The Green Man and Us.

Where does our inspiration for our Green Men designs come from? This is a question that Anne, one of our recent customers, asked me and it is a question that many people put to us so I thought it would be a good idea  to answer it as best I can in our blog. 

Hawthorn and Elder intertwined.

The biggest inspiration for us is the English Countryside. Even though it has been damaged and suffered insult and injury from generations of bad farming practices, poor planning, nasty buildings and pollution it is still beautiful. It still has  some wonderful woods, pastures, hills, brooks and rivers, mysterious springs, romantic ruins, tumuliand stone circles that make it a magical place. For us this magic is embodied in the figure of  the Green Man.

There are hundreds of places that I can think of that have the special Green magic. One is depicted above. In a field near our home there is this elder and hawthorn growing together. My younger son, Thomas is on the right hand side. Children sense and appreciate such places. Unfortunately  adults can't always tune in to them. It's a skill they need to relearn. Somehow the Green Man can give a focus to this process.

Another, and to me closely related source of inspiration, are the old churches that cover England. They frequently hold carvings of  Green Men. Above are photos of Green Men from churches in the Lincolnshire area that a friend sent us.

We also take leaves and other natural materials that we pick up on walks and work these into our designs. Here's an oak leaf I picked up last winter which became incorporated into one of our designs. Oak leaves, ivy leaves and holly leaves have been our particular favourites, along with their fruit. Evryone is aware of acorns and holly berries but not everyone notices the lovely little berries that you find on ivy.

After all the preliminary work of looking at shapes and images, we make a drawing which is the basis of our design. Here's one we did for  a special order for someone who wanted a smiling Green Man. We work mainly from the back of the pewter, hence the words are mirrored. Once we have the design at this stage we transfer it to the pewter.

The high grade of pewter we use has been difficult to source in recent years due to a decline in the metalworking trade in Birmingham, but we have now found a new supplier who can deliver the thin, finely rolled and finished sheet that we need for the repousse work. The repousse work is done with a variety of specialised tools with rounded ends. My favourite is an old brass ferrulled burnisher with a highly polished agate tip shaped like a claw which can produce a lovely shiny finish.

The final piece is produced painstakingly line by line, patinated and polished, and then mounted and framed.  A lot of work goes into it. It sometimes seems ridiculous how much time goes into our pieces. Whoever buys one gets a lot of our time for their money! But we love making them. It is a deeply satisfying process that I would not swap for the bigger financial  reward we could get from having them stamped out in the Far East.

Here's a recent Green Man by Sharon:

This has already been sold but we can do a similar one. Price £180.

Occasionally we are rewarded with the sight of a mysterious figure in the undergrowth  on our country walks. This one spotted near Belvoir Castle last summer.

Phil.

Jack the Giant finished at last!!

Hurrah, at long last Jack the Giant emerged yesterday from behind his foliage to show his true couours. My largest and most time consuming work in pewter yet! He has been waiting for a long time, foliage began unfurling in late July but work was halted when the workshop roof vanished leaving us open to the elements - not to mention all thr dust and rubble. For all that I believe he has gained a very noble and patient expression.
He was carried off to his new home last evening after putting him in a pewter coloured frame. His new owner plans to give him pride of place in her new garden room. Delighted to say she was thrilled!

Bold and cheerful aluminium jewellery.

I thought that I would post something bright and cheerful to counteract the grey drizzly day outside. I wanted to get out in my studio and finish a commission for a really big Green man in pewter - but dad, who has been itching to re do the roof out there, forced it on us this morning - now it is raining - I am trying hard not to be grumpy .............I know my dad can start a project then get sidetracked for a couple of years - lets face it - I am still waiting for the dolls house furniture he promised me when I was about 6!     ........... I really want my entire familly to leave me alone so that I can get all my orders up straight! 

 Hmmm anyone out there got any ideas how to turn the grumps arround and make it in to creativity?

Market Places, Public Places.

Traditional markets have declined in recent years for all sorts of reasons including the bad press they have received and their portrayal in the media as scummy places full of rogues. It is certainly true that markets have harboured dodgy traders but overall they have been vibrant places that have injected energy and excitement into many towns and cities. Nearly all the older towns of England are referred to as 'Market Towns' for good reason. Market days were special. They were not only days for shopping but for socialising. Pubs and cafes were buzzing, the streets were noisy with banter, greetings and gossip. You could take your goods and produce and be a seller yourself. Money taken would circulate locally. The markets also provided  great deal of informal employment  for young people and older people who did not have regular employment. To use modern jargon, they were 'inclusive'.

