December 2015; Hedgehogs and Santas

 

This December I created festive cheer by joining a 10k Santa Dash in Memory of Lauren Peck. We raised over £1,00 which we proudly donated to Mind. Mind charity provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Their aim is to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
Link: http://www.mind.org.uk/

Any one that knows me well, will understand I am not a sporty person, running is a task for me but I did thoroughly enjoy myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 
If you read by blog regularly you may remember back in August I did a body cast of my Nephew Freddie-Lee’s hands and feet which came out beautifully, see below.

 

 

Since then these tiny ornaments have been cleaned up, vanished and attached to a personalised base. My Sister-in Law to be Shannon was thrilled with the results.

I also made a little trinket box for them to keep Freddie- Lee’s baby teeth and first curls safe. The lid is filled with the same material I used for their Placenta Photo Frame, plastic and placenta. To top it off, Shannon didn’t know but inside the trinket box was also Freddie-Lee’s umbilical cord shaped into a heart.

 

To round of the year, this Christmas I was given the most extraordinary present, a Hedgehog. He’s a tiny little curious thing called Bryon, named after my Australian friends who are originally from Bryon Bay. At the moment, like any pet, we are trying to get him use to being around people, he’s extremely nervous when we pick him up and yes, he is super prickly but as soon as he calms down he’s SUPER soft 🙂 Different to English hedgehogs Bryon is an African pygmy which means he loves the warmth and does not get fleas. I think he’s Cute!

And that’s it an entire year has passed us by. I started this blog for two reasons, One to force myself to write more and improve my spelling and the second reason was to record all the incredible things I manage to achieve. At the end of 2014 I remember saying , ‘oh, another year has gone by and I haven’t done anything’  My friends certainly didn’t agree and quickly reminded me of my achievements. Due to this blog I think it’s safe to say I can’t say the same thing this year, I have managed to accomplish more than I could have imagined. I will be continuing on with my blog for another year so keep checking in to see what 2016 has in store. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

 

 

 

 

November 2015; ART

In light of my work centred around the human body, I have been invited by the RSA, (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), to become a fellow. Link: https://www.thersa.org/ ~
The RSA is a network of people who are dedicated to enriching society and shaping the future through ideas and action.  For me it is an honour to be asked to become a fellow as it shows in their eyes I am recognised as an influential person to society. In the New Year I am going to attend an Artist Engage Social Evening and hopefully confirm my place; 2016 is looking exciting.

My work has given me a sense of Self-worth which enables me to be ambitious, I am a keen to share this feeling so recently I have been unravelling ways I can use my skills and knowledge. My man aim is to help others so they themselves can strive forward. Teaching is the obvious choice but something else that has caught my attention is working within the Art in Criminal Justice Sector. For this reason I have been following the Koestler Trust.

The Koestler Trust is a UK prison arts charity awarding, exhibiting and selling artworks by offenders, detainees and secure patients. Currently they have an exhibition running in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank named Re-Formed.

Link: http://koestlertrust.org.uk/pages/exhibitions.html

I won’t go into detail as you know I don’t like to ruin a surprise but below is my favourite piece, I just love the use of accessible materials and the ‘Marmite’  relationship the artist has with the soap. Make sure you check out the entire exhibition sooner rather than later as it’s only open for two more days.

I have finally finished another Placenta Photo Frame and this one is for my nephew Freddie-Lee. I think it’s safe to say he likes it.

I was almost asked by my Brother and his Girlfriend Shannon to do to cast of all their hands. I have never cast someone else’s body before however it all went perfectly to plan and I managed to cast three hands and 15 fingers. Once tidied up I’ll share the final pictures.

STUDIO UPDATE: As you can see the garage door is now finally boarded up and units / cupboard spaces are being fitted. Fingered crossed it all be ready by Easter 2016.

Next month will be my last post of the year so make sure you check it out and see how my year draws to close.

October 2015; AMERICA baby yeah!

