DRIFT 37

Light from DARK

Intense moments in time illuminate the world with the essence of purest colour

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A JOURNAL FOR THE DISCERNING

Drift /drift/ noun

1. the act of driving something along

2. the flow or the velocity of the current of a river or ocean stream

verb

1. to become driven or carried along, as by a current of water, wind, or air

2. to move or float smoothly and effortlessly

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A JOURNAL FOR THE DISCERNING

On the cover

‘Opposite Shore’, Jo Bradford. As featured from page 17. jobradford.com

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Foreword

Within our rich social and architectural tapestry the use of colour reflects myriad moods. Such colour symbolism can be context and culturedependent and appears in both visual and written narratives. The importance of colour spans the spectrum of creative practice and in this volume of DRIFT Journal we meet those who embrace its kaleidoscope. Jo Bradford (17), uses a camera-less photography method in an analogue darkroom to record the essence of the purest colour contained in light. Her colour combinations create intense luminograms, which represent photography at its purest. Ambrose Vevers (40) uses traditional woodworking techniques to bring out the natural colour of wood. While such shades are muted, they are no less striking when combined with the intricate patterns and textures that result

when the grain is revealed. Artist Sophie Velzian (49) draws her colour palette from nature, and in particular from the banks of the River Helford. Turning alchemist in her studio, she mixes pigmented oil paints and cold wax into a paste, building up layers over time and cutting in with drips of solvent to create her signature droplets, which then expose the colour beneath. Master printmakers Gillian Cooper, Sara Bevan and Graham Black’s work (77) showcases the diversity of the medium reflecting the richness of tone in both colour and monochrome, while potter Jack Doherty (86) employs soda-firing techniques to manipulate a dramatic range of colour using copper. This diversity of both figurative and emotional colour composition fills the coming pages in unashamed technicolour.

Our contributors

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Mercedes Smith

WILLOW LODGE | ST AGNES | GUIDE PRICE

£1,600,000

A beautifully presented property displaying a wealth of period features. Willow Lodge enjoys convenient access to Chapel Porth beach and impressive coastal views towards St Ives.

POLVADHI

| MAWNAN SMITH | GUIDE PRICE

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A 1930’s detatched house, recently extended and refurbished by the current owners. The property is set conveniently and enjoys views of the magnificent Helford River.

FOUNDRY LANE | STITHIANS | GUIDE PRICE £1,350,000

A rare opportunity to acquire a newly built, state-of-the-art contemporary home in rural Cornwall. This beautifully designed building utilises state of the art technology throughout. It also incorporates four spacious bedrooms, a fully self-contained annex and an integral double garage.

THE OLD VICARAGE | PENDEEN | OIEO £1,400,000

A beautifully restored six bedroomed period vicarage with two independent cottages and a studio. The Old Vicarage, facing South West, beside the Church of St John the Baptist, is bounded by walled gardens. This spacious period home has a broad fronted Cornish granite façade with a slate roof and tall multi-paned sash windows.

cornwall@jackson-stops.co.uk

Handsome Grade-II listed former Georgian vicarage

The Old Vicarage | Padstow | PL28 8RS

£1,400,000 Guide

Located on the immediate outskirts of sought-after picturesque Padstow, The Old Vicarage sits amongst 0.85 acres of gardens and grounds This handsome, GradeII listed former Georgian vicarage dates back to the mid 1800’s and has been the home of our clients since 1996. Cleverly divided, the property now has three independent apartments in conjunction to the main house spread over a generous 5,069 square feet. Situated on the outskirts of Padstow, the house is but a short walk to the vibrant quayside and spectacular beaches of rugged North Cornwall. This is truly an iconic period residence in a fabulous position.

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At a glance

LIGHT FROM THE DARK

Through the lens of Jo Bradford

SIMPLE PLEASURES

Looking ahead to Devon’s MAKE Southwest

40 THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH

A passion for a craft discovered in chilhood

49

WAXING LYRICAL

An artist inspired by the allure of the Helford River

60

LUXURY HOMES

At the pinnacle of the Cornish market

69 FROM PAST TO PRESENT

An exploration into the past at Castle Drogo

77 A TRIO OF PRINTMAKERS

A intriguing exhibition celebrating the discipline of fine art printmaking

86 VOICES OF THE LANDSCAPE

In conversation with Irish potter, Jack Doherty

97 BECOME AN OBJECT

Confirming the enduring vibrancy of sculpture

107 FRESHNESS AND BALANCE

Bottling the essence of Cornwall’s coastline

115 EATING THE RAINBOW

Recipes from chef Kate Attlee

122 EVENTIDE

A final word from Andi Tuck

Light fromTHE DARK

WORDS

BY HANNAH TAPPING

Photographer Jo Bradford’s work captures a moment in time from her analogue dark room, with an intense kaleidoscope of colour.

As master of the cameraless photography method, Jo Bradford has developed a unique, painstaking and highly skilled process of working with analogue darkroom techniques. Using only the primary tools of analogue photography, her work encompasses the full spectrum of colour. Using light and paper, it is essentially the ‘photography’ itself making its own self-portraits.

“I am a colourist at heart, the wellspring for my practice is in recording the essence of the purest colour contained within light. My camera-less photography addresses the relationship between how we view and experience the intangible in an age

increasingly defined by technology. I enjoy exploring the vast, elemental landscape of my home on Dartmoor. I am also very interested in geometric abstraction and colour theory.”

Jo’s meticulous recording of timings and colour combinations are extensively and intricately catalogued so that she can return to these as a starting point for her continued work known as luminograms, tracing light onto light sensitive paper. Countless hours have been spent in her darkroom over a 20-year span, working endlessly with only light, coloured filters, photosensitive paper and time itself to create her finely tuned studies of colour. Her detailed working methods result in photography at its purest.

Jo Bradford - self portrait with light 2022

The light itself is the subject, the result entirely abstract, sometimes described as akin to a Rothko painting. Some of Jo’s more recent work uses instant film to directly expose to light in natural environments as opposed to the darkroom.

“I primarily make work with experimental camera-less photographic mediums such as luminograms, photograms and cliché verre prints in my darkroom. I’m interested in exploring alternative and historical processes, and passionate about my substantial stockpile of out-of-date peelapart polaroid film. I love printmaking and painting for sketching my ideas, so I can occasionally be found making monotypes, screen prints and linocuts or gleefully throwing colour at canvas.”

