Monday

Work work and more work.
Richard was at a meeting so we had Grace for tutorials this afternoon. She has a brilliant way of talking to you, commenting on the work and adding a new approach. We all love having her and my time was really useful; she liked my pit props but was really interested in the pieces of coal that I had sanded so that certain places are smooth in contrast to it's raw state.
She even went down into the 3D workshop so I could show her my very large pieces of coal. At the moment I am busy making some thicker plaster bases so I can see what they look like on their own in contrast to the sharp white plaster; a piece of sculpture in their own right, an amazing material, approximately 1.5 million years old. It may or may not be included in my exhibition pieces but I think I am right in believing that the majority of people will never have seen coal before in such large pieces. It has so many interesting factors; texture, shine, layers, smoothness, very tactile and feels warm somehow.

It fascinates me to think of the history of the coal industry and it's rise and fall in my lifetime. The wealth it once brought to our country and the mining communities where whole families were involved I find really thought provoking. Where I live the town is surrounded by old mining villages; Grimethorpe, Fitzwilliam, South Kirkby to name a few and the signs are there; where once a thriving industry brought a sense of purpose and pride these places have had to find other means of surviving in different ways. Now there's talk of reopening some of the old pits... Can it ever be like it was?

For now I am at least loving working with it...or other materials connected to it.