This October Matthew and I both made our first trip out of Europe, I’ll admit America was never on my list of places to go but we both currently have friends living there so thought, why not? Our first stop was New York, moving from one tourist spot to another we explored every corner. It was a hard decision as there were many to choose from, but, I would say The One World Trade Centre (Freedom Tower) and The Flat Iron were my favourite spots.
 
I was determined to walk round the whole of Central Park but obviously it was impossible so I settled for half way.

With Matt being an avid photographer he enjoyed taking panoramic photos. I love this one of The Statue of Liberty, it really looks like she’s conjuring up the sky.

Using an old train track New York have recently created a Sky Line Walk. Wiggling through the city, it is a great place to see the sights…

…and some fantastic public art. I am a huge fan of installation work that engages with the public and this piece did not fail to impress me. These Lego blocks, of all shapes and sizes, began life carefully stacked to represent buildings although continuously passers-by have re-arranged the blocks to alter the appearance of the entire piece.

After two full on days Matthew and I, were exhausted and pleased to be flying off to Orland where for six nights we planned to chill out with our friends Emily and Mark.

It was my birthday whilst out there so Emily and Mark planned a surprise day. The picture below might look peaceful and relaxing but just to the left of us was a 5ft alligator. Bearing in mind it was our first ever time in a kayak and I cannot swim it certainly was a surprise.

Also apparently under pressure I am incapable of listening to instructions therefore, certainly not to Matthews amusement, aiming straight for the alligators was the only thing I seemed to be good at. Saying that, after we (by we I mean Matt) got the hang of how to use the kayak it couldn’t have been a more perfect day.

Emily’s family have been working extremely hard over the past two years putting Orlando City on the map and Matthew and I were extremely lucky to be invited to a game. Football in America is different to England instead of hooliganism there is a lot of fun and laughter that surrounds the game which, for me, made it much more enjoyable.

Driving down the coast we made our way to The Florida Keys which I thought was out of this world, one second we were on a motor way the next we were on an island.

We experienced many things in The Keys although by far my favourite was Robbie’s where we fed the absolutely massive Tarpon, chilled out in the quirky bar by the water and purchased some brilliant trinkets. If you ever visit The Keys I would 100% recommend Robbie’s. Link: http://www.robbies.com/tarpon.htm
 
We experienced some crazy weather whilst on the island of Sambrero. On one side of us it was beautifully sunny with palm trees and soft sand whilst on the other a storm was brewing. We could see the spray from where a twister was hitting the water all the way up to the clouds.

Although we had our swamp adventure I still wanted to visit The Everglades. We spent a full day at Homestead Alligator Farm where we not only had a ride on an air boat over The Everglades but also watched alligator wrestling and a live feeding.

One interesting fact I learnt was in Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger was 15% muscle and an alligator is 52% muscle!

Also at the park they had taxidermy which helped to identify the appearance of crocodiles and alligators. All these years I thought it was the other way round.
 
Finally we visited Miami where we stayed with the lovely Marta. Marta was extremely well know in the artists quarters of Miami and her house was filled with work. From coffee tables with plastic legs to vibrant paintings and curtains made from un-usual material, everywhere you looked in Marta’s house your mind was blown.
My favourite piece has to be the cabinet below because it’s so subtle and cheeky. Also to the left of the cabinet is a Lion with a plant on his head, well because why not?
  
On our last day we visited Wynwood, Miami, throughout America various people had spoken about this neighbour-hood  explaining we would love it and they were right. Wynwood is home to the largest open-air, street-art installations in the world.

Not only was every wall a canvas but the streets were lined with art galleries and quirky bars / restaurants. Link: http://wynwoodmiami.com/about.php
 
And there you have it, over fifteen days I visited two states, drove over 800miles,  lost count on how many wild lizards I saw and managed to keep all my limbs despite being up close and personal with a 6ft alligator, mission complete.