Born in Hertfordshire and raised in South Africa, Jo received her Master’s in Photography: Critical Practice from Falmouth University in 2004 and since then has exhibited regularly and widely. She has works in many public and private collections and is represented by Eyestorm in the UK. She now lives off-grid on the fringes of Dartmoor, a place from which she draws constant inspiration.

Jo Bradford’s latest exhibition will be at Somerset House for Photo London 2024 from 16th to 19th May in the discovery section with Gina Cross Projects.

jobradford.com

jo_bradford

Violet Magenta’

Ocean Dreams’

Simple PLEASURES

WORDS BY MERCEDES SMITH

Explore the very best in contemporary craft at Devon’s MAKE Southwest this summer.

If you are someone who appreciates art, loves sharing food, and thinks your home should be a place of beauty and ethical expression, I’m guessing you already have a relationship with contemporary craft. If it is a world you haven’t explored yet, let me take you there.

In the heart of Bovey Tracey on the edge of Dartmoor stands MAKE Southwest, one of the UK’s leading contemporary craft galleries. It exhibits the work of more than 300 exceptional makers from across the region, all peer selected for their high quality and sustainable approach to the creation of uniquely beautiful handmade objects. Here in the West, as contemporary craft sees a major resurgence, we are at last developing the kind of reverence for the handmade

that you find in Japan and the East, where functional objects are honoured for their beauty, usefulness and craft lineage.

As a student of Modern Art, even I paid little attention to the crafts until I spent six years working with potters in St Ives, and began to understand the extraordinary level of commitment and skill behind each unassuming pot. “If you have an understanding of how much training, knowledge and work have gone into a single piece of contemporary craft, you can’t help but have a reverence for it,” says MAKE Exhibitions Manager, Flora Pearson. Flora has curated shows here for more than 20 years, and her knowledge of who and what defines craft right now is reflected in MAKE’s endlessly

Handwoven rug, Angie Parker

Catkin bowl, Lizzie Farey

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Jewellery by Cindy Ashbridge

‘Dandelions’, Rosie Sanders

Paul Mounsey

fascinating programme of exhibitions, which have recently included Making It, a showcase of work by emerging regional designers, A Taste of Japan, an exhibition of work by contemporary Japanese potters, and Pulp, an international exhibition of paper art.

“At MAKE our aim is to give people fresh new angles on contemporary craft,” Flora tells me. “Our work is about defining and celebrating making today. We have a really creative community here in the South West and we are always looking to support them, but we also want to inspire people by showing them wonderful new things, and not just things from the South West – we also show a lot of national and international craft as well. It is an important part of our role here to show what’s going on in the wider craft world.” Flora, too, has noticed the increasing interest in craft since the pandemic, and the sea change in attitudes towards the handmade. “Since lockdown especially, people are beginning to appreciate the touch of the maker’s

hand on a craft object,” she says. “For a lot of people, life now is about living more simply, about paring things back. We live in a really complex world, and for many what’s important are things that have been made by hand, things that have a maker that you can meet in person and a story that you can relate to.

“At MAKE we love telling the stories around craft, and every time we have an opportunity to tell those stories we will, because the more people understand the history of contemporary craft, the more value they recognise in it.”

MAKE team member

Imogen Hayes agrees, saying: “I think people are craving a return to the idea of ‘slow’ making, and green credentials are becoming essential now as well.” She tells me about MAKE’s Green Maker Initiative, a voluntary pledge which highlights and supports creatives in the South West who are dedicated to reducing their impact on the environment through their choice of materials and working processes. Commitments like this show the importance that the craft sector

pot, Rob Sollis

places on community, and on a shared ethos: craft has always brought with it the idea of principled making and a sharing of knowledge, a passing down of skills and a taking up of new, more considered approaches to working. “There are often very close-knit relationships in craft,” says Imogen, “between mentors and their apprentices here at MAKE especially. The same is true of craft collectors. Our visitors, though they may just be buying a ceramic bowl or woven basket, are supporting someone’s livelihood and way of life, and they understand that. Those things go hand in hand in buying craft.”

The gallery space at MAKE is, of course, a craft lover’s paradise, offering everything from studio ceramics, textiles, basketry and tableware to jewellery, kinetic art and beautiful books on the practice and history of contemporary craft. I could wander around it for hours, and I do, immersing myself endlessly in fascinating objects of curious design and beauty. For an art and interiors lover like me the temptations are endless, and so I play a little game with Flora and Imogen as we walk and talk. How, I ask

Flora, would she furnish her dream house from the selection of wonderful objects at MAKE? “Starting from the floor up?” she plays along. “I would begin with a work by Angie Parker, one of our rug weavers. She uses traditional weaving methods but is highly contemporary in her practice and works with really beautiful neon colours in unusual combinations.

“Then we have some really strong furniture makers like Christian O’Reilly, and Ambrose Vevers, who is a young woodworker using beautiful green wood, or scorched ash, which is a really sustainable material. Most of our furniture makers use locally felled and fallen wood. On my dining table I would have ceramics by Jodie Crook-Giles, a young potter living and working on Dartmoor who makes beautiful thrown tableware. I also love the work of Imogen Taylor-Noble. Imogen uses locally foraged clay and a woodfired kiln, and she relies on coppicing to fire the kiln, which results in the most gorgeous ash glazes. For the walls we have some exceptional printmakers,” she adds. “I would love a

Alice chair, Christian O’Reilly

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Collaborative works, Takahashi Mcgil and Hilary Burns

‘Every

Rosie Sanders monoprint. Rosie is an amazing botanical artist, and because I love print so much I would also have some Michael Honnor lithographs, and some abstract prints by Anita Reynolds.” Encouraged, I bring Imogen into the game. She gives us a distinctly modern take on the interior, pointing to a ceramic work I’ve been admiring fervently myself. “I’d start with this stunning Rob Sollis bowl,” she says, of a huge piece in matt neon orange that creates an optical illusion, as if the vessel has absolutely no depth. It is a spectacular piece. “And then a sculptural basket by Sarah Le Breton, for the floor,” she adds. And for dining? I ask her. “I’d have furniture by Jo Weadon of Studio Arvor,” she tells me, of a young designermaker who minimises the environmental footprint of her pieces by sourcing only local materials. “I love her work. And I’d have hand carved wooden serving spoons, bowls and platters by Rosie Brewer,” she says, of a maker whose wonderfully tactile

pieces embrace the natural twists, knots and patterns within her materials. I have my own thoughts about the pieces I plan to take home myself: a beautifully understated stem vase by Nix Hawkins; an exquisitely crafted sycamore bowl by Takahashi McGil. Our conversation, though playful, perfectly illustrates the ways in which contemporary craft can enhance the domestic space and allow us to express our own appreciation of beauty and originality. I have always been devoted to beautiful objects. I’ve built my life around appreciating them, so MAKE has become something of a touchstone for me in the last year, a place where I can enjoy the simple pleasure of things designed to make the world a lovelier place.

