MURRAY JAM THIS WEEKEND!

Just wanted to advertise the fact again. We're going, you should too!
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Friend's Photogrpahy Exhibition

My friend, past lecturer and 'mentor' Barbara Downs is having an exhibition at the 3 White Walls Gallery in Birmingham. The Private View is being held this evening and I'm looking forward to seeing her being made a fuss of :-) It's entitled The Colour of Time and is an exhibition of photo -graphs, mainly abstract in nature, that record journeys Barbara has taken. I love Barbara's work, it's thought provoking and somehow soothing. Like alot of art photography, it benefits from being seeing in a gallery situation, so get along there if you can.

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The Colour of Time (Extract)

Back on the BMX!

At last I've been out on the BMX ! Went to a couple of local play tracks in the Kidderminster area, just to get a feel for the bike. Had a wonderful time and got some 'air', (a foot or so,) but so nice to leave the ground. No pain, at all, from my leg. Will take it easy in the coming weeks, I don't want to fall off again. Don't know about racing either. One step at a time...
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What a Weekend!

Worcester Beer Festival. An amazing turn out and over 200+ beers and 100+ciders to choose from. I personally lost count of how many I tried. Wonderful atmosphere though, can't wait for the next one!

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Also went to our friends' Nancy and Jons wedding; a perfect day in the countryside.

Wings of Love...

New piece. Made from pine and recycled teak, (an old college work bench). Made as a wedding present. Pleased with the juicyness of the heart. The shapes and forms I saw in Japan are eeking their way out of my brain; more organic, softer and hopefully more tactile.

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Untitled, (at the mo') - Pine, teak and brass. Approx 22" wide

These are a few of my favourite things...

Here's few compensations for returning to the UK. The beer, that was temporarily contained in this handy carton, was from our favourite local, The Dragon and was brewed by the Cannon Royal Brewery, Uphampton Worcs. (just a few miles up the road). The spuds, (Desiree) were from the garden and the cat's name is Murphy...bliss.
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Cubist

First attempt at carving a Nissan 'Cube' (Mark I) out of solid oak, using an Arbotech wood carving tool. Not completely happy. Looks more like a Land Rover but you get the idea.

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Cube 1.0 - Oak (10" Long)

New Works

Just finished a comission. The new owner had a hand in designing the piece and was really happy with the finished piece. The other, is the first since returning from Japan on Sunday...

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33 - Pine, Brass, Gold Paint (approx 2ft wide)

Morioka - Solid Oak (Approx 12" Tall)

Murray Jam 09 - Details.

Last August we attended the Murray Jam. What a day! It was held to raise money for Stephen Murray. Stephen became a quadriplegic through an unfortunate BMX accident in 2007. This event has taken place over the last couple of years in Upton, Worcestershire. It's held on dirt jumps in the back garden of a small bungalow in view of the Malvern Hills. It's a perfect setting and attracts some of the best BMX riders in the country and is for a fantastic cause. If you're free on the 29th August and can spare the £5 Entry/Donation, GO!

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Wish Granted...

Well, I can tick another wish off the list. The last ever issue of +1 is out this week. Really sorry to see it go, it's provided so much inspiration for me and the students at Hereford. But as they say, one door closes and another door opens; Jo Waterhouse recently interviewed me for the magazine, and luckily, it's been published! I'm thrilled with how it all looks and I really like the logo-like title, (even with two G's!)...smart as a plum! It's one step closer to being taken seriously as an artist. If you can't read the screen grab check out the PDF version at the +1 web-site. Thanks +1 and thanks Jo.
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+1 Cover

Page 22

Page 23

It's all about me!

The good folks at Kut and Paste very kindly included me in their latest flyer, even though the gig has now apparently been cancelled due to a double booking :-(. Thanks though Chris and Dan. Love the colours!
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Was it all a dream?

Woke this morning at 4am. My body is still in Tokyo time. My dreams have been weirdly intense and trippy and my appetite's all over the shop. Good to have the cat back from the cattery though, Murphy was on my lap within an hour of being home, made up for having to go to work. It was amazing in Japan, sorry I didn't add much to the blog, there was just too much going in to allow anything to come out. I just took as many photos as I could and really took it all in. We love it even more now. We travelled all over, from Hakuba near Nagano, to Morioka in Nrthern Honshu then onto Hokkaido where we visited Hakodate, Sapporo, Daisetsuzan National Park and Muroran. God it was ace. The people we met were priceless and beautiful, I just want more interaction with them and must make an effort to learn the language in order to facilitate this.

I've uploaded my months allowance of photos onto Flickr and will add more next month. Here's a few favourites, especially for the blog.

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Gundam 30th Anniversay Statue - Tokyo

Tree Frog (About 1cm long!) - Aizu Wakamatsu

Daisetzusan National Park

Partial Eclipse - Sapporo, Hokkaido

Cicada - Sapporo, Hokkaido

Muroran Sea Coast