New series - Floral calendar

I had wanted to make new series of works since early 2017. But due to commitments and deadlines I was unable to start it; new types of works take a long time to be completed. There are several steps of trying, experimenting and working out how to make technically and, often failures. In January 2018, I allocated a block of time for it. They were Landscape girls. From there I branched out to Floral calendar, they are those I will share today.

The first ones took several months to be completed. But once I found out how to make one after technical problems were solved, I was able to concentrate on making details. Even so, the record hot summer caused headaches during making. As I have shared photos of work in progress, The first four were spoken for before completion. They all went to a nice homes. As I am typing this, June drop is only one available. Details are here.

Floral calendar. I made one by one when I saw those flowers during walks. They are those give me enormous joy during walks around our house, in the garden and in the woods nearby.

Cherry blossom - April
There is a small cherry tree I like very much. It grows in front of an ugly building. But it has the prettiest warm pink flowers of all cherry blossoms. I visit it and talk to it during walks.
 

Cherry blossom - sold

Cherry blossom 

Lily of the valley - May

These beautiful poisonous flowers are in the woods we walk. The scent is so lovely. I also have tender memory of them seen in Hokkaido in Japan when I was about six.

Lily of the valley - sold

June drop - There are lots of tiny applets that fall from apple trees in the garden in June. I feel a bit sad when I see them even though I knew it is good for the tree.  

June drop - Available

Kikyo, Balloon flowers - July

Kikyo is the flower of Japanese summer. They are on summer kimono, wind chimes and lots of things used in summer. When I came to the UK, I missed them so much, I grew them from seeds. They are established now, and come up every year. 

Kikyo - sold

Fairy rings - September
Mushrooms are fascinating. They are closer to animals than to plants, they say. There are lots of various types in the woods. They never fail to amaze me.

Fairy ring - sold

Story masks. Tinderbox and Alice

After working together for four months, the two masks were handed over to a lovely client visiting Britain. It was finally great to meet him.  

One of the great things about commissions is that I am challenged.

Alice is the largest and the most intricate story mask I have ever made. There are unseen details for the client. He will find them once he holds her in his hands. They are secret gifts from me.

I wish they will give plenty of imagination and joy to his family for a long time. Thank you so much.  

Freedom of speech - commission 3

The client visited CAL. After discussion a smaller version of Freedom of Speech was commissioned.  

Freedom of speech

The client requested a black wood base mask stand. This type of masks would look great on black stands. 

Here is the large Freedom of speech at CAL. 

I am careful when I scale up/down the work in size. I make sure that the essence of work will not be diluted in the new work. 

As it has more depth than my female masks, profile is important. 

After the client was happy with it, it was bisque-fired up to 950C. Then, colours were added. 

Then it went to glaze-firing up to 1240C.

I use crank clay for this type of masks. Materials often inspire me. Other two masks were born with the commissioned mask.

Now the mask lives in the house with stylish intetior, London. Thank you so much.

Girl with quince flowers - commission 2

Another commission for the first half 2017 was a Girl with red shoes. You have seen them before, but this time she is large, larger than my usual big masks.

The lovely client has spotted smaller Girl with red shoes at PikaPika, organised by Creative Clerkenwell, last year.  Then she visited me at CAL, and and we discussed her commission.




Here is the comparison of shoes. The red pair is ordinary one

Bisque-firing

Retail shows like CAL and Hatfield are great occasions for visitors to see all ranges of artists' work. Especially if you are interested in a special piece to be made just for you. You could see the size, colours and other details in person. 3D work looks bigger in person than on the photos.

Ready for glaze-firing

She also requested the girl will either have quince flowers or a ribbon. I thought the flowers would suit her best.

Ready for glaze-firing on a different background

These two images were sent to the client. Different backgrounds give different impressions.

Glaze-firing

As I had several commissions at the same time, I was able to do frequent firings.  After the mask and shoes were fired, I got a mask stand made for them. The larger the mask, the taller the stand.

Girl with quince flowers

She was packed carefully and posted to the lovely client. Thank you so much! 

Red riding hood for a lovely family in Germany - commission 1

I have spent creating special work on commissions for the most part of the first half of 2017. One of them is Red riding hood. A lady contacted me earlier this year after seeing the photo of CAL website. She told me it would be a birthday present for her husband. How lovely!

As I have made a similar mask before, I would be ale to guess how long it would take me to make one. First, I made the mask.

Second I added a story on her head. The wolf is difficult to attach. The first one was too large, so I had to make another one.

After the lady's approval, the mask was ready for bisque-firing.

Then I add colours. The colours before firing are not what you see after firing. That is the most difficult point. It is often a guess work.

She is ready for glaze-firing.  

I usually take a few days to pack intricate works. Then the packet was sent with tracking. This mask quickly and safely arrived at the family home, Germany. I have received a lovely message from the lady. That was, of course, the best part. Thank you so much.

Girl with ceramic floral wreath

England had a hot spell. It was the hottest June since 1976. It was difficult to hand-build. Besides I hurt my back. So I had to cut back working on a chair; I had no problem walking or standing. The heatwave is over, and backache is eased. I have started working in earnest.

Today I would like to share three of my works I made a few months ago. Some months ago, one of my clients sent me a photo of a girl's skull with ceramic wreath in a archaeological museum in Patras, Greece. The ceramic flowers are pink, yellow, green and gold. Colours are still bright. They seem to me spring flowers, suitable for a girl. She must have been loved so much to be given such a beautiful farewell.

Prior to that, I became curious about life before death and after death. And the image inspired me.

I made three works. The first one was a mask, and my interpretation of the skull. I seldom use pink (not my favourite colour), and I was unsure about it, but it worked fine.

The second one was my imagination; if the girl didn't die then, and became a grown-up.

The last one was the girl after her death. She is going to have her last journey to the land of death over water.

I meant to try to understand them. That's what I do after they are completed. But I have been too busy to do that, but I think it is time for them to come out of the boxes. So I could look into their eyes.  

Angels have flown

Four Angels have flown to loving homes this winter.  I made them with solid and strong wings this time, as I had requests from the clients. previously I was not able to ship Angels with wings due to the fragility of the wings. But new ones could fly not only in the UK, but also globally. How nice!

I have experimented with different shapes of wings.

The last two Angels were from the New Ashgate Gallery.  Hello, people in Farnham, a lovely town!

I imagine they all watch over their new families. I wish their families peace and good health.