For opening times, available works and information on MAKE’s current 20 Years in the Making exhibition see www.makesouthwest.org.uk.

makesouthwest.org.uk

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Wooden spoons, Rosie Brewer

Yeshen Venema

The rough SMOOTH the with

WORDS BY ROSIE CATTRELL

Having honed a passion for a craft discovered in childhood, Ambrose Vevers has found a way to share his knowledge with those who seek to find their own creative path.

After a careful look through a collection of thoughtfully shaped wooden pieces, it is clear to me that Ambrose Vevers has a particular talent for recognising and revealing a unique natural beauty that seems to lie in wait, wrapped in the bark of a fallen tree. From stools, chairs and benches right down to chopping boards, spatulas and little scoops, every single piece reflects the individual potential that a single fallen tree can hold, and our conversation takes a path through the woods to the heart of his true calling.

How did your love for working with wood begin?

I grew up playing in the woods. My family owned a small woodland, so I ended up, spending all my free time there. I was allowed to explore the woods and would play around with my dad’s tools.

I used to make things from an early age, whittling things from the age of nine or ten.

I knew I loved working with wood, and when I was growing up, people said ‘you can’t make a career out of being a furniture maker’, but I just persevered. I did go to Falmouth University to study 3D Design, but I was always drawn to wood, never really having had any formal training. I kind of just felt my way and learnt from people around me when it came to certain techniques and processes.

Can you remember the first piece of furniture that you made? Or is there a significant piece from the early days?

I remember going into the woods one day, cutting down some little Hazel sticks and roughly nailing them together, and I just remember carrying the sticks out of the

Ambrose Vevers

TOP In the barn

Sasha Hitchcock

woods and feeling like I’d made this ‘thing’. I’ve always liked making things that can be used and people can enjoy. All my furniture is made to be used, and hopefully will only be cherished more as it ages. It’s made to be used in day-to-day life.

What does it mean to you to work with wood in this way?

I prefer to use traditional techniques and hand tools, which don’t make noise and dust like machinery. There is a simple pleasure in using a sharp hand tool to shape a piece of wood, you can get into this meditative state and get to feel the wood grain direction – when you cut the wood in the right direction you get a very smooth finish and a lovely shaving. This way I can get into a kind of flow state, and it never gets boring. I feel so much more involved with the piece that I’m working on, and it’s important that each one has a hand-finished feel, because that’s what makes them unique. I feel like we’re naturally drawn to things that have been physically made by other humans, like hand-thrown ceramics and works of art, and I just love that each piece of furniture

marks a specific moment in time. I think there’s a real beauty in that.

Tell me about the barn that you built?

So, I built this barn on my family’s woodland when I was in my early twenties, just after I graduated university. This was a huge moment for me actually, and it left me with a wonderful sense of confidence. Everyone thought it was a bit crazy to build a barn that big, but when it was finished I almost felt like I could do anything. It’s become a really special space; I’ve had friends get married here, we sell our Christmas trees from the barn in the winter, and now it’s a workshop from where I can share what I’ve learnt with others who want to make their own furniture.

Talk me through the relationship that your pieces have with this beautiful woodland in which you spend so much time.

All the wood I use is local and mostly from trees that have already been felled, either because they’re overhanging a road or if they’ve come down in a storm,

Design by Millard

Photography by John Hersey Studio

TOP Round top stool

ABOVE

Scorched ash chopping board

TOP Windsor chair

ABOVE

Round top bar stools and Hilary’s chair

Sasha Hitchcock

so they can be quite big – sometimes over 100 years old. Sadly, a lot of these trees end up as firewood, but I know I can make a lot of furniture from one tree alone.

I like to think this offers a little respect to the tree that’s come down. You get to know and understand each tree’s potential really well and I often come across different qualities even within the same species, which makes for really unique pieces. My favourite wood to work with is ash, it’s strong but there’s always such a beautiful grain to it, and a real variety to it. You can also scorch it well with a blowtorch, which creates striking patterns and a tactile surface which can be sealed with oil and wax.

Tell me about your workshops, and what inspired you to share your craft with other aspiring makers.

really treasure, and that holds meaning. Hopefully this has inspired a few people to carry on. Some people will have dabbled in woodwork, while others won’t have had any experience at all, but the workshops give a really good insight into how I make things, which I think opens them up to what is actually possible with a little knowledge.

Do you have any exciting plans for the future?

This is probably one of the most rewarding things I do, lots of people have enjoyed making furniture with me over the years. Initially it was a few of my friends who wanted to learn how to make my furniture which gave me the opportunity to try it out, and I soon realised it was a great idea. I think there’s a real demand at the moment for learning to make your own furniture. Not only do you get the experience of it, but you end up with something that you will

My partner and I, Isla Middleton, are both makers, and while she mainly specialises in linocuts, she also weaves with willow, and at the moment we’re working on some quite big light shades together. It’s quite exciting because it’s a little different and hopefully quite unique. I’ll also be at the Bovey Tracey craft festival from 7th to 9th June and then my courses will start again coming up to September. Meanwhile I’m working on a few commissions for some really big lampshades, which will be a nice challenge, so there’s lots going on!

Places for Ambrose’s workshops can be booked online at www.ambrosevevers. com/course-bookings.

Waxing LYRICAL

WORDS

BY JILLY EASTERBY

An artist inspired by the allure of the Helford River

From Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June, hundreds of Cornish creatives will throw open the doors of their studios and workshops to showcase their skills, peel back their layers of process and share their stories through Open Studios Cornwall, inviting us on a journey of self-discovery that inspires ideas and stimulates the senses.

