back to the RCA and upstairs for a chat with Tomek Rygalik, an ex-RCA product designer, who seems to be based in college, partly engaged in his own practice partly as a researcher. We discussed vacuum forming specifically & materials generally. He has offered to take me through vacuum forming next Friday, when he returns from his trip to New York. Meanwhile I set about producing the mould of the outside cone.

Wednesday:
Finished the cone mould.
Our Taiwanese artist friend, Chun Chao sent me some titles from his PhD bibliography that he thought might be relevant to my project. One particular recommendation – The Art of Light + Space was in stock in the library and looks very interesting.

Thursday:
Took the small cone mould down to the large vacuum forming machine in the basement. The third attempt was successful, but doesn’t bear close inspection as the styrene is of uneven thickness. My first impression is that it will appear insubstantial, though with the inclusion of a light source this could be an advantage.

Friday:
Made another attempt to put together the ceramic cone, but the thickness of the clay walls is preventing the pieces from fitting. I then took a ‘cast’ of the inner cones, which after firing will be about 10% smaller and from which I can make new moulds.
The process is slow & frustrating, however it’s partly due to learning new techniques and partly that practical works takes longer in the college than in the workshop at home.
Continued to muse about the centrality of clay to my project on the evening train journey home. It's usually a good opportunity to write without too many distractions.
My thoughts about the use of clay are still not fully resolved, but are being aired in the Centrality of Clay essay in the Writing section of the website.

Week ending 04.05.07

Monday:
Teaching at CIA- started with tutorials, focusing on the development of ideas. In the afternoon gave a 2-hour Rhino 3D introductory demonstration. It was a hands on session, which I think went quite well.

Tuesday:
Back at the RCA to a busy week making the moulds for press-moulding and looking into rapid prototyping a model to produce a vacuum forming mould from. First of all I had to explore whether the cone pieces use true cones. Martin suspected they aren’t so I spent a few hours on the train & in the afternoon testing whether it’s possible to bring 2 truncated cones together with an even 2cm gap separating their ‘sharp’ ends. In the end I came to the conclusion that it’s not possible, the centre must be started from 2 circles, each lofted to the outer ends of the cones, then those lofted to each other.

Wednesday:
Started the day with a meeting with Nick Grace up in Rapidform. They are under pressure installing new machines and helping 2nd years prepare work for their final shows. Still, he gave me time to discuss preparing a Rhino model for production on the ZCorp machine. The cost is huge – 25p/cc doesn’t sound much but when my model is 1.34 litres we’re looking at £300! However, my models need scaling down to fit within the 250X200X200 bed size. So that will bring about a reduction in cost. Meanwhile, I returned to the analogue!

I had some plywood discs cut, based on Cone 6 dimensions. Angled lengths of 2X2 connected them. The space between the discs was then filled with clay.

Thursday:
Woke early so was in college by 8.00am. Continued with the moulds
< These are the inner cone moulds over which I'll form the clay.








This is the outer cone made on Friday, with an extra disc on top. This one is to have the plaster applied directly onto the surface, building it out in line with the discs. When the former is removed & the plaster is dry, it can be used as a press mould for the outer cone.


At lunchtime we had another of our research cluster get togethers. They are an opportunity for one of us to discuss an aspect of their project. I set up the first meeting to help me define the core of my project. The perspective of my fellow students is extremely helpful, though our projects are quite different to each others, we have enough overlaps and shared interests to make our group very supportive.
Today, I had invited Alison Britton to discuss her new work on show at Barrett Marsden Gallery.
At the opening night Alison used phrases like "taking risks", "loosening up" and "relaxing", and it was these aspects of moving towards a new body that I thought were relevant to some of us. One of the most interesting parts was her description of how a piece of work can initiallly be inspired by a theme, such as a place, a piece of writing, personal views and that it may loose it's link to it's original starting point as the piece progresses. The title always comes last and generally doesn't have a relationship with the original theme.
The question I would like to ask Alison is "How does a viewer then interpret the piece? What are the criteria and how much are we expected to understand of the context in which the the work is made?" These may seem like naive questions, but for me that are worth pursuing.

Friday:
I was in two minds about staying in London this coming wekend to complete my moulds and visit some galleries. However, my eldest daughter, Rowan wil be home from Manchester, the garden and the surrounding countryside are so beautiful at this particular time of year and the fact that I can have some time to relax has made it an easy decision to go for the 18.45 train north. I'll also be able to prepare the written parts for the interim examination scheduled for the 24th.

From the backdoor, looking across the side garden towards the woods

Week ending 27.04.07

Monday
2nd session at CIA, in the afternoon had a demo of SolidWorks 3D modelling software. Pretty refined in comparison to Rhino, but costs a lot more.

Tuesday
Back to the RCA and started to prepare the fired cone pieces for Thursday’s tutorial. The firing cracks were filled with Plastic Padding, sanded smooth then taken upstairs to be sprayed with cellulose paint. The finish is not bad, 2 are a satin white and one is black.

Wednesday
I had forgotten that I had signed up for a FuelRCA presentation skills day focusing on ‘meeting the client’. The day was of limited use as we were guinea pigs; generally I think my day could have been better spent. The mind map exercise was the most valuable as my partner thought that ‘research’ is the core of my practice, not ‘ceramics’ as it seemed to initially suggest. This has a bearing on how I prepare for my post-RCA life.
After this I continued to finish my cone pieces then assembled the LED’s & installed them successfully in one of the cones. They illuminate the piece with a blue glowing light, no colour or intensity changes as yet.