 

 

 

August & September 2015; Time Flies when you’re having Fun

‘Time flies when you’re having fun’ and for me the past two months certainly has.

Firstly, Matthew and I came across a brilliant new idea for the centre piece of any dinner table, fruit and vegetable candles. We loved the idea so much that we both decide to buy the kit for our mums to enjoy.
.
As you can see, my Mum agreed with us. Below you can see my Mum lighting a paper candle !

Also in August I received my Level 3 Certificate in First Aid. I don’t know why this isn’t made compulsory for everyone to learn. In just the last few weeks I have already put my training to the test and helped many casualties. I am proud to say I am a first aider.

One of the biggest changes for me over the last two months was my (rent paying) day job as we changed offices from Farringdon to Aldgate Tower. With over 1,000 employees you can imagine how full on it has been. However, I think it was worth it as the views of London are crazy!

Strangely on my way to the new office I walked straight into a piece of work I created at my last job, Cheeky Tiki, which I left back in February. (Cheeky Tiki is a Design & Build company, which creates drinking vessels for bars / night clubs.) This vessel was in the shape of an oyster shell and about 2ft wide.

I made the shell via a two part-mould with resin and silicon to capture the shape. It was no easy task due to its size and shape let alone the fact the mould weighed a tonne. I had solely worked on this from scratch, which you can see from the images below, so it was amazing to see one in use.
  .

. .
Another fun surprise this month was an ‘Instagram’ post from Fran, showing off the fermenting pot I made in France. Fran had found time in her busy schedule to glaze my pot for me and now it’s complete. Hopefully it is working to its full potential but even if it isn’t I think it still looks beautiful.

As mentioned in my last post, I was commissioned to create some new interesting pieces one of which was an umbilical cord memento. This was the first time I had crafted something from an umbilical cord and as promised here is the final piece. Being immensely happy with the result, I am looking forward to my next commission. BRING ON THE UMBILLICAL CORDS! Haha
FYI: The following luscious photos were taken by Matthew Simcox Link: http://www.Facebook.come/matthewsimcoxphotography
 
(Above: Umbilical Cord Memento)
I was also commissioned to create placenta beads with a sterling silver insert and a placenta key ring. These aren’t items I would normally design but I can’t deny I enjoyed the task of developing ideas and creating new moulds from scratch. In the end I could not be happier with the final pieces, sometimes simple is the way forward.
 
(Above: Placenta Memento Beads with sterling silver insert)
 
(Above: Placenta Key Ring Memento)

STUDIO UPDATE: From the pic below you can see two little built in rooms complete: one for storage and one to use as a kitchen which will include a fridge freezer for you know what.

Finally, this month I managed to find time to do some body casting of my tiny nephew Freddie -Lee. He was a brave little boy and let his Auntie put his hand and feet into all kinds of materials some he preferred more than others.

The result is a memento of Freddie-Lee’s feet and hands, to remember how small and perfectly formed they once were.
 
These casts are straight out the mould and need a little tidy up but you get the gist of how amazingly cute they are going to be. I will reveal the finished pieces next month.

Thanks for reading and watch out for next month’s post, I promise there will be crocodiles!

July 2015 – George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and Grayson Perry Pots

July has been a pretty crazy month, I have had meetings and work coming in left, right and centre. It also marked a year that my partner Matthew and I have been together so I decided to mix business and pleasure by going on a little road trip to Kent.

Via Air BNB (Link Air BNB – https://www.airbnb.co.uk/) we found this adorable American Style Tiny House which had been featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. The concept of these tiny spaces fascinates me, if you don’t watch the programme you should. (Link: George Clarkes Amazing Spaces – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/george-clarkes-amazing-spaces)

 
This tiny house in Kent was owned and built by Anthony & Diane Stathamn who were the perfect hosts; friendly, helpful, a lovely couple. It literally had everything we needed including a queen sized bed, fully working kitchen and bathroom squeezed in, yet it still felt so spacious!  As you can see from the pictures, it really was a unique place to stay.

