Rainy Valentine day in London

Hello everyone. Mike woke me up with a box of Champagne truffles on Valentine day. He said there was not card this year because all cards weren't good. I believed him. We were going to visit Tate modern to see Paul Klee exhibition. I have seen some of his paintings here and there in Europe as well as New York in my twenties, but have never seen them in solo exhibitions. When I saw several of his paintings from this exhibition on Twitter, I felt this was a 'must see'.

A gentleman plays a piano whilst waiting for his train at St Pancras.

As rain all day and storm in evening were forecast, we drove to the station. Train came on time, and we arrived at London on time. Tate modern is not near from any tube stations; that's why I seldom visit there unless there are good exhibitions. As we didn't want to walk for long in the rain, we took a bus. When England is grey, it is really grey. There is nothing pretty! Still I took several photos from the bus window, as it was a route I had never taken.

Art deco style

Beautiful bridge

London has mixtures of old and new

When we got off the bus at the south bank of the Thames, we walked to Blackfriars station. Invicta is the motto of the county of Kent in Latin. Here was an old railway line to Dover that opened in 1864.

At the bank of the Thames.

In the rain and cold, we walked to the Tate Modern. They were setting up a Topshop show inside. It is a disused power station, and interior looks just like that.

Topshop is coming. 

From a balcony at cafe inside, London was grey and wet. St Pauls cathedral is opposite and the Millennium bridge below. 

A view from Tate modern.

The ceiling is industrial. So are the signs.

At cafe. 

As the exhibition has been on for weeks now, we didn't book tickets. We were able to see it immediately after buying tickets. It was worth the visit and every penny. I underestimated the exhibition, but there are loads of paintings in 17 rooms. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to buy a book on his work. 

I was colour coordinated with the colour theme of the exhibition. 

Whereas Mike was in the usual shades of grey!

After seeing other exhibitions on different floors, we headed for the Cecilia Coleman gallery to collect my unsold work from their animal exhibition. Luckily there were only two left. All whippets and little rabbits were sold out.

New part of London

As the storm was approaching, we headed for home. In the train, I doodled Klee influenced fish. I showed them to Mike, who laughed at them. I think the octopus is a cracker! :D

Yes, this is the bag of  Le Pain Quotidien. We, of course, bought organic almond croissants and organic Danish pastries!   

As soon as we were back we watched Men's figure skating, and witnessed Japanese 19 year-old Hanyu win the gold medal. What a lovely day we had!

The box of Valentine chocs is now empty. : )

Soul in the clay

Hello everyone. I had a productive weekend. I started one sculpture about 10 days ago, and finally finished it this morning. It is different from my other work. That excites me. When something unexpected comes out of clay, it takes me to another world.

 Here is the face that I made about ten days ago.

Friday, I started extending it.

I coiled it. 

By Saturday morning, it became like this. It was a bit like an insect. 

I made wings, tails and face pattern. It became an owl last night.

'I am flying.'

Side view

Top view

 I cleaned it a bit, and made a mount for it this morning.

Bottom view

Details

So here is my latest owl! I kept making owls recently. I keep thinking about Mochaccino, our late owl finch. I think that' the reason, but I am not sure. Nothing is sure. I am very happy with this one and I can't wait to see how it will be finished.

After the owl was finished, I sandpapered all bisque-fired sculpture. It was a very dusty and unexciting job. But I kept an eye on the Olympics; this made the job more tolerable. My favourite events are snowboard, figure skate, ski jump and speed skate. It was strange that while I watched high adrenaline sports, my adrenaline goes high, too, in front of the TV. It is the modern equivalent of watching gladiators or hunting, I guess. There are four hours time difference between Sochi and UK, so I might adjust my working time. I could see my favourite events. One of the good parts of working from home alone.

Black and beyond

Hello everyone. I made this sculpture over three nights earlier this week. I was going to make a boy's body. But my hands moved unexpectedly. I kept seeing something else. I continued making and the first face appeared on it. Then second, and third. I made about 10 faces on it. I might call it 'Committee'. It was fun to make it. It is always exciting when something unexpected comes out of the clay.