Thursday
The tutorial with Martin was very productive. I showed him the cone pieces; they are less successful than the cone 05 test piece in terms of the illusion created. However, they have served their purpose in demonstrating that LED lighting is worth pursuing, but mostly that throwing and assembly is definitely not a suitable technique for these pieces. The chance of cracking is high, grogged clay is difficult to smooth and though my throwing skills are pretty good it’s still difficult to produce a cone with a perfectly straight profile. Martin brought up the choice of making technique and exploration of alternative materials. It was decided that a model should be made that could be used to produce a mould for press moulding and for vacuum forming. This is exactly what I was hoping to hear as I have questioned the need for this work to be made of clay. I wish to remove all traces of the hand and any connotations with studio ceramics.
I also showed Martin the new website, which he thinks will make a valuable contribution to the interim examination coming up in May.
After the tutorial Martin, Alison and I discussed the last two research applications, one was rejected, one accepted, which should be interesting as his project is almost a glass version of mine. It looks like the ‘research cluster’ is going to increase to 7.

Friday
Bit of a frustrating day as I hoped to start on making the rest of the moulds for the cube glass cast first thing in the morning, but couldn’t find any clay! It brings it home that I must prepare in advance, it’s not like the workshop at home where everything is under my control. I did complete one more, but had hoped to make the remaining three.
I popped upstairs to the Darwin workshops to learn about vacuum forming where the French technician Fred was pretty negative. I need to find others to ask, maybe visit a specialist company.
Stephan came to give me some advice about producing a model for press moulding; it should be straightforward but will need to be planned carefully. I continued to produce a Rhino model that can be used then went to see Martin Watmough in RapidForm to talk about Rapid prototyping a model. He thinks it will be possible on the ZCorp machine, but is likely to cost over £200. I’m meeting Nick Grace up there on Wednesday to discuss the details. The advantage is that the model would be absolutely accurate and could be used to produce a model for vacuum forming. Martin also told me about a powerful new laser cutter that’s been installed recently. Apparently it’s capable of cutting much heavier duty material, so I will need to check it out to find whether I can use it to produce a strong accurate model.

Week ending 20.04.07

Monday-
Teaching my first session of a new ceramics project at Cumbria Institute of the Arts.

Tuesday-
Back to London, the focus of this week is to finish my test pieces in preparation for next week’s tutorial with Martin Smith. I have four cone pieces to fire, one of which cracked during drying, highlighting the hazardous complexity of traditional making techniques on forms where internal access is impossible. I have discussed attempting to press mould a similar cube form, however I suspect that will not overcome the technical difficulties. Slip casting and the post-firing assembly of parts are some of the other ceramic techniques to consider, before investigating alternative materials and RM.
I sprayed both the biscuit fired and dry pieces with a white Hyplas 71 ball clay terra sigillata slip and a leftover demo piece I made at Ceramic Art London with a black terra sigillata made from our standard black slip recipe.

Wednesday-
Packed the kiln and started the firing.

Thursday-
Unpacked the kiln in the afternoon. Mixed results- the black slip worked very well, but I suspected it would do because of the sheen it developed on application. The white slip is smooth, but very little sheen, it doesn’t look any different from before the firing.
The packet of LED’s, controllers, and transformer arrived from my brother in Austria. I now have the means to put together a simple circuit to produce either white or coloured lights and with further experimentation [and assistance] I should be able to incorporate a proximity sensor to control effects.
In the evening there was an excellent presentation on biomimetics by MADE [the Material And Design Exchange]. The first part was by Julian George, a material scientist from Imperial College looking into producing synthetic bone structures. He showed examples of biomimetic developments from spider’s webs, lotus flowers etc. Geoff Hollington, a product designer and member of MADE talked about how biomimetics may impact on our lives in the future. Materials that will react in the same way as our senses allow us to are in development and will be part of the not too distant future.

Friday-
I started to prepare a mould for casting cube 4 in glass. The form was designed on Rhino; I then produced Illustrator files of all its surfaces. These were printed onto adhesive vinyl by plotter/cutter, stuck onto 5mm foamboard and cut out with a craft knife. The internal corners needed to be mitred before assembly. Once assembled, they were used as a model from which to take a plaster/quartz cast.
At lunchtime the research cluster met at Heike’s request to discuss her project. It is always a fruitful experience, the similarities and differences of our projects allowing some fresh perspectives and new information to follow up. For instance, Heike showed a photograph of a piece of glass by Richard Whitely which looks very similar to part of cube 4!

Saturday-
Catching up with things at home- domestic duties, mowing the lawn, checking seedlings etc. All a healthy contrast to London, allowing me some important time to reflect on the week.

Sunday-
The rain has returned after 3 or 4 weeks of gorgeous weather, however I’m packing some of the figures that I made during Easter. My youngest daughter, Grace has an interview at Midddlesex University on Tuesday for a place on the Fashion & Textiles course and Vicky is helping her to complete a Yamamoto top. The pattern was downloaded from the Showstudio website with very few instructions, so assembly has been a challenge. She is really keen to get a place, however students are asked to leave their portfolios, and after inspection some of the applicants are invited to interview. She’ll be pretty devastated if she doesn’t get an interview, as that is where she will excel.