Just down the road from us was the Turner Contemporary Gallery exhibiting ‘Provincial Punk’ by the one and only Grayson Perry!  (Link: Turner Contemporary – https://www.turnercontemporary.org/) (Link: Grayson Perry – https://www.turnercontemporary.org/exhibitions/grayson-perry)
 

This English artist, known mainly for his ceramic vases and cross-dressing has always been of interest to me, especially as he was also born in my hometown Essex. Many see ceramics as a traditional and elegant craft but Grayson’s classic ceramic forms are full of crude adaptations of sex, politics and violence and I love it!

It felt incredible it is to witness the work of someone you admire. My favourite piece from the exhibition has to be, ‘We are What We Buy’ 2000, not because it is about  the rise of art collector Charles Saatchi but because each person is documented simply by three things which can immediately brand a person; their choice of clothes, car and home address.

We also made a special trip to the Shell Grotto in Margate. Words cannot describe how unbelievable this place was. I am not going to say to much as I urge you to experience it yourself. For now here’s a few photos taken by Matthew to entice you. Photography by Matthew Simcox (Link: http://www.matthewsimcox.com/)

. . . .

This month my Grandad ripened to the marvellous age of 80! He is the world’s biggest Liquorice Allsorts fan so without doubt I knew I had to create this liquorice explosion. I’ll admit, “I’m a creator not a baker” but I was pretty pleased with the outcome and so was he, Happy Birthday Grandad!

On Monday 13th I collected yet another placenta from a new client, Natalie. Natalie’s placenta travelled all the way down from Manchester to Euston Station, London where I collected it from her friend.

Not only does Natalie want me to create a Placenta Photo Frame but she has also commissioned me to create a heart from her umbilical cord.  I have never crafted an umbilical cord, therefore, I was a little unsure but for a first attempt, I couldn’t be happier with result.

Natalie and I, are currently deciding how it shall be presented so keep an eye out for next month’s blog to see the final design.

June 2015 – I’m An Auntie!

This month I am proud to announce that I have become an auntie for the first time to this little cutie, Freddie-Lee. I am so pleased for my brother and his girlfriend; they have taken on the role of being parents right from the word go. Freddie-Lee was born on the 2nd of June at 8:04 in the morning, weighing a tiny 6 lbs 🙂 Before you ask yes my brother and his girlfriend did keep Freddie- Lee’s placenta.

Also this month I had another reason to celebrate as the news stated: ‘Eating your placenta has no benefit to your health!!’ CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL BBC NEWS STORY. I won’t bore you with all the details but for obvious reasons this is brilliant for me and I love this quote by Dr Daghni Rajasingam, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “What women do with their placenta is up to them.”

I can’t help but think, if there is no health benefits to eating your placenta, why not have a PLACENTA PHOTO FRAME instead? Just like Audrey did… Audrey gave birth over a year ago and kept her placenta safe in the freezer. I am more than pleased with Audrey’s frame as her placenta created the most distinctive Placenta Photo Frame yet with an incredible range of brown tones.

STUDIO UPDATE: This month my very talented Dad, as seen in the picture below, has plastered the outside wall and inside loft compartments. I am still researching kilns but the space is starting to come together and I have no doubt it is going to be the most beautiful studio.
  
Last but not least this month I also popped back down to Brighton again. This time I visited not only for the Brighton University Graduate Private View but was invited to give my support and guidance to the MDes students of 2015/16.  Even though it feels a little sad to know it was over 2 years ago since I graduated, I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to help out and support those starting the course. I gave my Masters every ounce of my attention and energy and it was full of up and downs but given the chance I would do it all over again. It was worth every second as without it I wouldn’t be where I am now. I can’t wait to see what this year’s students get out of it!
 
If you haven’t had a chance already this year I suggest you get yourself down to Brighton and soak up the sun!

