h.Art - Peter Arscott

array of glazed fine art ceramic bowls by belatrova

Far from the Madding Crowd

September 8th, 2017/in Blog, Latest News /by Peter Arscott

far from the madding crowd

Heat has a strange effect on some humans. When temperatures hit a high, as they did this August in many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean, confusion and dizziness set in, common effects of too much exposure to extreme heat because of increased blood flow to dilated blood vessels and fluid loss through sweating. This sometimes happens to belatrova when the kiln is going full blast and ceramic production is in full flow as we try to feed the insatiable appetite for our products – on the other hand a cold Dry Martini often wards off any lasting effects.

Mallorca inland

This August was an excuse to go abroad for a break before moving into the new workshop in Ledbury (about which more in the next blog).

towards the monastery of Sant Salvador

Mallorca is a beautiful island that has lured many foreigners over the years, from Chopin to Robert Graves, and, this year, belatrova. But mass tourism is affecting it much as it is elsewhere. Barcelona, Venice, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Dubrovnik, Skye are all examples of unmanageable jam-packed destinations filled with visitors on holiday. ” Tourist: your luxury trip / my daily misery“, says a placard in the Parque Guell (Barcelona). “Tourists go home. Refugees welcome” was the graffiti that greeted us as we drove to Felanitx for our week in Mallorca.

tourist

And who can blame residents when all anyone can do on the beautiful beaches and calas is to stand waist-deep in the water surrounded on all sides by others similarly engaged in staring at the horizon with arms folded and wondering how to escape – we did find a great spot though, as you can see from the first image.

tourist with mobile

Go inland and the atmosphere changes and the landscape is an engaging mixture of the agricultural and dramatic, from fertile farmland and Aleppo pine forests to the limestone mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana and the summer flowering of oleander, hibiscus, marigolds and orchids.

away from the tourists

If you really want to get away from any crowds, we recommend a visit to Botanicactus, a cactus sanctuary (though belatrova believes they are quite capable of defending themselves) where the cacti flourish in the dry and sunny climate and the landscape has been specifically designed to protect the plants, with the creation of the artificial lake and raised terraces protecting the plants from the wind. While everyone is at the beach you can wander about in perfect solitude surrounded by these giant prickly beings.

belatrova’s Miró bowl

Among the many artists associated with the island is Joan Miró, painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona, but resident in the latter part of his long life in Palma where he bequeathed a collection that is the basis for his Fundació Joan Miró which we visited one morning.

retro bowl (three legs)

It is a purpose-built exhibition space that uses thinly cut alabaster as a source of light into the rooms and has pools of water outside in the gardens that reflect their own light through low cut openings at floor level – and the whole complex stands on a hill overlooking the bay of Palma. We watched white sails racing each other in the distance, the ferry from Barcelona ploughing its way to the docks, and three giant cruise ships blocking part of the harbour architecture as they disgorged their passengers into the city for the day.

fundació Joan Miró

But back to Miró; tiny forms in huge empty spaces, deep blue cerulean sky-like canvases, crescent moons, birds, meandering shapes, his work is captivating and has inevitably inspired belatrova, back in Herefordshire, to make a few ceramics in his style.

inspired bowls

If you’d like to see them come and pay us a visit at our old workshop at No9 Bankside Studios during hArt, which runs from Saturday 9th to Sunday 17th (open daily 10 – 5pm), just follow the red hArt signs in Ledbury, or use the postcode: HR8 2DR. You are most welcome. As the hArt website says: “Meet hundreds of individual artists, see an array of artwork across the county in the city and countryside, in fabulous locations such as manor houses, historic barns, farms, churches and beautiful gardens.”

Finally, belatrova shed a tear on learning of the death of Walter Becker, guitarist and composer, who with Donald Fagen was one half of the unforgettable Steely Dan. We invite you to click here and listen to one of their middle period songs (skip the ad): subtle player that he was, technically dexterous, meticulous master of the instrumental gesture and never a grand-stander, “some of his most intriguing work is embedded in the background – the architectural arpeggios of “Aja,” or the wry, blues-tinged asides that dot the margins of “Hey Nineteen.” (Tom Moon / NPR Music)

Many a bowl was made listening to Walter on his guitar.