As we emerge into the light after the darkness of winter and seek out the distinctive orange Os that denote these intriguing spaces – from Mullion to Millbrook and Lamorna to Looe – this popular annual event heralds a cultural awakening as we engage in conversation, dive deep into the human psyche, open our eyes to new worlds, explore the ambit of art forms and embrace the power of creativity to ease the mind and mitigate the relentless pace of modern life. From painting to pottery and woodturning to weaving, in potting sheds and piggeries, chapels and courtyards, Open Studios

Cornwall allows us to view familiar destinations afresh, explore places that we have never visited before and purchase original art and design, direct from a myriad of makers.

A creative life can be a lonely life, with only a ticking clock and a whistling kettle for company during hours spent engaged in artistic pursuit. This year, several clusters have emerged, energised by a spirit of community and collaboration.

One such cluster is the Helford Artists Collective, in Mawnan Smith, which includes six female artists with a shared passion for their local landscape, who work in a variety of mediums, underpinned by mutual support, and have created an Open Studios Cornwall art trail for visitors to follow.

Oil and cold wax artist, Sophie Velzian, paints serene seascapes and alluring abstracts inspired by the eponymous river.

Sophie Velzian

© Ian Kingsnorth

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ABOVE Sophie in her studio

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© Ian Kingsnorth

Fe e l G oo d A gai n

Wa ke u p n ex t t o the oc e a n a t St M i cha el s R eso r t

Whether it is the velvet verdancy of moss at the water’s edge; the brooding skies that declare an imminent deluge or the tangerine blush of a new day, Sophie captures the incandescent light of the Helford River through her expressive use of paint.

A smear of neon pink foretells a summer dawn. A pop of gorse yellow explodes like a rocket from the hedgerows. A vibrant dash of violet imbues the shoreline with a purple haze. The limey zing of lichen illuminates a craggy outcrop. These bold accents combine with moody hues and muted tones to evoke this magical place in all its guises.

“The ebb and flow of the river fascinates me,” Sophie explains. “The sinuous currents offer reflections and shadows, unlike open water, that make interesting shapes, particularly at the beginning and the end of the day. The way that water seems so alive, how it glows and wraps itself around objects, is something I love to paint. There are no people in my paintings, but they are teeming with life, the life of the river and the life that it supports.”

Port Navas. Luminous. Translucent. Shimmer. Sparkle. The preternatural pink of first light. The bubbling cry of the curlew. The muffled quiet of secret creeks.

Sophie has long been inspired by those masters of light and atmosphere, Monet, Turner and Cézanne. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree from the Slade School of Art, a career in user experience design preceded the revival of her interest in painting seascapes while sailing around the west coast of Scotland.

“I always wanted to be an artist when I was young. I had an amazing art teacher at school who introduced me to Peter Lanyon and his abstract landscapes. My tutor at the Slade was the great Phyllida Barlow, who created imposing installations and encouraged audiences to walk around and through them. I still feel their influence in my work today.”

Her work brims with the poetry of place and the language of light. Grebe. Glendurgan. Gweek. Porthgwidden. Polwheveral.

Ever eager to challenge and develop her artistic voice, Sophie has recently been accepted onto the year-long Professional Landscape Artist programme at the renowned Newlyn School of Art. “To be mentored by some of Cornwall’s

leading contemporary artists and explore the rugged environs of West Penwith is an opportunity that I shall relish and learn much from. Like the Helford, it is a terrain with an inherent sense of Cornish past. Archaeology has long piqued my interest and I think the scenes I paint and the way I apply pigment are all about revealing layers of history and a strong sense of place.”

Sophie was also drawn to water as a child. On visits to the seaside, that first glimpse of the sea always made her feel joyful and alive. “I always wanted to live by the sea and Cornwall felt like the place I needed to be.”

In 2020, Sophie and her husband made the life changing decision to make their home in the county. With its sailing waters, thriving creative community and vibrancy during the winter months, Falmouth ticked many boxes as a place to live, but could they find a way of relinquishing their corporate lives in order to settle so far west?

her creek scenes from the heart. Here, the river is calm and clear; the rocky coves with shingle shores that crunch underfoot are studded with Monterey pine trees that tower majestically against the sky in the peaceful solitude.

“I am out on the Helford beaches every day with my rescue dog, Cassie, either taking early morning walks or bathing in the clear, cold water. Swimming in the winter has many benefits but for me, being able to swim at sunrise without having to wake too early is incredibly special. The kaleidoscope of colour and light overhead, and experiencing a new day in the moment, when the sun peeps over the horizon, is exhilarating.

“I am not afraid to immerse myself in weather either and translate its essence onto paper – the milky greens and graphite greys; the hazy hues of daybreak. The semiabstract skies. The light fantastic,” Sophie adds. “Cornwall gets under your skin and I am in deep.”

The answer was resoundingly affirmative as they were drawn to a house on the banks of the Helford River where, in a purposebuilt studio close to the water, Sophie paints

Armed with photographs and the charcoal scratches she has etched in her sketchbook whilst perched on a rocky ledge, Sophie

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‘Sunbeams and Showers, Scott’s Quay’

‘ Shining Waters, Helford’

ABOVE Sophie on one of her favourite Helford beaches with her rescue dog, Cassie. Images: Ian Kingsnorth

returns to her light-filled studio where she turns alchemist, mixing richly pigmented oil paints and cold wax into a soft paste, building up layers over time and cutting in with drips of solvent to create her signature droplets, like raindrops, which then exposes the colour beneath.

Using Arches Huile paper, which fully absorbs the colours while allowing the paint to remain on the surface, Sophie explores different effects, applying thin glazes with a roller to achieve a translucent chalkiness, or a coat of wax, buffed to a sheen, to seal, soften and smooth.

“The wax looks cloudy but dries clear. It also accelerates the drying time – it is touch dry within a few hours – so I can build up layers of pigment more quickly, and that adds a shimmering quality of light. This technique also adds texture, which helps to create a sense of history in the painting and the passage of its development.”