Compare this with modern shopping centres. They are privatised spaces the sole purpose of which is to relieve customers of their money. If they don't have money they are not wanted. Only chain stores can afford the rents for the shop units. Goods are probably made in China. The money taken is paid into the accounts of large businesses. There is no local input. There is no informal employment. They are dead places. Night comes, they are locked up. Security guards patrol.

I can't help making a connection between shopping in these modern hell zones with the current sorry state of our street life with all its anti-social behaviour that culminated in last weeks riots.

When we started to stand market thirty two years ago [!] in Leicester the town centre market was thriving. Nearly every trader had several people working for him or her. The traders and their employees all spent money on the market themselves. Bus routes converged on the market. Saturday  afternoons were wonderful. It felt like being at a big party. There was  tremendous bustle and noise. If you stopped and listened it sounded like chips being fried: thousands of words being exchanged. It was a public space full of lively interaction. We loved it. Apart from anything else it was a great social life. The three lads that we employed in succession later become close friends. They have fond memories of all the banter, the incidents that occurred, the characters that wandered about the market [including some with mental health problems that we gave informal support to]. It was  an important part of our friends' education. It was a situation in which money wasn't everything.

Where, now, can a young person acquire such a rich experience?  I don't know. Sadly markets such as Leicester are a pale shadow of what  they used to be. The lifeblood has been sucked from them by the decline of public transport, the decline of public spaces and the decline of town centres. I can't help thinking that this is linked to public behaviour and the ethos of our time which is that money is everything.

If we could revive our street markets and other public spaces I feel sure that England would become a happier place. I still stand market. It probably doesn't make sense from a purely economic view but there is still real life to be enjoyed there, real people having real conversations and I still love doing it.

Where do we stand?

Friday: Stamford Market opposite the museum [now closed due to 'cuts']
Saturday: Melton Mowbray opposite  Ye Olde Porke Pie Shoppe.
Sunday: Cambridge. Market Place next to the granite fountain and Cafe Mobile.

Visit. Hear me rant in person!

Busy swallows

We woke to a cold rainy morning here, the sort of fine rain that wets you through and gets in everywhere, the sort of rain that makes standing out on a market stall totally miserable and spoils the stock to boot!
Decision made - we return to bed with steaming mugs of tea, magazines and books.....................I fell back to sleep and dreamed of a camping holiday on the edge of a wide deep river, I am able to dive in, swimming out to where the water is deeper than any I have been in - I know this because it is crystal clear, I worry that I won't be able to stay afloat but am woken by a delivery man hammering at the door, cross and very, very wet.
Funny isn't it - when some cultures have so many different names for snow, why haven't we Brits got more names for rain?

                                          Birds on a wire.

When the rain stopped I noticed what were seemingly rows of smartly dresed little gentlemen in black tailcoats and crisp starched shirts all chittering and practicing their semaphore on the cables outside. Sadly my cameras zoom is not good enough to capture them and many flew away the moment I stepped outside.........

Magical moment.

More and more birds arrived and settled in the Rowan tree across the paddock, every so often swooping away, swirling and diving, circling up and then back for a while to the wires and the Rowan.

I crept upstairs to try and get a better shot, when this little fellow stopped on the edge of the open window. I don't know who was more surprised, him or me!

Another lineup.

No doubt mustering themselves ready for the long flight back to Africa! I am always so sad to see then go watching their aeronautic displays fills me with joy...............but again it is such a pleasure to spot the first one back in the spring!

Sharon.

Nightmares of Yi Wu

Sunday 31st July: driving home up The Great North Road [sounds more romantic than the A1], good mood having had a nice day at Cambridge. Tune in to Radio 4 Pick of the Week which is generally enjoyable and relaxing.

Not this week however. An extract from a programme 'The new Silk Road', etches itself into my neural circuitry. It is about Yi Wu, city from which all sorts of goods are exported. The old trade routes, such as The Silk Road, used to carry silks, porcelain, spices, and all kinds of exotic goods, but not the ones emanating from Yi Wu.

The presenter of the programme describes the vast trading emporiums contained in nightmarishly gigantic buildings whose ground plans are equivalent to some large number of football pitches. These emporiums are stocked with plastic novelties of all kinds: Christmas baubles and lights, plastic fruit, religious kitsch for Lourdes, Graceland, India and the Middle East, nasty hair goods, costume jewellery and so on. The presenter is doing 'being amazed' at the diversity of products and their sheer quantity.

