Saturday 29 June 2019

Cheeseburn Open Weekend

It's been a really busy week for Sustainable Ceramics getting ready for Cheeseburn Open Weekend this weekend.



In order to give an impression of what the bird boxes look like when they are installed in trees, Sustainable Ceramics created a number of minute bird boxes that could be displayed in Bonsai trees. 








Tuesday 25 June 2019

Getting ready for the weekend at Cheeseburn Sculpture

In the run up to the next open weekend at Cheeseburn (this weekend - 29th and 30th June 2019),  local maker David Kirkland tests out his new kiln with his latest batch of sustainable ceramic bird boxes. The excitement (and tension) mounts as the lid door opens to reveal...


Sustainable Ceramics will have a range of bird boxes for sale at Cheeseburn over the summer. For more information about the Cheeseburn Open Weekends, please visit http://cheeseburn.com/













Saturday 15 June 2019

Last day to visit Newcastle University BA Fine Art Degree Show

The work of 58 emerging artists at the culmination of four-years study on the Newcastle University BA in Fine Art can be seen today until 4pm.













Thursday 13 June 2019

Preparing for Cheeseburn Sculpture June 2019 Open Weekend

In preparation for the next Open Weekend at Cheeseburn Sculpture on 29th and 30th June 2019, local maker David Kirkland is busy working on his collection of ceramic bird boxes.

David owns some woodland about 20 miles from the Cheeseburn estate. It is here that David digs the clay from which they are made, which he then processes back at his home in Newcastle. 



All are fired to 1250C, which makes them frostproof - they will outlast the tree or wall they are attached to!  


New boxes are designed to RSPB specifications to suit a range of specific bird species. Some of the new boxes will be textured to look rock-like, achieved by making glazes from rocks David collects from Northumberland, and wood ash from his fire. Other new boxes will be unglazed, but heavily textured (like the picture example), allowing the character of the Northumbrian clay they are made from to be seen.

 

Tuesday 11 June 2019

Ian Sansom Is Waiting - BBC Radio 4


Ian Sansom Is Waiting on BBC Radio 4 was an interesting examination of the familiar act of waiting. Whether that be waiting for a bus, waiting for your name being called out on the register, waiting for the weekend, waiting for that career break that you have been longing for, waiting for the right moment to propose to the love of your life, or simply waiting for a sunny day in which you can hang your washing outside; 



"We're always waiting for something. 

Sometimes, it feels like it might never arrive. But what if the secret to getting what you want lies in the space between things, rather than in the destination itself? Through terminal spaces, waiting rooms and traffic jams, Ian Sansom offers a delayed deliberation on those moments when someone or something makes us... wait. As Ian puts us on hold, forms an orderly queue and sits down to watch a slow film in the company of filmmaker Spencer Slovic, he experiences a sense of delayed gratification with philosopher Professor Harold Schweizer, tunes up in the orchestra pit with percussionist Sam Staunton, and endures the protracted delay in getting published with Northern Irish author Wendy Erskine. Maybe if he's able hang around long enough, Ian might just arrive at his conclusion."


https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00047tf