When all the dime dancing is through, I run to you..

belatrova – Open Studio Art Week 10 – 18 September

September 8th, 2016/in Blog, Latest News /by Peter Arscott

“The purest treasure mortal times afford, is spotless reputation; that away, men are but gilded loam or painted clay.” William Shakespeare

temptation

belatrova’s reputation may well be gleaming, but we would like you to see it up close and give it a good poke. We are happy for you to pick up any of our bowls and test its weight, or sniff it, or hold its cool surface against your cheek, even lick it. Pottery does this to people.

Clay engages the five senses.

listen

Put a porcelain pot to your ear and flick its surface with your middle finger; what a satisfying “ping” sound comes from it, clear and perfect and proving there are no cracks in it. How horrible it is when we take a piece out of the kiln and the ping is more a “plock” sound – disappointment soon follows as a hairline fracture shows up.

look

Touching pots is part of the experience, both when you are making them and when you are choosing one to buy. Do your fingers yearn to feel the rough textured surface of an unglazed vase or do they prefer the smooth milky whiteness of glazed porcelain? And what about plunging them in wet clay and making shapes?

Your eyes can be drawn to certain pots for all sorts of different reasons: colour, glaze, shape. Try holding up a piece of fine porcelain up to the light and wonder at its translucence.

lick

And eating clay? Well, it is an acquired taste, but some people swear by it. It helps keep toxins from being absorbed into the body, the minerals that make up Bentonite clay work together to absorb heavy metals and other toxins in the gut. And kids seem to love it. “I am so happy that there are other people who love eating clay. I’ve been eating it since my pregnancy 20 years ago. I love the smell of wet earth in my mouth. Yum, yum” Mrs Elvira Fingerhut of Neasden, London, UK.

sniff

Finally, smell….mmmm, a bit of a challenge, this one. Sometimes it can smell of rotten eggs. But sometimes it is just damp and musty, like Autumn approaching with all its mellow fruitfulness.

Yes, Herefordshire Art Week is with us from 10 – 18 September, which means that we are one of over 150 makers and artists in Herefordshire who will be open to visitors throughout the nine days.

And for a limited period only we have knocked 10% off the price of everything in stock! Would you like to know how to get your discount? Just click here.

One of the advantages in coming to our venue is that you get to see the work of three other ceramicists who form the Bankside Studios cluster: Fleen Doran, Stuart Houghton and Wendy Houghton.

This annual event draws many people to our workshop, and many are dropping in not just for the excellent cake and tea they are offered; you get to experience an exhibition of contrast and style, with informal demonstrations and the chance to talk to the artists.

Furthermore, there is an irresistible sale of belatrova pieces in one section of the workshop, and wonderful bargains to be found. Do come along, say “hello”, and handle, stroke and pat our pottery.

thelonius splash pot

Directions: in Ledbury follow the red h.Art signs from Lower Rd or New St into Little Marcle Rd. Follow signs to studios behind Alfa-Tech Garage. Parking is available. We are open 10 – 5.30 pm.

big blue

belatrova bash

September 8th, 2014/0 Comments/in Blog, ceramic art, jazz /by Peter Arscott

Though we do not have the photographic evidence, jiving and dancing took place at belatrova’s h.Art party on Saturday 6th. This is a first for the workshop; seeing his working

laid back cat

colleagues eating, drinking and overnight sleeping are what he is more used to, but Thelonius the Pugmill had never witnessed a spontaneous ballet of belatrovians using the storage and drying area as a dance floor.

The jazz was infectious and beautifully played by the Rushton Rhythm Quartet who gave us 20th Century standards with a modern twist, and not a little feeling. Their playing was tight and sublime, with some spectacular sax crescendos.

The food was magnificent, and belatrova would like to thank Wendy and Lu for all their work in preparing it, Viv and Eily for their help too, and Margo for helping set up and for running the bar. Lu, again, for her cocktail waitressing.

The workshop at No 9 is now open everyday till Sunday 14th, from 10 to 5, as part of Herefordshire Art Week. Just follow the red h.Art signs and you will get to us (Venue 29). There are over a hundred other venues to visit throughout the week, and brochures are available to download here.

birdbath ponder

Feel free to drop in. We have tidied up and it is now spotless – you would never believe one hundred and five belatrovians had a party here. You could also enter the competition and win a ceramic bowl, or just come for a chat and a look-around. See you.

large jazzy platter

flying off the wall

belatrovian baby potter

brushstroke blues display

belatrova in Iberia

August 29th, 2014/1 Comment/in art, art ceramics, Blog, ceramic art, painting, pots /by Peter Arscott

A piece of Britain on the horizon

belatrova, musing by a pool in the heat of Sotogrande, with a distant view of the Rock of Gibraltar, discovered that Andalusia has some of the hottest areas in Europe, sometimes averaging above 36 C in summer, with daytime highs of over 40 C. This explains the landscape of Holly and Cork Oak and the Pinsapo Fir trees that do well here, as do the olive trees that are grown all over the area.