But I don't find it amazing, I find it horrifying. I can't help going through in my mind the processes that are occurring and contemplating the waste of human and natural resources involved, and the resultant pollution. Here's my brief analysis of what happens:

Oil extracted from the ground

Oil converted into plastic pellets.

Plastic pellets used in moulding machines to make components.

Components assembled into goods by bored, alienated human beings ['labour'].

Goods sold by exporters to wholesalers all over the world.

Wholesalers sell goods to retailers.

Retailers sell to customers.

Customers use and discard.

Goods dumped.

At each stage CO2 is released, money is exchanged, taxes and bank charges are paid. At each stage low paid workers perform the necessary physical tasks -assembling, packaging, carrying, sweeping up and so on [this could be a very long list, please feel free to use your imagination to extend it and to consider what it feels like to be the person who has to do these jobs]. At each stage some kind of clerical work is done: computers buzz, invoices are filled out, accounts completed.



At the later stages of all this 'a consumer' 'consumes' and once the article is 'consumed' it is got rid of. It may be be recycled but, more likely it will be dumped and end up as landfill.


All this is classed as 'economic activity' and regarded as a 'good thing' by politicians. But to me it is a nightmare of exploitation and pollution

Contrast this with the production of Sharon's pewter pictures:

We look through art books.

We take a walk in the country and take some photos of, say, an oak tree or an ivy leaf.

We sit in our kitchen make sketches, talk about the design, drink tea.

Sharon cuts out her piece of pewter. I make more tea. We listen to Radio 4 or a talking book.

I take the finished piece out to market.

I talk to lots of people.

I sell the piece.

It is put on some one's wall and is admired and enjoyed.

It stays there for a long time. Quite a few people now collect Sharon's work [unlike the goods from Yi Wu].

At any stage the materials we use can be recycled.

All this is part of an economic process, albeit a small part, but it is so much more. Enjoyment is present at each stage of the process. Sharon loves making things. I love being out on markets. Our customers get pleasure out of what we make. Please draw your own conclusions

These matters were much discussed in Victorian times particularly by John Ruskin and William Morris. I think the latter's oft quoted dictum is worth repeating:

'Have nothing in your house that you do not to be useful or believe to be beautiful.'

Perhaps I'd better go and do some housework now. Hmm...check for the useful and beautiful?

Love struck, mad March hare.

Mad March Hare by Sharon.

Pewter Repousse £60

Please note that each picture is hand done and will vary especially in the details and patination.

Good Days

You get to the end of some days and think: Now that was a good day to have in my life.

Sunday, my Cambridge Market day, was like that. I got up early, got out early. I drove sedately through the maze of back lanes that take me to the A1. I did not meet a single other vehicle in fifteen miles.

I did, however, see a lot of hares. They dashed along the verge and then darted into the fields. I could sense the vitality in their movements. There's a magical essence in them that can't be adequately caught in words.

Sharon has been doing some hare pewter pictures recently. I'll scan one and post it next time I write this blog. She captures something of that crazy, mystical quality I sensed as I watched the hares on my drive.

As I was driving along I listened to Radio 4 Something Understood which this week featured writer Christie Dickason on coping with the unexpected. She illustrated this with music and poetry, including Louis Armstrong singing and a poem by Pablo Neruda, and reflections on her own epilepsy. Something Understood is delightful and inspiring. It's a wonderful antidote to the drivel that most radio programmes consist of. Try it.

I could write pages on all the other details that made my day a good day. Many of them wouldn't seem very spectacular. They were little things: the nice cappuccino I got from Ben, the sunlight on Saint Mary the Great's Church, the chit chat with customers, the chip butty I ate at the Wheel Inn when I got back, the fact that I'd earned some money by selling some nice items that Sharon had made which included a nice pair of silver and copper heart earrings and several small mirrors... I could go on. There were so many little details that felt good. All these things added up to a good day, a day worthy of being in my life or anybody else's life.

So... have a good day yourself!

A Cold Wet but Cosy Day in July. Part 2.

A Cold & Wet but Cosy Day in July.

It's Saturday. I should be at my post opposite 'Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe' in Melton Mowbray. But it's pelting it down outside so I'm indoors and am starting to feel fidgety and guilty for not doing something more useful than drinking tea and reading my new book Mysterious Wisdom: The Life of Samuel Palmer by Rachel Campbell.

It's a wonderful biography about an artist we both love. Palmer taps into the mystical currents that infuse the English landscape that inspire us and so many other creative people to paint, dance, sing, compose music, bake bread [Sharon's in the kitchen making a sour dough loaf], write bad poetry [me], do all kinds of craft work. This landscape with its old churches, stone circles, barrows, ancient oaks and meadows needs not only to be preserved -it's more than just a decorative feature for holiday brochures- but to be lived. We need to keep it alive by living it not just living in it.