May 2015 – Art Craft Art Craft

This month I went back to BRIGHTON!!! I spent four years living in Brighton and whenever I return it always feels like home. I decided to take my boyfriend Matthew with me to show him around where I spent my student years!! Here Matt is experiencing the stones that are Brighton Beach!

Obviously, I timed our visit perfectly so we could also visit Brighton Open Houses!! With only a limited amount of time I decided to focus on one trail – Fiveways !

First up was ‘Upfunt House’ on Ditching Road. This house was home to probably one of my favourite finds of Brighton Open Houses. ‘Mug Shots’ by Ray Dennis – http://www.raydennisart.com. As you can see these portraits were all drawn on takeaway paper cups; a simple yet extremely effective idea.

I also supported the Nepal Earthquake by entering a raffle to win this print by Patrick Kennedy, ‘Walrus in a bathtub.’ Fingers crossed I win as I have the perfect spot on my bath room wall ready and waiting. Visit Patrick’s website: www.upfunt.com

Next up was ‘Polly Raynes and Friends’ house. This home was absolutely filled with all sorts of surprises from metalwork and jewelry to ceramics and illustrations. My main reason however was to see these stunning cactus planters. Whilst in France last month I was lucky enough to witness the creator, Chris, crafting his planters from scratch, so of course I had to go and check out the final project.

Also at Polly’s house I spotted one of these cute little badgers in the garden created by Helen Hodson. Helen creates many other quirky adaptations of animals all just as adorable as these badgers. Website:  www.helenhodson.com

Finally, last but certainly not least was Frances Doherty’s house. Those of you that follow me know I spent some time last month at Fran’s home in France helping to create work for her exhibitions and commissions this year. It was amazing to see this work all glazed and finished out of a studio setting.

You might also remember us creating some 3D sketches; a useful exercise to get the creative juices flowing. These were also on display and created a buzz with visitors.

Whilst at Fran’s house she advised we take a sneak peak at another house just down the road. Being told it was a performance piece, I looked forward to going back to my roots of conceptual art. Unfortunately, we had missed all performances for the day but luckily whilst still bound up in a strait jacket, Brain Mander gave us a private performance.

Being a huge fan of multiples I loved this concrete ‘ghost heads’ as I would describe them. To me it seemed like each individual one was alerted by presence and crept up all over the place as if they were watching me… Spooky! It was very clear a lot of thought and effort had gone into his work. Visit Brian’s website: http://www.brianmander.co.uk.  

Later on this month I also had a quick peak at a pop up ‘DIY Market’ down in Stoke Newington, Hackney Flea Market, London with my lovely friend Emma.

Here I found some super interesting figures. Figurative clay forms inspired by the human form always seem to catch my eye. After visiting amyworrall.co.uk/, I found and fell in love with Amy Worrall’s fun and playful work. Who wouldn’t enjoy these?
 

STUDIO UPDATE: As well as visiting lots of art and exhibitions this month I have also been researching ideas for my studio layout including storage, kilns and other machinery, basically everything involved in creating the perfect studio space. This is proving to be a time consuming yet an exciting task.

ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: ” According To Science, You’ve Probably Been Pooping Wrong Your Whole Life”
May 27, 2015 | by Caroline Reid http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/western-pooping-bad-your-booty

 

PLACENTA PHOTO FRAME UPDATE: This month I have spent time catching up with myself, working through each order one by one. As well as organising the collection of placentas from future mothers. I’ll have more news and hopefully some images for you next month.

Thanks for reading!

April 2015 – Ceramic Heaven / Come Dine With Me

Continued….
(See ‘March 2015 – Goodbye Cheeky Tiki, Hello Self-employment’ for a re-cap)

Whilst in France, Fran taught me day by day how to make my vessels bigger and bigger.
I made mistakes along the way but each time I started again I improved. Below are images to show my stages of a large curved pot.

