I bought this brass candlestick from a local “antique” shop. It seems as though brass ware isn’t  very collectible at the moment as it only cost £6. It was in a pretty corroded state and polishing with Brasso wasn’t powerful enough. I had a look on YouTube and found a video suggesting a mixture of salt, vinegar and flour. I was sceptical but gave it a try. The results are impressive. I used half a cup each of salt, vinegar and flour. Brushed it thickly all over the candlestick and left it for 24 hours. After washing the mixture off, I polished with Brasso again. It looks great.

I painted another ukulele, this time a soprano uke from a charity shop. As before, I used Posca pens and sealed the finished work with Osma oil.

This is the second ukulele I have decorated. For the first one I used Sharpie pens which weren’t great as they were reluctant to leave enough ink. This time I used Posca pens which are brilliant — strong, opaque colours. I’m pleased with this one and would like to do another. Under all that paint is an inexpensive concert ukulele from eBay.

This one is for sale, UK £105 including delivery to a UK address. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Image: Village, inkjet printed 160gsm paper. Each house 5x5x5cm

Using the same paper house design I first created in 2005, I have made the houses for this village. As I have done before, the work is made to be photographed. The finished work presented to the viewer is the photograph. This work is inspired by Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief.

The Fourth Gate: What we expected and did not receive

We arrive here as stone age children. We are wired and prepared to participate in everything our deep time ancestors experienced. R. D. Laing.

I have experienced the company of friends I don’t completely trust, people who I might choose to hide some vulnerability from, people who might exploit some weakness for “just a joke”. A “joke” that invites distance, invites the withholding of trust, encourages superficial connection.

Aware of this, for several years I have been wondering about the depth of connection people are able to have when there is deep trust. I have experience radical trust and extraordinary (in my personal experience) connection. I long to live with this every day and I believe it is possible.

It seems to be that our nature invites us to live in communities of around 40 adults plus children. 40 people with close and healthy interdependence, trusting each other with their lives. A village. People who I would hold, people who would hold me in times of grief. People who would share joy and celebration. How would it feel to live with that level of trust & connection? What is it like to live without it? It is one of the experiences we came into the world expecting and did not receive.

Where is my village? How can it be made? How will we make ourselves into villagers?

Image: Temple, 160gsm card, each megalith 8x4x2cm

Using the same  “Cut, Fold & Stick” technique as my paper houses, I have made the megaliths for Temple. As I have done before, the work is made to be photographed. The finished work presented to the viewer is the photograph. This work is inspired by Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief.

The Third Gate: The Sorrows of the World

There are no unsacred places. There are sacred places and desecrated places. Wendell Berry.

When I began reading about the third gate in The Wild Edge of Sorrow, I was prepared to find my grief about how our civilisation has treated the world. What I wasn’t expecting was grief about my own separateness from the more than human world. Our civilisation teaches us to see ourselves as separate. Once this error is seen, the separation does not, in my own experience, simply disappear. Some work is needed to reestablish connection. What is the nature of that work? How will I reclaim my proper place as belonging to this world?

Progress seems to be by small steps. Grief for the way things are is part of the process. Then remembering John O’Donohue’s words “When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us.”. Without beauty, I don’t think I could do this. I would collapse into despair.

This is my second attempt at electro etching copper using salt water. This time I used the Silhouette Portrait to cut vinyl masks which worked very well. I used a saturated salt solution of tap water and table salt. Then a 9v PP3 type battery. The battery drained in 30 minutes and I used a second one to complete the job. If I decide to do this again, I’ll use a mains adaptor.