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Welcome to the website of Jen and Peter Colquitt
Based in Dudley, West Midlands, Jennifer and Peter Colquitt both had exciting teaching careers, Jennifer was a Senior Lecturer for several years in the Three Dimensional Design Department based at the Faculty of Art and Design in Birmingham City University. Peter taught in Dudley, first at The Bishop Milner School and then as Head of Art in the King Edward V1 Sixth Form College, Stourbridge. Both always continued their work with clay during their teaching, their individual styles are very different.
Jennifer concentrates on making finely decorated and textured porcelain panels coloured with oxides and lustres. The themes used are trees, leaves and flowers derived from either direct observation or discovered in medieval manuscripts. The variations are endless with these topics. Visiting France on a regular basis has given her the opportunity to study carvings observed in the Romanesque churches which are a rich source of decorative devices.
Peter has always centred his sculptural work round the study of the human form, this work being supported by intensive drawing studies and print making - the latter invariably being Lino Print as it is very direct and immediate. A heavily grogged clay has always been his preferred material for realising his sculptural vision. His visits to France has provided him with new directions drawn from the landscape.
back again
18/05/10
Well as dear Reg Moon used to say - it is time. It's been some time since I used the blog, we went to the French residence which was as lovely as ever. We did have access to a computer but it was eccentric, the continental keyboard is different to ours and that takes some getting used to.
There was very little in the garden when we arrived but after a few weeks Spring appeared triumphantly. I think this year was especially good, the winter in France was just as bad as it was here and it seems to have suited the garden. The woodburning stoves were worked fulltime, Peter likes this aspect very much. It does seem like another world now, back to work and a mega heap of post. The exhibition went well at the Bevere Gallery - I shall continue to sell work there.
Now to concentrate on getting work completed for "Earth and Fire" It's taking ages for the clay to dry out, it's always difficult at this time of year as the heating is switched off in the the studio. The decorations have been posted, I always use Royal Mail Special Delivery, it's very reliable. The parcel was 3gms over the 500gm limit. This meant quite a hike in the price, all was resolved by removing the string, sad though I am very fond of brown paper parcels tied with string.
I am also concentrating on making business cards, what a difference being able to do this courtesy of the computer. it means designs can be evolved and changed inexpensively.
I also have to think about designing the stand for Rufford to, there is always the weather to contend with there.
Peter has been working with clay this week, he said how difficult it was after it had been frozen. I had clay freeze in the studio earlier this year, it does something strange to the structure. He has made a series of long elongated figures out of paper and wire they could be acrobats or swimmers - it depends how you look at them. i think he could be heading for an installation here. I will see if we can post images of our new work eventually.
Getting ready for Rufford
20/06/10
Back after a long absence - I have been working v hard for the International Potters event at Rufford next weekend. To date all seems to going smoothly, cards and statements made - in a v protracted way using the computer. They work but my techniques would distract a Graphic Designer considerably.
Brooches and Buttons packed and priced, something will turn up without a price tag, this is inevitable! All panels made, I just need to select which ones to take, price and wrap them.
I am trying to find out how to post images on the blog. All was going well until I transferred to Google Chrome sometime ago and it is not being v cooperative with the blog. Why I decided to use G Chrome is beyond me, it wasn't such a good idea. It will get sorted out eventually!
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15/03/10I have been working nonstop to complete work before Easter, the Lustre firings have worked well, I have almost completed the order for the heart decorations, just have to buy the ribbon. Then I need to select work and post it to the Bevere Gallery near Kidderminster for the Midlands Potters Exhibition in April and then later this week collect work from the Lighthouse Art Centre, Wolverhampton. The studio is having a spring clean this week as I may have a work Experience student at the end of June. This is turning out to be a double edged sword. I have to have a Public Liability Insurance Policy - I have one, but not the right sort, I will have to buy a top up Policy. I don't mind doing that but the Studio will have to be vetted and I would not like to buy the extra Policy and then be turned down. Why is life so awkward???
back again
18/05/10I have been very productive in the last few days. I painted colour onto panels, decorations and brooches on the 28th and left them overnight to dry. 1st March checked the panels etc removed surplus colour and loaded the kiln, it was filled exactly with nothing left over, which is unusual, I like packing kilns and making sure every shelf is full. This is straightforward for me as I can always fill spaces with brooches. Kiln switched on in the evening. 2nd March checked kiln and started to finish making buttons, ditto for the 3rd March, the clay was just right. Today the 4th March I opened the kiln (I had peeped before -all was well) and unpacked, a very good firing the lustres should work well. I sorted out the lustres and brushes (the latter v small sizes) and started painting. I always start with green, then purple, various pale blues, yellow and end with copper, gold and platignum. After I use one specific colour I put it away as most of the lustres are brown, it is v v easy to make mistakes here. The painting will take a few days to complete
| Date: | Event: |
| February - March | "Ceramics Collection", The Art Works Galleries, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| June 26th - 28th | "Earth and Fire", Rufford, Nottinghamshire |
| July 19th - 25th | Exhibition with "The Choral Experience", Abbey Dore, Herefordshire |
| July 21st - September 21st | Showcase Exhibition, Worcester Art Gallery |
| July 29th - September 5th | Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Open Ceramics, Birmingham |
| October 9th -11th | "Gorgeous", Ironbridge |
| October 31st - November 1st | The Oxford Ceramics Fair, King Edwards School, Oxford |
| November 21st - 22nd | "Art in Clay", The Maltings, Farnham, Surrey |
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