From the titles of her paintings, it is clear to see that Sophie’s aim to convey the essence and emotion of the places she paints is elegantly realised, and that she finds immense joy in her surroundings. ‘Call of

the Creek’ elicits moody winter dawns and dusks, and the sense of travelling back in time as the river narrows, the riverbank closes in, and the ancient woodland encroaches. ‘Polgwidden Tidelines’ relates to the original Cornish name for the beach that lies at the foot of Trebah Garden, the gentle patterns carved on the shingly beach by the winter tides and the tantalising turquoise of the Helford waters. “When the skies are resolutely overcast, the river still glows, uplifting the spirit. I actually love the time of year when winter turns to spring and draw energy from ‘finding the still,’ when blossoms are emerging on the magnolia trees, spring bulbs are starting to show and the soft light is lengthening each day.”

‘River of Life’ is inspired by the imminent arrival of spring and that spirit of new life on a sunny day where everything is sparkling and alive. The view is of Scott’s Quay where tidal arcs and shapes, either as waves on the beach or lines etched by the receding water mark the inevitable passage of time and provide an everyday element of constancy. ‘Sunbeams and Showers’ is a favourite vista and walk, where the creek snakes behind the trees to join the main river and wading birds, throng in the shallows: whimbrels, herons and redshanks. “The light on this particular

day was beautiful – one minute, sun, the next, heavy showers which you could watch travelling up the creek, creating a soft haze of sunbeams.

“Painting is, and always has been, my first love in art. I love painting both expressive and semi-abstract landscapes, and the colours of half-light at the hour in the morning when the day is yet to decide what the weather will be make my heart leap. I am equally obsessed with the shimmer as the light fades and the subtle tapestry of colours it creates in the water and sky.”

This languid landscape, which has inspired so many writers and artists, is reflected in Sophie’s work as she encapsulates its subtle hues and textures at all times of the day and year. Evocative, ethereal, sensory.

“Trees crowd thickly and darkly to the water’s edge, the moss is succulent and green… the mouth of the creek… there

is something of a mystery about it, even now, something of an enchantment,” wrote Daphne du Maurier in Frenchman’s Creek.

As Daphne du Maurier painted with words so Sophie Velzian manifests the enchantment of this majestic estuary with her oils, adroitly capturing this uniquely special watercourse in its beguiling and eternal beauty.

For further information about Open Studios Cornwall, and how to visit Sophie Velzian’s’ studio, the Helford Artists Collective and the hundreds of artists, designers and makers who are participating in this year’s event, visit www.openstudioscornwall.co.uk

Sophie will also be exhibiting her work at Coast Colour Canvas in St Keverne from 27th July to 2nd August 2024.

sophievelzian.co.uk sophievelzian

ELEGANCE Architectural

Where stylish design meets countryside seclusion, yet is just minutes from the coast.

Indulge in the epitome of luxury living at Poledan House, where every detail is meticulously crafted for energy efficiency and to maximise its breath-taking panoramas. This property boasts a reverse-level layout, with the upper floor showcasing an expansive kitchen/dining/sitting room area a space reminiscent of a chic loft apartment. From here there are views stretching across open countryside towards Poldhu Cove and the ocean beyond.

A unique mezzanine-level reception room and three generously proportioned en-suite bedrooms complete the main accommodation, while a self-contained two-bedroom annexe with its own entrance and parking complete what is a hugely versatile property. Step outside and a private landscaped patio envelops the property, offering idyllic alcoves in which to bask in the sun’s embrace. With a sizeable single garage and parking for four cars, convenience seamlessly intertwines with luxury at every turn here.

POLEDAN HOUSE

Guide price: £1.175M

ROHRS

LIVING Exemplary

An exquisite converted barn surrounded by miles of open countryside.

Located in a peaceful setting near St Mabyn, Polglaze Barn has been converted to provide the utmost quality and style. Sympathetically executed, the interiors celebrate the building’s original features, employing traditional materials to dovetail them with contemporary living spaces that exude luxury at every turn.

Features of note include premium Scandinavian Rationel windows and doors, air-source underfloor heating, a wood stove, four bedrooms, four beautiful bathrooms (two en suite), original quarried stone and granite detailing. A large L-shaped kitchen, dining and sitting room is as well suited to entertaining as it is to relaxing, and, as you head outside, a garage and double carport provide space for collectors and hobbyists to operate away from the main living space. With the rolling Cornish countryside beyond, there’s little left to be desired from this exemplary rural home.

POLGLAZE BARN

Guide price: £860,000

JACKIE STANLEY

01841 532555 sales@jackie-stanley.co.uk

LIVING Luxury coastal

This impeccably presented and detached Victorian house occupies an elevated position above Port Isaac harbour, with far-reaching views.

With six bedrooms, three bathrooms, recently refurbished contemporary interiors and impressive views of Port Isaac’s fishing harbour, Valencia House epitomises what life on the north coast is all about.

Outside, a lawned garden offers a large, sea-facing patio, perfect for morning coffees, afternoon barbeques and sipping sundowners. When the sun sets, head inside and settle by the fireplace, admiring the property’s original features including slate flagstone floors, original fireplaces and mouldings.

With history as a successful holiday let, this impeccably presented detached Victorian house would make an equally desirable permanent residence, suited to anybody in pursuit of north Cornwall’s coveted coastal lifestyle.

VALENCIA HOUSE Guide price: £1.25M

PERFECTION A picture of

A beautifully restored six-bedroom period vicarage with two independent cottages and a studio.

Seemingly paused in time, this enchanting period home has been carefully restored in recent years to accommodate a new roof, full double glazing and oil-fired central heating. The south-facing entrance to the house leads into a welcoming reception hall floored with the original tiling and complete with a high ceiling featuring a beautiful archway. Tall windows looking out into the surrounding gardens are dotted through the ground floor, illuminating the kitchen, study, dining room and spacious sitting room complete with original features.

Up the wide staircase sit six enchanting bedrooms, five with views out over the garden and one with a views out to sea, all with period fireplaces and high ceilings, with the family bathroom at the rear of the house. The converted accommodation around the house provides sleeping space for two in The Studio, two in Arch Cottage, and a further four in The Stables, each one finished to a very high standard.

THE OLD VICARAGE

Guide price: £1.4M

JACKSON-STOPS 01872 261160

cornwall@jackson-stops.co.uk

From past TO PRESENT

WORDS BY ROSIE CATTRELL | IMAGES © NATIONAL TRUST

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

Perched high above the River Teign, Castle Drogo is a remarkable blend of medieval design and modern engineering.

