120 fish made - lots of fun

Inspired - What a result

This is what Martin Chesterman  did with a school he works with in North East London after he heard of our work putting pottery on the railings. Martin was my pottery teacher when I lived in Buckhurst Hill, London.

I love the idea and I hope we can do something, in turn, inspired by his thinking.

Great stuff.

A great photo taken by the Evening Mail Photographer

Thank you Milton Haworth

This image captures Halloween night at Gill Banks admirably

Amazing what you can do with some mud, wax and a few loo rolls!

and loads of Jam Jars from you the public as well!

and about twenty energetic workers.

This event and that of the pots on the railings are to be featured in a section called "Off-Centre" in the next issue of the Ceramic Review which describes itself as

Photos from the event in Gill Banks

Allan Wilson came to capture some amazing images.

Here are a few.

A great pumpkin

Here's the band - Free Band Reel - that created the impressive eerie music

The combination of penny-whistle left, melodeon, and guitar right playing tunes in the minor key worked wonders.

The twenty Spike Lights with flares were dramatic. The remaining 85 holders made do with candles!

Lastly another photo with just two of the 'Spike Lights'.

Allan captured images that the eye never sees!

Then Susan Hargreaves captured the mood with her photos!

Walk the Halloween highway on Sunday, October 31, 6-8pm

All set for this great event that we've been working towards for much of the year.

The Gill will be aglow with flaming lights this Halloween.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB1WQxrJKbQ

And any amount of rain won't stop them!

We're going through with this event even if it rains!

We enjoy this kind of thing too much for mere wetness to stop us; in fact some of us think it will be more fun if it rains!

In a winter spectacle to warm even the most chilling spook-night spirits, an amazing 800 candles will light-up the night. These include nearly 100 pottery 'spike lights' – terracotta candle holders that've been cast by local children and pottery enthusiasts to sit on the railings and cast an eerie glow. Among them there's a coiled dragon with flaming eyes, a cityscape with glowing windows and of course a few ghouls.

A further 700 candles in jam jars will be dotted about in the woods to complete the scene for a spooky candlelit walk from 6.30pm.

Ulverston potter Geoff Dellow is organising the event with people from The Gill.
“It's something we tried out for the first time last year and it was a great success,” said Geoff. “More than 150 people turned-up to walk along the candlelit path and it all looked really magical.
This time we've been busy making even more spike lights and our own candles that should burn brighter and longer than the little tealights we used before.”

Geoff has been busy testing his new candles made thanks to donations of wax from Wax Lyrical, loo rolls and hundreds of jam jars.

“They can resist strong winds of about 20mph but I'm hoping it won't come to that,” he said. “It'll be great to celebrate Halloween simply by enjoying firelight on a chilly Autumn's evening.”

After the walk, residents of the Gill are inviting people to linger in the candlelight and warm-up with some mulled apple juice and a few spooky snacks.

“The test run looked amazing,” said Gill resident Jennie Dennett who's helping organise the walk. “With the candles edging the path it looks like a landing strip for passing witches on broomsticks, or like the corridors of a medieval castle with their flaming torches. There's something very Harry Potter about it, you could imagine a Quidditch match going on in the woods.”

The candles will be lit from 6pm to 8pm and the procession starts at 6.30pm.

Volunteers are still needed to help light all those wicks, anyone who can join in from 3pm Sunday is asked to contact Geoff at gd at tygh.co.uk  (done to avoid spam) or just turn up and find us we won't be far away!

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL7wLHNND_g

The Gill Banks Candlelit Walk

It's in three weeks time:

Please feel free to download our poster and put it up somewhere.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Pottery exhibition

Last weekend there was a gathering of one hundred of the top potters in Europe at Potfest in the Park near Penrith.

Here is a slide show of some of the pots that were there.

This weekend there is a similar exhibition at Potfest in the Pens (the Penrith Cattle Market venue)

This event is open to any potter willing to pay for a stall.

Starts Friday, continues Saturday and Sunday. Takes one hour to get there.

Potfest in the Park is on

I'm off to pick up a figure made specially for me by a brilliant artist who is exhibiting at the above.

Will probably by some more of her work - after all it's magical.

People's Pottery in the Park at Gill Banks again

We started the day yesterday at 10:00 with a visit of parents and children from the Ulverston Wildlife Watch who did some brilliant work that is now drying prior to being fired before display here at Gill Banks, Ulverston.












And here's a video we took.




Then all sorts of people arrived!















Then we packed up and went home . . . .

with all our goodies.

You'll see the results on the railings at Gill Banks in a fortnight . . . .

if not before!

What a fantastic day.

We'll have to do it again!

Another pottery workshop this saturday

Five hundred of these leaflets have now been distributed to local houses. Sorry if you missed out this time. - Another time maybe - every time we leaflet different houses.

Watch out for the arrows around the town to the event this Saturday!

To view the coverage on this pottery project as recorded on this blog
click here!
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An amazing way to view the art work on the railings at Gill Banks

Someone - I don't know who yet - has taken about 12 photographs of the art work here and skilfully pasted them all together to give a very long photo. Then Chris Dennett has taken this and created this dragable magnifying glass to show us the detail.

Brilliant stuff.

A big

Thank You

Pottery in the Park, Gill Banks, Ulverston, Cumbria

Jessie tells us the story behind the latest additions to our project, made last Saturday, fired to 1100 deg C in the week and put up yesterday!



And here's a detailed description of the Pottery in the Park, Community Project at Gill Banks

People's Pottery in the Park at Gill Banks today

Resulted in some superb work with lots taking part.

