I have never tried casting anything in plaster until now, using the large nylon salad bowl my mother gave me 20 years ago as my modelling form.
Playdough walls to define the shape and everything covered liberally with Vaseline. I poured the plaster and allowed it to thicken and spooned out the excess. I made two castings and after finishing them to a smooth polished surface, I glued them together.
As I failed to realise how fragile it was, ordinary Plaster of Paris without an armature, it broke . . .
Now I am starting again but bigger and better. I have acquired a large wok and a bag of terracotta coloured sculpture plaster which not only is very tough but also has iron inclusions which will gradually rust on the surface.
My booted friend saw this grating in Portmerion and knew I’d like it.
Crossing over thew railway line in Blaenau Ffestiniog, I presume the wooden rails are to stop people wandering off from the official route.
The watermill at Blaenau Ffestiniog, water drips running down in the gaps between the railings and below, the hods of thre wheel juxtaposed against the perspective lines of the slates on the roof beyond.
Straight railings casting their shadows on a rough stone wall.
Accidentally having the camera on the wrong setting caused camera shake during the long exposure but made an even more interesting image from this quilted copper-lined elevator in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
And these over-sized wooden blinds were marvellous, maybe I’m addicted to parallel lines.
I spent quite a while taking of photos of this staircase. Walking down feels unusual as although the stair is open, the views outward are limited and you are enveloped in warm, subtly lit flowing forms.
I have long wanted to paint and have made many weak attempts over the years but finally the catalyst for my recent work was a visit to Tate St Ives at Easter. I happened to pick up a leaflet about the Sunday Times watercolour competition and began experimenting.
My initial approach was to think about what had learned about colour, pigment, materials and processes as a former conservator of oil paintings, their origins and uses and behaviour to make some work that was more than just another landscape or still life – of which I have produced many pedestrian examples over the years.
I played about with pure colours, simply exploring the colour and paint, making washes and overlaying, working on wet and dry paper. I had some old watercolour paper (more than 20 years stored under the bed) that seemed to be under-sized and was very absorbent. I liked the way the colour travelled when applied to wet paper and started to form a pattern of actions that resulted in a long series of works.
LangfordMaurice
I should add that order, geometry and repetition seem to be my instinctive approach to creativity (see my Jewellery Designs)
I am exploring pure colour, to find ways to show its true nature and behaviour in watercolour medium. Only three colours are used, employing juxtaposition, overlay and tone as well as wet and dry paper and re-wetting techniques. Each colour is laid on individually, not mixed.
As a jeweller my work is very much about control, my designs are geometric and ordered, serendipity is a rare and welcome component, usually appearing whilst pushing the limits of the material. This process follows through in this series of paintings. I begin from a precise positioned grid of marks, working on wet and/or dry paper, overlaying in several passes following a strict order whilst allowing accidental or material based irregularities to occur. Colours are applied with droppers and with broad washes laid over dried dots, allowing the colours to soften and run at will.
Sally Wakelin - Studies in Creativity 
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