making neon

I went along to an amazing workshop today to make some neon! It was up in Wakefield at the neon workshop  ran by the lovely Julia Bickerstaff and Richard Wheater. 

I have plans for a Hawaii/Tiki themed dining room and after working for raphael daden, thinking differently about light as an art-form and seeing some recent neon works he had made, I had started thinking about neon as a potential addition to my decor! I saw the advert in an arts council newsletter and booked myself on it!

One Day Intensive : 25th March 2011 

Participants will be taught by master neon maker Julia Bickerstaff and artist Richard William Wheater, and will learn everything from transcribing ideas into neon drawings to filling their glass forms with gas. The workshop will take place at our new neon studio in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, between 10am and 5pm. At the end of the day each participant will take home a neon sculpture they have designed and helped make or directed in making. 

I took the train at 6.30am and arrived with time to have a wander about Wakefield, bank a cheque and have some breakfast before the workshop started! There were 5 of us on the workshop, coming from all over. I got talking with Katy who had come over from Leeds and has been working in glass since uni. Having never worked with glass myself, I was a bit nervous but Julia and Richard were very supportive, and encouraged having a play! We started the day with an introduction to the history and capabilities of neon and then talked through the design and fabrication process.

After lunch (which I took at the green room cafe...serving me a monster plate of falafel + mezze - yummy!) we worked with Julia on fabricating our designs. Because of the time it takes to make the sculptures it was advised that Julia would actually 'make it' but that we would direct our designs. After never working in glass, having a go and breaking it VERY EASILY, I was happy to advise Julia!   


Here are some pictures of the day

starting out with the 1.5m glass tubing...

Depending on the colour of the design would depend on the type of glass used. It is available as clear or specially coated in a variety of powders to react with the gases inside the tubing and provide a variety of colours. Neon gas in its purest form is a rich and beautiful red. Mix it with other gases, as I did for mine, and you open up a palette of luminous possibilities!

Julia blowing into the glass as she moulds it into shape

annealing the glass

checking against the design on a regular basis!

You have to sculpt the work in reverse so there are potentially a lot of mistakes that can happen!

Leaving it to cool...

...and it's rear!

flushing the glass of impurities...

...with this lovely bit of kit!

filling it with neon, helium and argon gases!

Richard shaking the mercury...

...before adding electricity! 
See how the light changes intensity as it settles and sticks to/reacts with the mercury?

Other designs from the day included this lovely swallow - the blue is amazing!

and this kryptonite green house!

And here is my flamingo! In situ on my wall at home!

I'm so glad I went to this workshop! It was a really inspiring day and opened me up to potential new processes for future work!

I'm very happy with the finished piece and even though I didn't 'make it' myself it was an absolute joy watching Julia make - she is very skillful! I love it when I turn it on at night, when it emits a rich pink, almost purple glow around the room. I am thinking a waterfall blue and warm summer orange for the colour scheme for the rest of the room...but I can't decide which way to put them! I think the orange might look best up on the walls, and make the most of the light from the neon. The blue on all the skirting boards, picture rail, and radiator will help define the room's characteristic assets I think?! More photos up when I complete it though!!

NTU Interview!

Janurary 5th 9.30am

I head to the Bonnington building with plenty of time to spare, in my new coat, new hat and new shoes. It's a blustery day and I'm walking along proud carrying my big A1 art folder close to my side. I'm ready to sell sell sell myself like I've ever done ever in my life!! I REALLY REALLY WANT THIS PLACE!

Beer Diary

January 1st 2011 saw Mike and I in a new pub, The Plough (in Radford). We decided that because this was new to us and we liked trying new beers everytime we found them, we'd start keeping a beer & pub diary. I carry my diary round with me most places and because it's an academic one and I bought it in January, there are 6 months of redundant page space! So, since that January 1st the diary has taken shape as follows:

January 4th: Victoria, Beeston

Brewsters, Hophead 3.6%

Janurary 12th: Dolphin Inn, Derby

Dolphin 1530 4.4% (Nottingham Brewery Co.)

QUAD cinema bar, Derby

Blackhole Bitter 3.8% (smokey)

January 15th: Roebuck Inn

Pot 'O' Gold 4.6% (Magpie Brewery....but much less smokey than their others!!!!)

January 21st: The Lion, Basford

West Mills Derbyshire 'Armadillo' 4.9% (this tastes even BETTER than the faithful Harvest Pale!)

Janurary 28th: Horse & Groom, Basford

'Stirling Pale' 3.9% (Flipside Brewery)

February 10th: Hand & Heart, Derby Road

New Zealand Pale Ale 5%

Slaters 'HAKA' 5%

March 5th: (unknown pub!)