Last night we watched Julien Temple's film on Dave Davies of the Kinks, Kingdom Come. I love the way that the classic English rock bands, like the Kinks, are so deeply rooted in the English landscape. 'Deeply rooted' is not a cliche in this context, it's hardly even a metaphor. In the film the presence of Exmoor was huge and marvelous and seemed to empower Dave. In fact I was afraid it might overpower him.

Outside our garden and the fields beyond it are sodden with rain. But in no way is it depressing. The trees and hedgerows are swaying in the breeze. They are lush and green and buzzing with life. And I am off for another cup of tea and a slice of Sharon's bread

The Trauma of Writing Artists' Statements

I've been sitting at the computer trying to write a an 'Artist's Statement' for Sharon for over an hour now and have not managed to produce a single coherent sentence. It's just so hard to get the right tone without coming across as pompous, egotistical, bland or cliched. I've written a few words, deleted, written a few more, deleted. I've stared at my hands and wondered about the damage gardening has done to my skin. I've examined the interesting patterns coffee cups have made on the table top. I've checked out news sites to see what the latest on the Murdoch story [personal view: he should be incarcerated in the Tower of London and dealt with in a Medieval manner]. I've meandered around Blogspots. I've checked out the weather forecast [rain in Melton on Saturday, damn it!]. I've Googled this and that and found my way to a Daily Mail article on Pauline Quirke's diet success. Why? I don't like the Daily Mail and only have a vague idea of who Ms. Quirke is. And now I'm doing a blog entry, another evasion, but at least it's writing and my justification is that if I do this I'll eventually get 'focused' and produce a statement that will astound the world.



Last night Sharon and I actually attended a seminar on 'Artist's Statements' in organised by 'Creative Leicestershire'. It was very reassuring to know that other 'creatives' [a word that has emerged from somewhere for folk that do creative stuff] have the same problems that we do in putting into words what we offer to people. I know now that all over the country 'creatives' are 'distraction Googling ' rather getting on with the job of writing their Statements. But that knowledge doesn't help get the job done does it? I'd better get on with it!

The Oak Leaf of Inspiration.

People sometimes ask: where do you get your inspiration from. Here's one place: an oak leaf. This will end up that will end up in one of Sharon's pictures.

I picked it up last winter and made a drawing of it. It's marvelous how each oak leaf is unique yet is recognisably from an oak leaf template. I'd like to make some ecstatic noises about this. But I'm British and we don't do wonder very well.

A cold day in July.

Today the weather outside is cold, blustery and wet. It reminds me of the summers I endured when I was child in Scotland when a trip to the beach reduced you to blue, goose pimpled misery. I missed Stamford Market today because of conditions outside, which is a pity because I like going to Stamford. It's a beautiful town full of lovely old limestone buildings. I have good neighbours on the stalls around me. On my left is Rainbow, an elegant Chinese lady who sells silk scarves. On my right is Brian who sells second hand records, sorry, I should say collectible records. He specialises in old Blues, R & B and Jazz. He's worth a visit if you have interests in these areas of music. He buys and sells at very fair prices.

So here I am at home. Sharon is in the kitchen working on new designs, the cats are complaining because I've given them,the wrong cat food, and I'm feeling a bit guilty because I've been reading my latest books from Amazon. Time I got on with something useful like writing this blog.

Our Open Studio was an enjoyable event. We mix business with pleasure. That's our style. We like what we sell. We like selling it. We like our customers. Most of them seem to like us. We make a living. We enjoy what we do. That's wonderful! Thank you to everyone who has bought from us!

I feel sorry that so many people don't derive pleasure and satisfaction from what they do for a living. When I did counselling work a few years ago I encountered so many tales of workplace misery that I was quite shocked; so I am so grateful to all our customers who make our very pleasant way of earning our living possible. Incidentally I am considering working as a counsellor again. I'm being prompted by one of our Cambridge customers to do something in this area. More on this soon.

I meant to put up some of Sharon's new designs but need to twiddle around with photos and computers before I can do this. They are in silver and copper and have a lovely warm feel to them. I'll make them visible soon! In the meantime I'll post this.