This is the first face I made. 

I kept adding more faces.

Some are happy, some are not. I was wondering whether to fire it. When I showed it on twitter, several people liked it. So I decided to fire it. I haven't thought about how to glaze it yet. As I used gritty clay, the surface is rough. So much better for this piece,, I guess.

My imagination is running wild recently. Ah, the joy of creation! I can't make things quickly enough to follow up all of the visions appearing in my head!

******

Today I would like to tell you the saga about my espresso pot. Our espresso machine was broken about two years ago. It was out second machine by Krups. We ordered a Dualit one from John Lewis, but water leaked, and we had to ask them to swap it three times. But all were faulty. It must be a bad design. Then we got completely fed up and gave up. Since then we have made filter coffee with a Pyrex jug! It was supposed to be temporary until we found a new machine, but more and more components of machines became plastic, and Mike thought that was the cause of leak, we stopped looking and got used to our quaint method.

This Christmas, Mike suddenly told me there was a really good machine on sale at £585. Swiss-made, and it also grinds beans. It costs usually over £600. It must be made of stainless steel with that price. As I was thinking to find a Christmas present for him, I said we would get it for him to play with. Then I started thinking about it. How many espresso we would drink in a week?  How much would it cost to make it if this machine also lasted for just three years like others? Isn't it cheaper to go to a cafe and have espresso instead? I told him that we didn't need it. Strangely enough, Mike agreed. He had come to the same conclusion.

What did we buy instead? We bought an ordinary filter coffee maker and a stainless steel espresso pot by Bialetti. Together they cost less than £100 on sale! Both work perfectly and make the lovely coffee that we wanted. We are feeling so much better because we bought something which makes just what we wanted, and also because we didn't spend too much on something we didn't need.

My favourite beans, Black and Beyond!

I felt we have learnt something. We found happiness inside us. We like function, good design and good value. So that's what I wanted to share this story with you today.

P.S. I am not a saint though! I might have spent same amount or a bit more on my lovely Chanel bag!  :D  

Little birds and bisque firing

Hello everyone. The bisque firing went well. Phew! As there was still space on shelves, I quickly made some chubby rabbits, and fired them very slowly because they were not bone dry. I usually make rabbits on full moon nights. But that night, last Saturday, was not. In fact, it was a new moon night. Because of the lack of lunar power or what, one of the rabbits became an otter! Never mind.

Lower shelf - spot the goat! 

And this is top shelf. One baby otter is hiding.

Top shelf

Today I had a friend come to deliver boxes. My stock of boxes is low, and I had asked her to save some for me. As my studio space is a former dinning area adjacent to the kitchen, I did a major floor cleaning with a steam cleaner. During cleaning I injured my fingers twice! I had kept my fingers intact for a longer than one year; you see, clay is not good for cuts, and glazes are even worse for any injuries. So if you do ceramics, and especially throwing, it is important to keep fingers uninjured. Today I learned major cleaning is a hazardous activity!

Do you remember I made tiny chickens about a month ago? One of them was glazed. She is so small that I could carry her around in my coin purse. That's what I might do. So when I get bored in a train or bus, I can peek her inside my purse, and smile at her although people might think I am a bit strange!

A tiny chicken

And here is the little Mochaccino, my late owl finch. He is on the cabinet at my eye level. He will stay with us for good.

I am a fairy godmother!

Hello everyone. Today I would like to share this photo.

Sebastian guarded by Ice baby and Rabbit girl

Yay! Perin and Kath became parents last month.  Their handsome boy, Sebastian was born! Well done, Kath! I became a fairy godmother! It has been a long wait, and I admire all mothers! Perin sent me this photo. I love it. I was overjoyed to see it. My rabbit girl and Ice baby are guarding him. I am very proud of them.

I made the Ice baby with all best wishes for him. I had a gut feeling that the baby would be a boy.  How lovely!

They must be very busy now. I wish all happiness and good health to three of you from England.