Castle Drogo, situated on the fringes of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England, stands as a testament to the Edwardian era’s architectural grandeur and the vision of its creator, Sir Edwin Lutyens. Completed in 1930, this imposing fortress-like structure is the last castle to have been built in England and is renowned for its commanding presence amidst the rugged beauty of the Dartmoor landscape.

Lutyens, a master architect of his time, incorporated both traditional and innovative techniques in its construction. The castle’s exterior boasts a striking granite façade, evoking a sense of strength and permanence, while its interiors showcase a fusion of medieval-inspired

décor and early 20th-century luxury. Stepping through the castle’s imposing gates, visitors are transported back in time to an era of opulence and refinement. The Great Hall, with its intricately carved oak panelling and majestic fireplace, exudes an atmosphere of medieval splendour, while the Drawing Room offers a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the castle’s inhabitants.

Commissioned by Julius Drewe, a wealthy businessman and founder of the Home and Colonial Stores, the castle was intended to be a family home that would reflect Drewe’s status and aspirations. However, its construction proved to be a monumental undertaking, fraught with challenges ranging from logistical issues to financial constraints. Situated on a

PREVIOUS & INSET

Exterior view of Castle Drogo after the major conservation work

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

TOP LEFT

A doorway into history

TOP RIGHT

Preserved for generations to come

©National Trust Images/Isabelle Hepworth

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

©National Trust Images/Isabelle Hepwo

ABOVE Garden pathway

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

LEFT

Aerial view of the formal Rose Garden

TOP Fingle Bridge seen from the Fisherman’s Path in May

©National Trust Images/David Sellman

©National Trust Images/John Millar

ABOVE The Drogo Weir on the River Teign

granite outcrop high on Dartmoor, it was exposed to strong wind and rain from the start. Flaws in the original construction mean that significant amounts of water penetrated the roof, windows and pointing. In fact, Castle Drogo leaked before it was finishes.

After 100 years of water ingress, leaks and damage a restoration project was urgently needed to bring the castle back to life. The restoration of Castle Drogo stands as a monumental endeavour by the National Trust to preserve one of England’s most iconic architectural treasures. Beginning in 2013 and continuing for five years, this ambitious project aimed to address the structural issues plaguing the castle, ensuring its survival for generations to come.

was assembled, drawing on both centuriesold techniques and modern innovations. One of the most significant aspects of the restoration was the replacement of Castle Drogo’s entire roof. The new roof, meticulously crafted to match the original in both appearance and function, provided much-needed protection from the elements while preserving the castle’s architectural integrity. In addition to addressing structural issues, the restoration project also sought to enhance the visitor experience at Castle Drogo. New displays and exhibits were introduced, offering insights into the history and significance of the castle, while improved accessibility measures were implemented to ensure that all visitors could fully appreciate its wonders.

At the heart of the restoration effort was a comprehensive assessment of the castle’s condition. Years of exposure to the elements had taken their toll, with water ingress causing extensive damage to the granite structure. Cracks had formed in the walls, and the roof was in dire need of repair.

To combat these challenges, a team of skilled craftsmen and conservation experts

The completion of the restoration of Castle Drogo in 2018, marked a triumph of dedication, skill, and perseverance. Today, visitors to the castle have a newfound appreciation for this architectural icon. As a symbol of both past and present, it stands as a reminder of the enduring legacy of those who dared to dream and strive for greatness

The finished result after nine years of conservation work

RIGHT Castle Drogo from the air

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

©National Trust Images/James Dobson

PRINTMAKERS A Trioof

WORDS

BY LUCY STUDLEY

An intriguing exhibition brings together three artists all working in the discipline of fine art printmaking, yet with vastly different approaches.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the phrase, ‘Three printmakers walk into a bar’, sounds like the beginning of a joke, but in this case it’s the start of something beautiful. From 1 April to 10 June, work from three of Cornwall’s master printmakersGillian Cooper, Sara Bevan and Graham Black – can be seen hanging together at the renowned small seaside hotel in Mousehole, The Old Coastguard. The ‘living gallery’ format of showing work in bustling, colourful, and peopled surroundings is inspired, allowing guests eating and drinking at The Old Coastguard to see art as it might appear in their home. For hotel co-owner, Charles Inkin, it also makes engagement with the

local art scene much more accessible to the public.

“Visitors to Cornwall don’t always have the bandwidth to visit our wonderful local galleries, so we like to bring contemporary Cornish art to them here. Equally, locals popping in for a drink might discover a new favourite artist who they can visit during Open Studios week in May, or seek out in one of the many galleries in Mousehole, Newlyn, or Penzance.” With A Trio of Printmakers, The Old Coastguard continues its reputation for clever curation in an unexpected setting. The three talented fine art printmakers have been chosen to showcase the incredible

‘Pedn Vounder’, Graham Black

ABOVE

‘Cape Cornwall’ Sara Bevan, monotype 19.5x19.5cm

TOP

‘Muddy Track’, Sara Bevan, monoprint 14.5x14.5cm

TOP RIGHT

Work by Sara Bevan

diversity of the medium, and the richness of contemporary Cornish printing practice.

It’s an age-old craft, and Penwith has a fine history of producing noteworthy printmakers. From 18th-century topographical lithographs to etchings by Newlyn School artists, printmaking has always gone hand-in-hand with painting in this part of the world. Alfred Hartley and his shortlived New Print Society in St Ives witnessed a boom in the popularity of printmaking in the 1920s. Later in the 20th century, forays into printing of renowned artists such as Terry Frost and Patrick Heron continued the conversation between printmaking and painting, abstraction, and landscape. Figures such as Anthony Frost, Sheila Oliner and Bob Crossley followed in their footsteps as accomplished local printmakers working across various sub-disciplines.

contemporaries. “The arts community in Penwith is incredibly active and supportive,” explains Gillian Cooper, one of the printmakers featured in this show. “Many of us take an experimental approach in our work, constantly exploring new methods and techniques. So, to meet with other artists – be that at open studios or exhibitions like this one – to exchange ideas and tap into their experience, is really valuable.”

Printmaking is both a traditional and cuttingedge discipline. It’s a catch-all term which covers a huge variety of processes, and our ‘trio of printmakers’ each revel in the fact that they are still learning new skills and tricks all the time.

