No.37 At The End Of The Rainbow

I don’t usually do commissions…..except when I do. I never look for them but somehow they find me, interest me, and capture my imagination. The first one I did was for my friend Laura Rainbow.

Laura and I met through an online art group called United Art Space. We were introduced in an Accountability Group in July 2021 and the group of 4 people soon became firm friends.

Laura is a talented ceramicist and as well as producing beautiful work she also shares her skills by running courses to teach others the joy of working with clay. As Laura’s success as an artist increased she very generously expressed a desire to buy original works of art from other artists, particularly from members of the same online community that we were both members of. She asked me to create a drawing of her studio, or rather my interpretation of what I thought her studio might look like in my imaginary, magical world. Her only request was that her cat (Kitty) and her dog (Teddy) should feature in the drawing.

I based the front of the building on a sketch I had done as an art challenge of Sharon Griffin’s pottery studio, an artist much admired by Laura. I added my favourite style of roof, of characterful slate tiles, and Kitty and Teddy sitting either side of the welcoming open door.

Laura’s favourite T.V. show is The Great Pottery Throw Down. If you have ever watch it you will know that the stars of the show are the distinctive bottle kilns of Gladstone Pottery Museum where it is filmed. I added a mini bottle kiln to the drawing for Laura and also some bottle kiln shaped chimneys to the slate roof of the studio.

Raku Firing is a favourite technique of Laura’s but it does require a fire pit so I added one to the drawing. Laura’s signature Birds Of Happiness can be seen through the open door on her shelves that I usually see behind her when we chat online together. It seemed appropriate to let some of the birds take flight, perch on the roof, and be highlighted in gold ink.

Finally, as Laura’s second name really is Rainbow, I added a rainbow with the end landing firmly on the studio showing that the “gold” to be found at the end of the rainbow is her talent, her generous spirit, and her beautiful Birds Of Happiness.

Laura Rainbow’s website https://arcus.hr