Andalusia certainly knows its olives: Manzanilla, Arbequina, Empeltre, Sevillano, Picual, Hojiblanca, Picolimon, Verdial are just some of the estimated 260 different varieties of olive in Spain, which, as we all know, always look their best when offered to guests in a belatrova bowl.

the only way to eat olives

But we digress. After being controlled by Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals and Visigoths, for half a millennium “Al-Andalus” was part of a Muslim caliphate, from the moment in 711 a Berber called Tariq ibn Ziyad landed his troops on the coast at a place that would become “Jabel alTariq” (the mountain of Tariq), now pronounced “Gibraltar”. Then came the Catholic Kings, and so on, until Spain became a member of the European Community. How about that for a quick outline of Spanish history?

Malaga port

Before arriving in Sotogrande belatrova had spent a short time in Malaga, port city of misty mornings and birthplace of the greatest artists of the 20th Century*, and paid a visit to the Museo Picasso de Malaga to have a peek at the great man’s ceramics and paintings on display. A small but fine collection that will satisfy anyone interested in art and ceramics.

Insect – ceramic figure at Museo Picasso en Malaga

After 90 minutes of leaving Malaga and driving south belatrova suddenly saw the strange presence of the large rock that is part of Britain. It is surprising that there is this tiny enclave with red telephone boxes, bobbies and pubs in the southernmost tip of Spain. But we stayed in Sotogrande and enjoyed the calm of this beautiful location.

belatrova by the pool in Sotogrande

…on the veranda

…meditating

Next stop was a few days near Ronda in a small town called Arriate. Early in the mornings, before the sun clears the horizon and bakes everything in its path, a quick walk into Arriate will reward you with a breakfast of “Churros con chocolate” before returning and finding a shady area in the house or by the pool. belatrovians have already met Thelonius the Pugmill (blog November 2013).

Thelonius Pugmill in action

Though it may upset Thelonius, the churro-making machine is basically the same idea. Stuff goes in one end and is squeezed out the other, though in the former’s case it cannot be eaten with chocolate:

churro-making machine

churro extruded

churro ready

churros con chocolate

abandoned pottery in Arriate with stork’s nest on the top, seen when wandering into the village for breakfast

As for Ronda, it is a buzzing and welcoming town whose most well-known feature is the gorge that divides it and the bridge that crosses it, both made famous by the series of brilliant oil paintings David Bomberg made when he lived there in the 1930s.

Ronda

Bomberg’s Ronda

Next stop was Granada, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, home of the poet Federico García Lorca and of the Alhambra, Moorish citadel and palace, and the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic legacy. Any lover of mosaic and tiles would love its interior, but frankly anybody with an ounce of romance and fantasy would fall for it.

The Alhambra in Granada

inside the Alhambra

Saturation of visual sensation means you will end up agreeing with the poet Franciscio de Icaza who wrote “Give him alms, woman, for there is nothing sadder in life than being blind in Granada.” (“Dale limosna mujer, que no hay en la vida nada como la pena de ser ciego en Granada.”)

Walking along the narrow streets of the Albaicín district is also enthralling. Lots of shops selling pots and ceramics of all kind.

street sign in Granada

Even the street names are made of ceramic.

A visit to the Moorish Baths was a cool break from the sun and heat outside: looking up at the ceiling from the gloomy depths of the 11th Century building, the shapes cut out originally to allow steam to escape let in the daylight and shine like stars.

11th Century baths in Granada

All a distant memory. Now back at the workshop at No 9, belatrova is busy preparing for h.Art events which will be from 6th – 14th September and to which you are all most welcome. We will be open from 10.00 to 17.30. Remember to follow the bright red h.Art signs.

tHe Studio Gallery opening in Ross on Wye

And if you are near Ross-on-Wye, please drop in at the Studio Gallery which had a very successful launch some days ago and has an excellent display of belatrova ceramics.

* any belatrovian agreeing or disagreeing with this statement is invited to leave a comment. Comments will be awarded points, and points mean prizes … and, much as we would like to give the winner a Picasso bowl, you could win yourself a belatrova Valencia three legged ceramic instead.

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