  

Fran asked me to try and create a cylinder for home grown leeks and an additional fermenting pot for her kitchen, which is the pot you can see in the images above. The fermenting pot also taught me how to create thrown handles and weights which again I had never done before and actually turned out to be the hardest bit for me to get my head around.

Also we had a busy day making sketches ready for Fran’s Open House in Brighton this year. I love this idea of sketching with clay as we created these crazy beautiful 3D objects and it was relaxing yet productive, my favourite type of day.

Fran’s work is based around exaggerated seed pods and plants/flowers. Visit her website at http://www.francesdoherty.com
I had such a lovely time in France it was exactly what I needed!

Upon my return I was taken out for dinner to celebrate me winning our Come Dine With Me Challenge. This was between 5 friends and myself taking it in turns to cook and supply entertainment which we then scored each other for. From Chinese to Bulgarian most of us had a theme, mine was the ‘The Art of Cooking’.
For starters I created a scene entirely out of food. As you can see in the picture there was a bread house, broccoli tree with potato tree house included, grass made from kale and a pathway made of mixed beans.

The pathway ran down the garden past a rockery of new potatoes and a salad dressing lake where wild mushrooms grew randomly. At the bottom was an allotment filled with mini root vegetables such as courgettes, turnips, radishes and carrots.  These grew through black dyed couscous to represent soil and noodles acting as worms.  Dotted around the garden was also garlic snails complete with shell for my diners to nibble on.

Alongside all of this were large flower pots complete with basil leaf and again couscous soil. These were filled with yummy homemade pate and humus to be eaten with the garden.

As a gift for each of my diners I preserved slices of toast and using chocolate I printed on their faces. Placed inside a clip frame these doubled up as personalised dinner mats.

My diners and fellow contestants were shocked and delighted by my evening and as a result I scored top marks hence why I was taken out for dinner. We went to a lovely traditional Greek restaurant which had music playing by this adorable man. It certainly was a great night to remember.

PLACENTA UPDATE: This month I had my first placenta drop off from a mother who gave birth over 4 years ago. She had decided to keep her placenta frozen until she found an idea that suited, which in her opinion happened to be my Placenta Photo Frame.   To ensure a mix up never occurs I don’t like to have more than one frame on the go at any one time so this mother’s placenta for now is safe and secure in my refrigerated unit whilst I complete my last order.

ARTICLE OF MONTH: Each month I plan on delivering to my readers one article which is of special interest to me. This first one was bought to my attention by a good friend of mine Christina Kingston. click the link below….
“During Milan design week 2015, the design academy eindhoven presents ‘eat shit’: a part public laboratory, part exhibition show at ventura lambrate, made up of work from the school’s entire department. 18 students and their teachers present their research and results, proving that innovation and artistry can contribute to a new approach to food.”

olivier van herpt’s 3D printed ceramics at design academy eindhoven

STUDIO UPDATE! Finally this month my studio has gone full steam ahead and the roof is complete with skylight. My dad is tackling this task for me and happens to be an exceptional carpenter, I am very lucky.
I have now been set the task of planning and organising the layout. 6.3 meters of pure space! I will let you know my ideas next month.

March 2015 – Goodbye Cheeky Tiki, Hello Self-employment

In March I made the decision to leave my full time job at Cheeky Tiki in order to further my own practise.
Cheeky Tiki / Bespoke Barware is a design and build interior / exterior company based in Hackney Wick, London. http://www.cheekytiki.com / http://www.bespokebarware.com.

I worked in the ceramic department where I helped create slip cast vessels for bars all over the world. You may have seen them pop up in my Instagram from time to time. Follow me on instagram @amandaecotton

Before I left we underwent a major cleaning operation as you can see in the picture below. Not a speck of dust!
During my time I met many lovely people who I am sure I will forever stay in contact with especially the pink enthusiast below.
 

Being self-employed, my next step was to organise my work; on day 4 whilst booking my train to what I believe to be ‘ceramic heaven’ I just so happened to stumble across a random TV documentary on URINE  (coincidence, I think not!).
Also I booked in two more lovely mums who wanted me to create Placenta Photo Frames for them. This meant at the beginning of the month my cool box and I  jumped on the bus and at the end of the month we also went across London via the tube.

