birdbath - Peter Arscott

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Spring clean

April 15th, 2021/in Blog, Latest News /by Peter Arscott

early April morning

Early April morning walk up to Frith Wood, clear sky, a little dew in the grass, birds singing – chaffinch, great tit, blackbird and the deep cawing of the “boss”, the raven, the usual lovely view from C.J.’s bench and then the last uphill trudge into the cool of the wood itself. I had the whole place to myself (I thought) until a hair-raising bark from deep in the trees made me jump out of my skin. It came at regular 5 second intervals and I thought I’d recorded it but realized when I got home that I had not pressed the start button. Research online confirmed that it was a barking Roe deer, probably warning others of my approach – it sounds very dog-like.

Here we are in April, with lockdown appearing to recede, and Spring well-established, the blooms are beginning to open up, leaves are unfurling – it is the month of the growing season and thus aptly named: it is derived from the Latin word aperit, which means “to open”.

mayflower in April

Also, and more importantly to some, it’s also Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, as well as National Soft Pretzel Month in the USA. And Edible Book Day is celebrated on April 1st – this is not an April Fool’s joke and is taken seriously by that voracious reader, the book worm.

wood anemone

The wood anemone was just beginning to carpet the ground, and the first bluebells were about to unfurl. It was a quiet and relaxing five kilometre walk after the initial “hart”- stopping moment.

worm moon?

After last month’s Worm Moon, mentioned in last month’s blog and which was largely obscured by cloud, we may have better luck for the next two over the next two months, with a Pink Moon and a Flower Moon on the way. Wolf Moon (January), Snow Moon (February), Sturgeon Moon (August) and Beaver Moon (November) are just four of the monthly moons to look out for. But in order to avoid this blog becoming a lunar calendar, I must try and be as brief as possible and not get carried away (Yes, do try not to – Spiro).

pink moon

The Pink Moon supermoon will be at its peak on Tuesday, April 27 at 4.31am. The Flower Moon supermoon will be at its largest and brightest on Wednesday, May 26 at 12.13pm. The April and May full moons will both appear to loom large as the moon is at its closest points to Earth on its orbit. The Pink Moon, from the pink flowers – phlox – that bloom in the early spring, is also the Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon or Hare Moon. The Old English/Anglo-Saxon name is Egg Moon. It is also known as the Paschal Moon because it is used to calculate the date for Easter. (OK, that’s quite enough – S.).

wavy fruit bowl

Right. Now the ceramics. Rummaging in the deepest recesses of the storage room is like going back in time. Waiting to see the light of day was a stack of stoneware wave bowls made some years ago and never sold. Spiro ( in charge of Marketing) says it is because they were not properly promoted for their practical use and that customers were perplexed by their description as “wave” bowls. Spiro wants to publicise them as fruit bowls and insists on the following description:

fruity feature

“A really stylish modern ceramic fruit bowl that looks great in any room of the house and can be used in so many ways. This amazing ceramic piece will make a stylish feature on a sideboard, dining room table or kitchen island. It also provides a sense of style to any contemporary space.”

stylish

I suppose I like them for their aesthetic qualities above all and prefer to see them as objects with visual impact, which, I keep telling Spiro, PAC followers do too. He is adamant that function comes before form. Anyway, this is his compromise:

fruit bowl with fruit

“No matter what kind of salad you serve up, this ceramic bowl is sure to make it look scrumptious! This simply designed tableware with its wavy brushstrokes in blue and green depicts a contemporary look with marine associations. This bowl is perfect for everyday use or special occasions and along with the rest of the range can be used in infinite ways to suit your style. Material: glaze fired porcelain. Dishwasher, oven and microwave safe.”

Edible Book Day

I also found some chargers, or large round serving dishes, so both fruit bowls and chargers need to make room for new stock and will be displayed for sale in the garden at Oakland House, The Homend, Ledbury HR8 1AP from Saturday 18^thto Sunday 19^th April (10 – 5). They will be spaced out appropriately , but I assume there will not be more than six people together in the garden at any given time. If you want to purchase a bowl, put on a mask and knock on the kitchen door, either Spiro, or Thelonious, or I will serve you. Card or cash accepted. Prices range from £30 to £60.

wave bowl as birdbath

Anyone who’d like a piece but cannot travel, select the one you’d like and just send an email to info@peterarscott.co.uk Shipping and packaging for UK will add £10.

