Our first ever Doodlemugs have turned out beautifully. They will be for sale at the Lyttelton Market (Christchurch, NZ) on Saturday 19th March — or contact Della’s Pottery on Facebook. Individually designed and handcrafted by Della’s Pottery and Anna Cull Art.
A couple of weeks ago, my talented friend Della made these fabulous mugs, handed me a ceramic glazing pencil, and told me that I could draw anything I wanted on them. What a brilliant opportunity to try something new (thank you, Della).
Because the mugs are so deliciously quirky, I decided that the designs had to be quirky too and opted to decorate them with some of my little ‘Thank You’ stick figures. I took photos of the mugs and played around with size and placement possibilities in Affinity Photo (yes, that’s right, NOT Photoshop… but that’s a story for another day) before committing to drawing on the mugs with the special glazing pencil (see below). I’ll post more photos of the mugs once Della has glazed and fired them again. I can’t wait to see how they turn out.
I’ve finally been into the city to take the last of my ‘pen vs earthquake’ photographs. The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu was closed following the 22nd February 2011 earthquake and only opened its doors to the public again last December. The building may look fragile but it not only survived 2011’s big shake, it was used as Civil Defence HQ for seven months after the event. Most of the repairs to the building are now complete and the new and improved gallery looks better, and shinier, than ever.
The sketch was originally part of a student project in 2011. The art gallery photographs were taken a few days ago. Ben Heine’s ingenious Pencil Vs Camera images inspired the series.
P.S. Five years on and we’re still getting the odd quake ― we had quite a big one on Valentine’s Day, of all days! My thanks to those who contacted me to see if we were okay. Yes, we’re fine. We’re still not in love with earthquakes, but we’re fine.
“Art is long, and Time is fleeting…” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or last time.” Betty Smith
Yes, it’s the Kaikoura coast again ― same view, same reference photograph ― but every time I paint it, I see something different. I’ll post a photograph of the final painting just as soon as I’m ready to leave it alone.
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 