The Beverley Sisters were a British female vocal trio, popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The trio consisted of eldest sister Joy and twins, Teddie and Babs.

The Beverley Sisters, Shopping in Harmony (after visiting the Off Licence)

In my last post I wrote:

Don’t Talk Back reminds me of a later style of Picasso’s. I am trying to locate an image for reference. Can anyone help with this?

Someone kindly replied suggesting Picasso’s Guernica.

I wrote back that I was thinking of a different Picasso painting of human forms with tongues, ?eating each other.

Well, since then, I’ve found the (disturbing!) image I was thinking of: Figures at the Seaside (The Kiss) 1931. The tongues are similar but the mouths are also very like those of Guernica 1937.

Pleased to have solved the mystery!

As I look at stuff, ideas emerge. Sometimes, as with the Butterfly Box, ideas come from the past life of ‘the thing’. But more often, it is about what an object may become. The shapes and patterns spark ideas, as with all the works-in-progress here.

Don’t Talk Back reminds me of a later style of Picasso’s. I am trying to locate an image for reference. Can anyone help with this?

I have acquired some beautiful rolling pins from India – smaller than those in the UK and used for making chapatis. The colours and patina are beautiful – now just awaiting inspiration for them!

Gossipping Angels is finished, halos in place and mounted on an interesting platform of driftwood. It’s hard to take a good photo because the angels are at different angles (!)

I have also completed the butterfly box, called Do Butterflies have Souls? The paler ‘ghostly’ butterflies are preparing to fly away out of the box to Butterfly Heaven. The words and butterfly to the right are on stiff wire inserted into the side of the box. (Click on image to enlarge.)

The Beryl Cook exhibition is spread over two sites; the gallery in a beautifully converted old chapel and, opposite, the main building of The Box, Plymouth’s musuem. The museum library has a small display of memorabilia relating to Cook: some of her books, letters and items from her studio. There were many letters in praise of Cook’s work and the joy and affirmation it brings, but one writer was not so happy…

The exhibition is on until 31st May 2026.

Last week I visited the Beryl Cook exhibition Pride and Joy at The Box, Plymouth. Known for her paintings of local people doing everyday things, this show is pure joy. In a fascinating documentation of contemporary society, Cook’s characters are depicted with well-rounded bodies and oversized hands. The high number of visitors is testament to Cook’s enduring popularity. The show provided me with affirmation that it’s OK to make work that is accessible and fun!

I’ve been wondering about how well it works to add 3D toys to a 2D background works – as in Superman flying over Wimbledon Common. So it was wonderful to see Chatterbox, Cook’s self portrait with plastic false teeth inserted into a slit in the canvas with hilarious effect. However, this piece also has a more serious meaning: Cook was repeatedly asked the same questions in interviews and felt that she could easily have replaced herself with a recording. A private person, Cook’s positioning of her body conveys her discomfort at being in the spotlight.

The exhibition also displayed a few original paintings by other artists who had influenced Cook, such as a voluptuous nude by Rubens. Comedian Victoria Wood once described Cook as ‘Rubens with jokes’. Cook’s portrait of her sister Kate, has the elongated features of Modigliani, which also inspired my rolling pin angels.

We’ve had so many dull and rainy days lately, it’s been hard to take a decent photo. I’m still playing with the Gossiping Angels and yet to decide on the halos. The choice is infinite. (Click on image to enlarge.)

The wings are driftwood – the smaller one has wings of an old wooden brush. After the recent storms, I found a lovely chunk of driftwood for them to stand on.

New ideas are emerging from playing with the juxtaposition of stuff accumulated over many years. My work table is a complete mess but ideas somehow arise from the chaos – the latest is the embryo of an idea for a small piece called The Debate.

KINETIC: Where craft meets engineering.

A large-scale exhibition showing the possibilities of movement and making. 

This show blew me away! Amazing examples of brilliant creative imagination and skill. Mobiles move on air currents while automata are operated by handle or electric switch.

One of my personal favourites was Homage to Barbara by Sam Copley, inspired by a manhole cover with the name HEPWORTH on it.

A wonderful hands-on exhibition on now until April 18th at MAKE SW, Bovey Tracey, Devon UK.

My photos don’t do the work justice. Do go and visit!

I learned a new word at Uni this week – Plork, a combination of Play + Work. The term was first coined by Corita Kent (1918 – 1986) an American artist, designer, educator, and former religious sister, also known as The Pop Art Nun.

I’m certainly enjoying plorking at the moment!

During the Christmas holiday, I was seeking and gathering potential materials to transform into sculptures: driftwood from beaches, wood from a friend’s shed and some old tools from antique/junk stalls. I am awaitng afflatus, a lovely word, new-to-me, which I’ve just learned from my German sister-in-law. It means ‘divine inspiration’!

The picture (bottom left) includes 3 vintage rolling pins, each made from a single block of wood. I imagined them cut in half to make bodies with elongated heads in the style of Modigliani (below left.) Below right is a new work in progress – working title Gossiping Angels. At this early stage, everything is just held with Blutac. My dilemma now is how to affix the components, securely and neatly…