a. 34 cms max width. 1.7k. £30

b. 42 cms width. 2.4k. £50

c. 42 cms width. 2.7 k. £50

d. 45 cms width. 3.7 k. £65

e. 40 cms width. 1.9 k. £45 Miró

f. 39 cms d. 3k. £40

g. 48 cms d. 4 k. £50

h. 42 cms d. 5 k. £45

i. 48 cms d. 5k. £60

Lastly, I thought you’d enjoy this video of a deer attacking a hunter. Just click on it:

Art Nouveau, hospital hygiene and ceramic spotlessness

May 17th, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog, ceramic art, design /by Peter Arscott

hospital corridor or ceramic glory

It was not because of excessive drinking and dining that belatrova paid a visit to a hospital only a few blocks from Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia cathedral, but as a result of our unquenchable thirst for cultural knowledge and beauty. It is yet another surprise on offer in the city of Barcelona that a masterpiece of Catalan Art Nouveau, built between 1902 and 1930, happens to have played a significant part in the evolution of medicine as well becoming a World Heritage Site.

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ribbed ceramic ceiling

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looking up from the patient’s trolley

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main lobby entrance

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The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was founded in 1401 with the merging of six hospitals. Santa Creu, the Hospital of the Holy Cross, was right in the centre of the city but by the late nineteenth century, due to the rapid growth of Barcelona’s population and rapid advances in medicine, it became too small and thanks to the bequest of the Catalan banker Pau Gil, the first stone of the new hospital, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, was laid on 15 January 1902. In 2009 it moved to new premises built in the north-east of the precinct and the Art Nouveau site was reopened to the public, after refurbishment, in 2014.

ceramic roofs of pavilion at Sant Pau

This city within a city contains twenty seven pavilions, each one assigned a specific medical speciality and linked to the others by means of underground galleries and tunnels. Muntaner assigned an area of 145 m to each patient, including the landscaped grounds.

restful motif

What grabbed belatrova’s attention was the care taken in choosing the materials in order to create the best natural surroundings for the patients, primarily ceramics with which to clad domes, roofs, ventilation shafts, the decorative pieces and walls inside and outside the pavilions. Inside, the ceramics serve a hygienic purpose, tiles make disinfection easier, and also function as a therapeutic element. The colours of the many motifs used in the panels and mosaics combine harmoniously and convey a feeling of quiet tranquillity.

ceramic-clad tunnel link

Thanks also to the extremely high thermal stability of ceramics, which belatrovians know can be fired at a temperature of approximately 1280°C, this results in extremely solid products; and the hygienically smooth surface glaze is wear and scratch-resistant and is thus resilient to the abrasive cleaning agents that are frequently used in the sanitary facilities of public areas. Even concentrated hydrochloric acid fails to leave a mark on ceramic, but please do not try that at home.

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the garden in Sant Pau

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Sagrada Familia from Sant Pau

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clock tower and facade

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Ceramic is even resistant to extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, which is why we at belatrova use it for our birdbaths so that, combined with a resilient oak plinth, they can withstand British winters or Mediterranean summers.

resilient but beautiful

Resistant to extreme temperatures, water resistant, easy to keep clean, colourful, ceramic tiles are perfect for outdoor tables.

detail of belatrova outdoor tiled table.

To reinforce our message that belatrova products are safe, hygienic, tough and practical here is a picture of a large coiled platter with some gilt headed bream about to be prepared for belatrova’s signature dish: “Besugo al horno con patatas “. Click on the left and you will be taken to a video recipe – and you can practice your Spanish at the same time.

Hasta Luego.

bream

You were only waiting for this moment to arrive…

April 18th, 2014/0 Comments/in Blog /by Peter Arscott

image of blackbird perched on edge of ceramic birbath by belatrova

blackbird’s first bath

We told you in our last blog that we’d show you evidence of belatrova’s first birdbath being used, preferably by birds. So here it is: a local male blackbird is its first customer, having a break from pulling worms and pecking at insects and berries at the bottom of hedgerows. Apparently, they use vibration to attract worms to the surface. The males are all black and the females all brown except for the yellow-orange eye ring and beak.

Blackbirds are one of the commonest birds in Britain and there are thought to be over four million breeding pairs. It sings from a perch and its song is rich, varied and flute-like. Their calls are loud and varied. The warning call is given with flicking wings and tail and sounds a little like “chook”, and the alarm call is a loud rattle. Click this link and hear its song. Click this and you can hear “Blackbird“ sung by Paul McCartney.