I also caught up with friends and family experimenting one of my favourite past times, cooking.
                                    

STUDIO UPDATE: Also in March I have exciting news to share as the Amanda Cotton Ceramics & Composites Studio began taking shape, firstly rebuilding the roof. This is going to be a huge on-going project so I will keep you updated. I can’t wait to see how fast it develops and becomes my little hub. But for now, as I said before I booked my train to ceramic heaven! or more commonly known as Frances Doherty’s home in France.
So on the last day of March I took the ferry over to Dieppe where I was to stay with Fran for two weeks.

My aim was learn how to throw (Throw = Ceramic technique) large scale ceramics. Being a petite person this was something Fran taught me to do in stages.

Here are two pieces I threw to get my started. Since I hadn’t thrown in over 2 years I expected to be a little rusty but apparently throwing is like riding a bike.

To be continued…

January & February 2015 – An Exhibition & A Book

To start 2015 off with a bang a friend of mine found me published in the 2015 edition of ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not!’. We literally ‘couldn’t believe it’ and instantly I found myself a copy of the book.

Also in January I appeared in an exhibition ‘Crafting Anatomies’ at the Bonington Gallery, Nottingham which was curated by Rhian Solomon.
“Crafting Anatomies place the human body at the centre of a multi-disciplinary dialogue; exploring how this entity has been interpreted, crafted and reimagined in historical, contemporary and future contexts.”

This was my first exhibition outside of my University setting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Due to the nature of my work, as usual, I had to complete a health and safety assessment which meant I was lucky enough to visit and take part in the set-up of the exhibition. Below is me arranging my wee samples ready to assemble ‘Wee Ribbon’.

‘Wee Ribbon’ is my own creation, a new material through a composite of crystallized urine documenting 365 samples of my own urine, one for each day of the year. The dates alongside each sample in the ‘Wee Ribbon’ have been recorded in a Diary identifying every liquid consumed. For more details visit my website at http://www.amandacotton.co.uk.

I also exhibited ‘Self Portrait’, (above right). ‘Self Portrait’ was created from the dirt and oil which my face produced and carried along with the makeup I applied throughout the day over the period of three months. For more details visit my website at http://www.amandacotton.co.uk.

The exhibition was a huge success Rhian Solomon did a fantastic job curating the show, everything was perfectly organised and therefore run smoothly.

Feel free to visit these links if you wish to hear the art critics thoughts:

– http://www.boningtongallery.co.uk/coming-soon/crafting-anatomies
– http://www.nottinghampost.com/Art-review-Crafting-Anatomies-Bonington-Gallery/story-25831635-detail/story.html

In February I was delighted to be invited to attend a highly respected annual Practising Business Rapport Dinner as a guest at Burgess Hill School for Girls. Guests from a range of businesses and professions are invited to this formal dinner to share their own experiences. The sixth form girls were given the opportunity to liaise with myself and other guests in order to become comfortable in such situations. I gave the girls insight and guidance related to a possible career in the arts offering my services to help network and be a potential contact for the future. Chatting with the girls was great I tried to answer as many questions as possible using my experience, as examples. One young lady even wanted to use ‘un-traditional’ materials which obviously sparked my interested. I am looking forward to helping her jump over these hurdles with my knowledge and personal experience of health and safety assessment forms.

Worked never stopped for me over Christmas, I worked on another Placenta Photo Frame.
This commission was for a mum based in my home town of Essex, which is always lovely to do. She was not only my first client to have the larger size of 5″ x 6″ but also to have the reverse of her frame in pink! Pink was actually a great option it really bought the frame to life.

As you can see the start of 2015 was a busy one but that didn’t stop me looking forward to what March had to offer.

Thanks for reading, best wishes,
Amanda.