For the current generation of artists making their mark in Penwith, the importance of this rich heritage as a source of inspiration is matched only by interaction with their

Sara Bevan is both a painter and a printmaker, who works from her home studio perched on the cliffs overlooking Sennen in the furthest reaches of West Cornwall. Despite her coastal vantage point, it is assuredly the land rather than the sea that captivates Sara’s artistic imagination. “I love depicting wild hedgerows, rugged moorland and big skies,” says Sara. “The intricate textures of ancient hedges, the myriad shades

Gillian Cooper

‘Feather Nest I’, Gillian Cooper monotype 21x21cm

‘Xray Nest’, Gillian Cooper, cyanotype, 19.5x24cm

‘Sepia Nest’, Gillian Cooper monotype 17x17cm

ABOVE

TOP LEFT

TOP RIGHT

of greens and browns, and the popping yellow of gorse flowers in the sun is my world.”

Both her paintings and prints explore linear elements within the landscape, giving them a strong, rhythmic formal power. Hedges – Cornish or otherwisefences, streams, paths, farm tracks, and powerlines bring a natural framework and cohesion to her gestural mark making.

Sara’s beautiful sketchbooks are a repository of inspiration, and it’s from these that she works up both her mixed media paintings and monotype prints back in the studio. In monotype printing, ink is applied to a plastic-coated card plate. Sara uses various tools including paintbrushes, cotton buds, sticks, twigs, and rags – basically anything that is to hand – to create new marks and texture. She works quickly, and her painterly style of manipulating the ink successfully captures the energy and sensations of being in the landscape. When ready, the plate is placed on a printing bed with paper laid on top. This is then fed through a printing press to transfer the ink onto the paper. Working in this way, each of Sara’s prints is unique.

Meanwhile, Gillian Cooper’s printmaking practice is constantly evolving. Like Sara, her work is made in response to the natural world, but is more focused on the rich minutiae of nature – wildflowers, shells, or feathers, for example. From cyanotypes – a photographic printmaking process which produces a distinctive blue colour – she has moved recently to sepia monotypes, but experimentation is never far from the surface.

“I started drawing again quite recently, and that led me to my current phase of printmaking, which is all about nests,” explains Gillian.

“I’d found the most beautiful tiny bird’s nest – it was like an intricate piece of three-dimensional art created with simple twigs, lichen and feathers. It was a serendipitous find, as my work seeks to express wonder in how simple forms can act as poignant metaphors – in this case for shelter, nurture, connection, loss, and the relentless passage of time.”

Gillian’s semi-figurative language of mark making is incredibly powerful and emotive, the starkness leaving plenty of space for individual interpretation. “Talking about the nest series always provokes a range

Sara Bevan, Gillian Cooper, Graham Black

ABOVE

‘Sandbar at Sennen’, Graham Black

of interesting responses,” says Gillian. “For some people, it brings to mind their children – from the ‘nesting’ of new parenthood to ‘flying the nest’ in emerging adulthood. For others, it’s anything from migration to loss, or simply the feeling of coming home. I like to leave my work with a slight sense of interruption, that it’s halfmade or perhaps even unravelling. The finishing of the work rests with the viewer.”

The final printmaker in the trio is Falmouth University lecturer, and member of Cornwall Crafts Association, Graham Black. These days Graham’s work is vivid and bold in colour, but these saturated blues, yellows and oranges have only crept in recently, as he explains: “I left my job as an art director in London and moved to near Land’s End. Gradually, bright colour began to seep into my practice as if by osmosis. Like so many artists before me, my work is deeply rooted in the local landscape but in an increasingly abstract way, and these bold colours are part of that celebratory response.”

creates textures inspired by the ancient granite monoliths and cliffs of Penwith, their surfaces inscribed by the wind and water of countless centuries. The pieces of film are then exposed directly onto screens. Graham has a library of these textured screens which he combines with hand-cut paper stencils, creating textural fields and building up layers of colour with varying transparency of ink, using multiple overlays to create a painterly effect. The result is a powerful combination of colour, texture, and raw form, which is almost musical in its resonance.

Three very different fine art printers, who all take the Cornish landscape as their central subject matter in one form or another – as have many generations of artists before them. Their joint exhibition at The Old Coastguard showcases the diversity of the medium, and the depth of contemporary talent. Perhaps we’re living through a golden age of printmaking once again - a discipline marrying tradition and innovation, which keeps alive the indelible mark of the maker in the digital age.

Graham uses the silkscreen method of printing, which was originally developed for use in advertising. Using Trugrain film as a canvas, he draws, paints, and

A Trio of Printmakers is at The Old Coastguard in Mousehole until 9th June.

Graham Black

Voices of the LANDSCAPE

WORDS BY HANNAH TAPPING | IMAGES BY STEVE TANNER

In conversation with Irish potter Jack

Doherty, whose work takes its narrative from ancient and elemental forms resulting in vessels that reflect both time and place.

Working from his studio in Cornwall, Jack’s porcelain vessel forms are thrown on the potter’s wheel, carved and shaped while the clay is soft. The elemental colours of smoke grey, lemon, russet and turquoise are created by a firing process that combines flame and soda in the intense white heat of the kiln. The pots are figurative on many levels. The individual forms, both large and small, each have their own character, particular emotional range and response, while all having a connection as part of the group with which they are fired.

Lulled by Jack’s gentle Irish lilt, I am intrigued to learn a little of his background,

so ask him to talk me through his formative years as a potter. “I was born in Co Derry and am a ceramic artist with a studio in Penzance. I have been practising now since I trained in ceramics at the Ulster College of Art and Design, Belfast. I came to Cornwall in 2008 as the first Lead Potter and Creative Director at the restored Leach Pottery in St Ives, where I set up the new production studio. I worked there for five years, before moving to my own studio space in Mousehole and then on to our current studio and gallery at Trinity House, Penzance. Here I have a specialist porcelain studio where I draw and create my exhibition pieces. We also have a workshop at New Mill where we make our range of domestic ceramics. All the production, clay preparation and firing take place there.”