During the winter, blackbirds can often be heard quietly “singing to themselves” within undergrowth, this is called sub-song. When the breeding season is over, the male blackbird will stop singing and will not be heard properly again until February. They are not the world’s greatest nest builders and their attempts often end in failure through inexperienced birds deserting the nest, cold weather and predation by cats, crows and birds of prey. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 9 out of 10 nesting attempts end in failure.

dead bird

So, enough ornithology from belatrova; after all, we are all about finely painted tables and beautiful ceramics. And ceramics can be used in so many ways, not only as bowls, dishes and birdbaths but also as commemorative objects … which brings us back to blackbirds.

Many years ago when Mr and Mrs belatrova were bringing up their own fledglings they were one day faced with a dilemma all parents have to deal with. Having rescued a young blackbird from the jaws of a cat, belatrova Jnr kept it overnight in a box with some water and worms she had dug up in the garden. When bleary-eyed Mr and Mrs b. awoke the next day they were confronted by their daughter who, perplexed, asked what it meant if a bird lay on its back with its legs in the air. And so Life and Death had to be explained. An important event worthy of commemoration – thus the ceramic plate.

image of ceramic platter with dead blackbird

explaining the big issue

belatrova, as ever in an expansive mood, and wanting to reward its sophisticated supporters, is giving you a taste of Summer, not by making a commemorative bowl but by inviting you to relax for eight minutes as you watch our video of bees working on a lavender bush. Watch each stalk sway as a bee lands on it, ease your mind into a restful trance and unclutter your head.

image od strawberries ina belatrova bowl with a glass of chilled Vermouth

strawberries and a cold glass of Vermouth

Then we suggest you buy some strawberries and pour yourself a glass of Dry Vermouth with ice and a slice of orange.

belatrova birdland

March 28th, 2014/0 Comments/in Blog /by Peter Arscott

With Spring approaching and the dawn chorus getting earlier and louder, belatrova, lying in bed and thinking belatrovian thoughts, has started to wonder about birds and what they get up to throughout the day. On the way down to the workshop along the disused railway line that is now a cycle path the birds one usually sees are blackbirds, dunnocks, robins and sparrows, as well as the rooks high above in their nests cawing and talking to each other.

rookery

If there is a puddle it will often have a bird splashing around in it. Why do they do that? Probably because it helps them to keep their feathers in good condition. After bathing some birds protect their feathers using special waterproof oil that comes out of a gland under their tail. And presumably, during the summer, bathing in water also helps the bird to keep cool. In dry area birds will bathe in sand in order to remove lice and other organisms that gather in their feathers. This also helps to remove old feathers so that new ones can grow.

However, belatrova suspects that they also simply enjoy it. With that in mind, we decided to make our first birdbath.

image of molded platter for birdbath about to be turned over

about to turn the clay over

We mixed porcelain with a little red iron oxide – Thelonius was not best pleased at this messing up of his internal workings – and molded and coiled it into a large platter over which we attached a shallower one, leaving a gap of about 1 1/2 inches between both surfaces and so ensuring an extra robustness for the outdoors. It took about a week to dry, after which we fired it very slowly to 1275 degrees in the kiln. It was a long firing and we were all a little apprehensive when the time came to open the kiln. Would it be cracked? Would it be in pieces? Will it be twisted out of shape? belatrova now understands why all potters are so calm and measured when so much of their work is in the lap of the gods.

We decided the base would be of oak. Oak wood is strong, hard and very resistant to moisture and the elements. Builders and carpenters prefer it for building support beams and foundations of buildings because of its durability. The assortment and complexity of patterns on the wood give it an appearance other hardwoods can’t match, displaying prominent rings, vertical stripes, wavy figures, intermittent flecks, ray-like projections or any combination of these patterns. It is also resistant to fungal and insect attack.

Whitney sawmills

Where to get the finest piece of cut oak? An hour’s drive from belatrova, in the English/Welsh border country near Hay-on-Wye, are the Whitney Sawmills – founded by Will Bullough thirty years ago. It is committed to replanting trees as they are felled. In addition, Will himself has planted a sixty-acre wood of mixed native hardwood at the site. But the main point is that one gets a quality product and a personal approach that is professional and caring; there is very little that Will does not know about wood.

two blocks of oak tio be used as bases for birdbath

two oak blocks await inspection

We drove to collect our oak, two pieces had been cut for us, and started sanding them as soon as we arrived back at the workshop.

sanding the oak

After the lengthy firing we allowed the birdbath to cool down and took it to the garden where we attached it securely to its base after we had placed the oak on a concrete foundation as a safety measure. A beautiful sixtieth birthday present surprise for a certain person, though, so far, reports state that the birds are eyeing it with suspicion. They’ll get the idea, and as evidence we’ll post a photo of a bird splashing around in it in the next blog.

the birdbath