Phil

News from the Harrogate Craft Trade Fair 2011

Sharon phoned last night from Harrogate.Things aren't exactly buzzing for crafters but there is enough business for us to get by. We had strong interest in our small pewter mirrors. A buyer from the National Trust for Scotland would like to have a range for Trust's shop at Hill House in Helensburgh. Hill House, as you probably know, was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh who is one the main sources of inspiration for both myself and Sharon so it would wonderful to have our work in there. We hope we can sort out some kind of deal. It's not just the money it's the meaning.


Back here at Lord's Cotttage, I'm practising my pewter work. I'm not to bad at 'art' but pewter repousse work is difficult. It requires concentration and a strong sense of line. Having a go myself has made me appreciate Sharon's skill.


Phil.

Getting ready for Harrogate Craft Trade Fair 2011.

Trying to make up for lost time this week after a fortnight's moaning and sneezing after both of us succumbed to 'a nasty virus that's going around' to quote the Doctor. They always say that don't they. I always hope, in vain, for a more enlightening explanation.

We have the Harrogate Craft Trade Fair this weekend and feel somewhat nervous about it. We shall have lots of contact with small independent shopkeepers. It will enable us to gauge what is going on with the craft retail trade which has taken a bit of a battering over the last year.

We have lots of new designs that we have just started to take photos of. I've just done some snaps of a couple of bangles which reflect our interest in 1950's designs. We may call it our 'Festival of Britain' range. That was a very lively optimistic period. We need to recapture some of that spirit to counter the dour negativity of our current rulers who have very little interest in arts and crafts and all those who practise them and make a living by them. I'll rant about that in a future blog.

What are our values?

I was thinking the other day: why do we do this craft stuff? It is hard work, there's no sick pay, no pension plan, we could both earn more money if we got ourselves 'jobs'.

Well, despite all the difficulties that beset us we enjoy what we do. It is very satisfying to make something good and sell it. You feel like your life is worthwhile.

And the process of selling can be wonderful. On a good day a market or craft fair can have a real buzz, that sense you might get at a party that's going well: energy flowing, optimism, ideas being exchanged, feelings expressed, gossip indulged in, jokes made, the pleasure of being in good company and so on. In other words a positive, life affirming feeling which 'jobs' often don't offer. You certainly don't get it in Tesco's even though the staff are trained to smile at you these days.

Money is important, yes, but the way you make it is important too. Buddhism has an expression for it: Right Livelihood. This goes deeper that the shallow entrepreneur culture that the Government wants to foster which I find rather suspect. So many entrepreneurs strike me as being sociopaths who need psychotherapy rather than adulation. We need more people making useful things and providing genuinely useful services rather than workaholics that will do anything to make money.

This morning I looked at the Common Ground Site [www.commonground.org.uk ]. Their 'Rules for Distinctiveness' reflect our values. I loathe the way our towns are losing their identity and dissolving into a homogeneous grey mush of chain stores and charity shops. I like to think that we are doing our bit to create some interest and colour along with our fellow market traders and craft workers.

Phil.

Oak Trees

Yesterday we were trying to find some good images of oak trees and their leaves. Google threw up lots but I found most rather sketchy or cliched. Like so much material on the Web it was a bit stale. I looked out the window. Outside the morning was bright and frosty. I should be out there in the real world, I thought. It seemed an offence against nature that I was hunched over my PC hoping that the Virtual World would provide what I was after. So I got in the car and drove up to Croxton Park where there are many fine old oaks and took some pictures. Incidentally Croxton Park was the site Croxton Abbey. Apparently King John's bowels are buried there. Thank you Google.

We will be using some of this material in a roundabout way in our new range of jewellery. We are following on from our Green Man pewter work. The green theme is getting stronger. Our next pendant range we've labelled 'Spirit Houses' more of which anon.

The pictures were taken by me rather than Sharon. Hers would have been better!

Phil

Emerging from Winter Gloom with Copper a Silver!

Sharon is totally engrossed in working on new designs so she suggested I take on our blog and keep our follwers and customers informed about what we are doing.

Neither of us seem to thrive in the winter these days. But now buds are bursting in the garden and the days are getting longer we are starting to feel quite lively!

Sharon is working on a range of copper and silver jewellery. The copper details give a feeling of warmth that goes nicely with silver's magical, lunar aura. Some of these designs are already on the stall. So please come and have a look. I'll put some pics on here in a day or two.

We are looking at ways to get a verdigris finish on the copper and are messing about with ammonia, salt, vinegar and few other substances to see what kind of effects we can obtain. We decided not to follow the Rodin route. He, apparently, encouraged his students to urinate on his sculptures in order to give them a nice green patina. His students were, presumably, male.

Phil Ashcroft.