Ape Ale 5% (Blue Monkey Brewery which always gets a thumbs up from Mike!)

Westons IPA 4.6% (Sarrow Brewing Co.)

(unknown date!) that's no good if you're keeping a DIARY?!

Canalhouse, Nottingham

Kiss Me Kate (for the Royal Wedding!) 4.3% (Castle Rock Brewery) a nice Pale Ale

(unknown date!)

The Boat Inn, Lenton

Ginger Tom 4.5% (and as the name suggests...it's a ginger, er, beer!!!)

May saw us taking a month off from drinking! We'd had a few too many heavy nights and were saving up for a trip to Portugal so thought a month off would do us some good... it was a bit harder than we'd perhaps anticipated but we managed and celebrated with a pint in the Castle Pub before we left!

2010: November, December & a Happy New Year!

So, after tidying up and signing off the flat it was mid November and time to sign over another building!

Slowly but surely I was getting rid of my big bunch of jailer keys!

16th November was completion day and all of the legal bits of papers were in place. I paid a stupid lot of money to get it gone out of my hair but by 1pm it was transferred and done - 577 Mansfield Road was now the problem of Courtnaey Investments Limited! In the evening I *celebrated* (hmmmmmmmm) by attending week 7 of the badly taught web design course I signed up for (ncn part-time - never EVER again!!!)

Over the following weeks I worked at the Limehouse Cafe and for Raphael. I signed up to the dentist (after 8 years since my last visit!? Eeeeek!), and on 25th November it was my sister's birthday, so I took her, Dave and me to Manchester to see Underworld!

We went here for breakfast!

Then it started to snow!

So I thought it was probably time to decorate!

maybe a little bit early...

..but then it was my first Christmas..

...and it did make it feel VERY cosy!

I spent time with Mike (whilst he and pixie sang carols...)

it snowed A LOT!

we visited Sheffield

AND it was Mike's birthday!!!

I baked a stollen..

steamed a pudding..

made some chestnut and chocolate cream cookies...

and baked some bread!

I was very happy in my Christmas kitchen...

...and super happy to be in my new home! I was so very proud in fact that I took this great picture, looking through the kitchen window to the lounge/diner - I love the twinkling of all the pretty lights and the layers created by the reflections in the glass!

24th December 2010

it's Christmas Eve and Mike brings round Pixie cat! She really doesn't like it though so we take her back home :(

Christamas eve is Mike's specialty! 

With honey roast ham, dauphinoise potatoes, Brussels sprout cheesecake, spiced red cabbage and mulled wine trifle - I'm in total festive yum yum heaven!

25th December 2010: Merry Christmas! 

We have champagne for breakfast, with smoked salmon benedict and spinach

and for lunch we had this beautiful bird!

 I speak to my sister and brother over skype

whilst in Australia mum and dad disappear!

Ben, Claire and Robert pop round

we munch on leftovers and drink port till the early hours

29th December 2010: Tilly Baggaley is born!7lb 12oz

31st December 2010

As may become tradition at the end of the year, we went to the cinema! It was great actually - really quiet! We saw Tron Legacy, in screen 3 of Broadway

 Here is Pixie watching the original Tron the night before! (it's playing behind her but you can see her watching it in the mirror opposite! And I like the way I've given her Tron eyes with the flash!)

We ate a delectible mezze on the cusp of 2011 and set off a paper lantern into the night sky

So that was 2010, phew! What a bucket load of stuff!

Onwards then to the beginning of another adventure...

to say hello you have to say goodbye...

A week later, after moving in, attending The Art of Influencing Change conference and meeting Paty I hire another van and clear out Ripple of all its belongings...

I spend some time saying goodbye

remembering the day we opened and how I sat right here the night before...

remembering how many parties there had been and how the last night was just perfect...

how this used to be so full of food! how I used to rush about to cook and serve it all on a thursday, on a friday on a saturday on a sunday...even on a freaky kind of tuesday night!

how this was my window to the outside world for a while....

the pretty pink wall and funky wallpaper...

the number of times I had sat here looking out!

It all got a bit much so I had a little cry....

Then, if that wasn't enough goodbyes, it was bye bye to the flat! My home that had been like a secret place of solitude (although it was above a roundabout and next to a hospital!?) I lived there for 4 years and moved in with nothing! No wonder I had so much stuff when I moved out! There was all this space that I filled....

the MASSIVE lounge

with that beautiful bay window...

that yellow staircase UP to my bedroom!

which was again massive

and had a walk in wardrobe!!! (no wonder I have so many clothes!!)

that hallway that I often walked through in the dark...

Hannah's room which became the Ripple junk room!

that kitchen which was nice but ended up WAY TOO SMALL!

the back yard....

and those steps!

AND the summer patio!