The Punters begin to arrive while I keep myself busy making a ladybird.


Then towards the end, The friendly Westmorland Gazette Photographer arrives and checks he's got people's names down correctly.




He's attracted to the mask while I love the saling boat nearer the camera and the lovely sun flowers that were done.

The standard was superb.



Here's a brief video



For those that missed the BBC interview of the event, its on iPlayer at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0076dtn/Val_Armstrong_10_04_2010/

To be precise the interview starts at a reading of 2:15 !


Lovely shadows

All fired up for pottery making

Excellent article by David Pickthall in the Evening Mail today page 17.

You may recognise the photo - mine was acceptable!

Thanks

Now to get everything ready and be thankful for reliable helpers like Jennie Dennett and family and the creator of the much loved pig - Reg - what has he in mind for tomorrow?

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The pottery in Mill Dam and an event in Gill Banks

In addition to the placing of many new ceramic butterflies, a lot of hard work has been done to free up the soil from shrub roots and add composted manure ready for a stunning show of flowers later this year!



If you missed the chance to make butterflies, you can have a chance to make stuff for the railings in Gill Banks this Saturday between 11am and 4pm. The clay has been rolled out ready for you to use with the ideas that you will come up with.

You'll also have a chance to be interviewed by Cumbria Radio if you there at about 11:20 and tell the world what you are making and what you like about the project !

Pottery Making in Gill Banks this Saturday

It's due to be warm at the weekend so we're going to set up to make some more items for the railings here.

Join us between 11 am and 4 pm.

The clay is pre-prepared - all ready for your designs with templates to get you started - dead easy! and the result is brilliant!



And looking great with the flowers now!

The area guaranteed dog shit free !

Greenhouse raising flowering plants for Ulverston

This is my first ever greenhouse.

I've struck really lucky with the location for it which now has about 2,500 potential plants for Ulverston's public spaces. A great variety of seeds have been donated by Chiltern Seeds of Ulverston; an adventurous seed supplier of rare flower heirloom veg and herbs.

In a recent email Denise Taylor states:

"we confirm that we would be delighted to help out again this year! I will arrange for another box of easyish annuals and perennials to be made up, as we did last year,"

"Anything to help and support our community!"




It's a lovely place to go and 'work'.

The slightest bit of sun and it's beautifully cozy - and I have these great views! The cat likes it too!

I can see why people love their contact with living things. Everything is so eager to grow. Given half a chance and the seeds are off.

What a phenomenal burst of energy from one innocent looking packet of minute seeds!

It's the same feeling as watching birds outside as they busy themselves with living. They appear to enjoy life - but I'm sure it's really a lot of hard graft.

I wonder what they would think as they observe us humans as we go about life?

Imagine them flying over Market Street on a busy day.

Are we too enjoying the challenge of life in the same way?

I can understand why Stafford Salmon of West Ulverston enjoys his secluded work in the wholesale market gardening business, of working with plants all day, so much.

Again there's a link with people who work on allotments. They too have a positive way of looking at life.

Have we done ourselves a disservice of using technology that takes us away from a hands on approach to life.

Two great programs on BBC 4 Television

Starting at 7 - 8 pm, we had Sacred music and the place of passionate singing in a church environment. Then from 8 - 9 pm passionate singing on the streets of Harlem New York.

Both on a theme I've been exploring for some time.

The importance of feeling passionate about what appeals to us in Life.

More later.

Now I'm off to one of my passions - Butterflies for Mill Dam Park - getting the kiln loaded with the latest batch of another 50 butterflies, created by us locals!

We need a photo don't we. There was a good one in the Mail on pg 10 of March 16th - have to wait for a good copy but in the mean time - here's one I did earlier !

Horse returns a little worse for 'wear'.

cGradually the stars of the show are returning to Gill Banks!



To join his friends the Dolphins, Pig, flowers, leaves and birds!

These will be put up again to continue amusing and entertain their follows.

Thanks to the anonymous helper who turned up to help with the repairs, yesterday. Good to meet you!

Five Planters for Gill Banks

First mix the soil for the planters - 3 parts garden soil with 2 parts Arthur Bowers peat free compost 1 part "Farmhouse manure" obtained from the Suppliers at Lindal - in the comfort of the workshop - it's cold outside. (I made these proportions up - comments welcome!)





This fills two and a half planters which have been constructed by gluing many parts of fired pottery together with the wonderful "Gorilla Glue" obtained from Graham at Smith and Harrisons (Can you remember it being in Theatre Street with those rickety stairs to the other store rooms ?):


Finally fill all five planters and add plants bought on the market - the Ivy looked very good, the Violas, root-bound but they'll do as a start.


Seeds donated by Chilterns Seeds are popping through in the cold frame ready for the spring, I'm hoping they'll survive the frost. These plants will replace these present flowers and could also be available for Lightburn Park.

Setting up a greenhouse in my garden is planned so as to rear other plants for public spaces from these same seeds donated for the purpose.

I'm a novice at most of this and would appreciate all the help possible from anyone interested. That applies to my allotment too - advice from the experts on the site as to what grows well there is most welcome. At the moment digging it over so that it gets the benefit from the frosts is my priority and going well.

A compost heap of horse manure has been created.

The bright idea of putting the above, planted up, planters on the top of this compost heap in order to stop the contents freezing even in this weather, has been born! Will this work?

When the temperature eases up again, the planters will be placed in Gill Banks.

All advice welcome!