Photography and ceramics

Alison Graham's Ceramics Studio

 
First I wandered along Pen y lan road and to Alison Graham's lovely studio above The Courtyard flower shop. I arrived to hear Alison talking passionately about her ceramics. The kettle was boiling, one of her porcelain light shades cast a lovely orange glow into the room, six new shades were in the kiln and I would have been happy to curl up there all day. She tells me how the porcelain shrinks in the kiln and shows me how each is made. Alison takes inspiration from surfing trips to Hawaii, and the ocean colours feature in a lot of her works. It takes 12 hours to make two pieces, and one in four break. Creating her ceramic artworks is her full-time job, and being able to see the attention and care that goes in to each is a real treat that adds value to the pieces. Also, Alison is lovely and will make you feel right at home!
Go along and see them for yourself, or head to City Hall between the 31st of Oct - 2nd Nov for Made by Hand, where she'll be at stall 19 amongst 135 other makers. 

The lovely Alison herself

 

Next, on to Wellfield road, to La Vita, an Italian restaurant that smells incredible. Watch them make homemade pizzas and check out the photography of David Daggers. 

David works with Touch Trust a, charity that uses dynamic creative techniques to enhance the lives of those with profound physical and learning disabilities. He has been photographing Touch Trust for 15 years, and his vibrant photos show what an incredible charity it is. 

Currently a much larger exhibition of his photography is at the Millenium Centre until the 25th...but without pizza.

In the lovely Deli Rouge you can grab some great food, tuck in and snuggle into a corner whilst viewing some more great photography. Paul Crompton's portraits were taken during a community art project set up by the charity Mothers of Africa. The charity strives to reduce maternal morality through carefully considered educational interventions. See the full story of the Go Zambia project at: www.flickr.com/gozambia.

Paul Crompton's photography in Deli Rouge