Jack Doherty

The form and colour of Jack’s work is reminiscent of Cornwall’s landscape and I’m curious as to where his inspiration is drawn: “It certainly spans a very long period of time. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the vessel form. So, while my pots are sculptural pieces in one sense, they’re functional forms in another. I look at the place of everyday objects used across the world and these forms inspire my work. Over time, I have stripped down the ingredients and techniques that I employ and now use one clay, one colouring mineral and one firing process. These choices are interestingly informed by the local landscape. China clay is a part of the porcelain I use, and copper is my mineral of choice. Copper was mined prolifically across Cornwall, and the ensuing colours from my soda-firing technique are similar to those seen when minerals leach from deep within the ground. The combination of this, along with the firing, allows me to develop my own colour palette that reflect the voices of the landscape.”

Jack continues: “I make forms inspired by pre-historic pots, as far back as the Neolithic age. Beginning with the idea of function, but then taking it beyond, to where the boundary between form and utility cross. Our New Mill studio is just along the road from an Iron-age village. I find a sense of timelessness here amidst this pagan landscape. I look at the objects that were discovered here and wonder: what were they used for, how were they made? These ancient vessels had multiple functions; used in daily life, but also taken to the next life. Today, I think that the need for functional ceramic pieces has probably

changed, but I feel that there remains an emotional and spiritual connection between us and the objects that we use every day.”

“The simple bowl is the most archetypal of pottery forms and the most elemental of shapes that informs my work. It has the capacity for holding, containing and storing” says Jack. “I’m fascinated by the cultural idea of objects. For example, the way that domestic pots are used for cooking and nurturing. They keep people safe by preserving and protecting food or by caring for precious items. Developing the theme of containing and holding, I make keeper forms with a tiny lid, while non-functional, they are designed for storing thoughts, ideas and intangible things. I refer to my larger pieces as Guardian vessels. Their shape and size invite cradling; often people feel compelled to put their arms around them. There’s a range of ideas and scale across all my work.”

The depth of range in colour and surface texture on the vessel forms is both unique and intense. “I discovered this way of working some years ago,” explains Jack, “after experimenting with different ways of using soda-firing. I began introducing copper and had never seen the resulting colour combinations before. It took a lot of attempts, re-firing the kiln trying to work out what I was doing, but I finally worked out a system. I use a gas catenary kiln and don’t apply a conventional glaze. Instead, I use copper carbonate dissolved into a liquid porcelain slip which is then applied to the pots in layers. By diluting sodium bicarbonate in water and introducing that into the kiln at a very high temperature,

it reacts with the copper and porcelain to produce this dramatic range of colour.”

“In ceramics, copper is a very volatile substance and gives me a range of colour depending on how I manage the firing. I now have a palette of colour that I know I can achieve. There will always be some little variations but it’s now controllable to a point where I can produce varying tones of colour in different ways. However, there’s still an unexpectedness about the way that the forms relate to one another within the kiln environment. The pots are dry when they are introduced to the kiln – there’s no bisque firing – and so at this stage they have an egg-shell vulnerability. Each pot goes through a single firing, and it is an intense and hugely pivotal process.”

“I’ve just fired a kiln for an exhibition that contained some of the largest pieces I’ve ever made,” explains Jack. “The firing lasted about 17 hours, during which I had to be in complete control as the interior of the kiln had a turbulent atmosphere. It’s not something you can be switched off from and leave, I have to be constantly tuned in. There’s a lot of tension at the firing stage as I must retain a connection with the fire and flame, and the way the colours are developing.”

“I check the kiln every 15 minutes – I’m checking the temperature and I’m checking the direction of the flames. The final hour and a half of the firing process is the tensest, and I’ll be spraying the sodium solution through various opening points. Combined with the white heat of the kiln it creates a very dramatic situation. The transformative nature of fire acts as a catalyst. If you look into the kiln you can see the sodium touching the pots, etching its way into the surface. The vessels themselves tell the story of the firing both in the way that I group them together, and from the relationship they have with each other inside the kiln. For example, the shadow of one pot may make a mark on another. The vessels are fired as a ‘family’ there will be a range of sizes and proportions, but each one will relate to the next.”

The Doherty Porcelain gallery and studio can be found in the 19th-century former Trinity House depot on the quay of Penzance harbour. It is an iconic building with a unique history and was previously the National Lighthouse Museum. Jack is from a fishing and seafaring family on the north coast of Ireland. With his personal connection to the sea, it seems fitting that the buildings are connected to Jack’s past.

Where flame interacts with form

Jack works in creative collaboration with his partner Sarah to show his internationally acclaimed porcelain vessels. Sarah has a background in theatre and studied for her MA in Curatorial Practice at Falmouth University. She tells me: “As a curator I am very interested in the idea of storytelling and visual narrative. When we first started working together, Jack’s pots were displayed in our home, the concept of place and protection was very much part of an exhibition we created there. Unlike a painting or sculpture, Jack’s vessels are not static, they come to life seen in shifting moments of light and shadow.”

“Since finding Trinity House, we have continued the idea of a living-working space. When people visit, we like them to experience the work in natural light and want them to interact with and experience

the work in a different way to how they would in a more traditional gallery space. There’s a story behind every pot and the way we show the work. In the future we have plans to develop what we do in the gallery by hosting related workshops and events. We are currently working on our online Spring Collection opening in May and planning our summer exhibition.”

As well as exhibiting at Trinity House and various galleries in Cornwall and across the UK, Jack produces two collections of new work for sale online. All the details are available on the website. The gallery and studio is open Wedesday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm. Other days and times by appointment.

OBJECT Become an

WORDS BY MARTIN HOLMAN

After millennia of development, what is the purpose of sculpture today? Four artists explore materiality and unexpected outcomes to confirm the artform’s enduring vibrancy.

What is the role of sculpture today? The world has never been more crowded – with people, things and places, but also ways to make, look, document, communicate. The ancient functions of sculpture in religion, commemoration, representation (of people, animals) and decoration now seem redundant. So what place does this artform occupy now? Indeed, does “sculpture” exist as a specific branch of the visual arts? In contemporary practice, the lack of a clear purpose is both the idiom’s difficulty and strength. Artists have been rethinking its value for decades – one sign alone of sculpture’s validity. They view its usefulness in society or the wilder culture, benefiting from its emancipation from expectations. Sculpture shifts shape, busts categories, spans substance and absence, tangibility and nothingness, form and shapelessness. Above all, it is the site of constant research and experiment.

As artists commit to making, the outcomes often surprise them. This exhibition at the gallery in Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens

PREVIOUS

Jonathan Michael Ray, Fantasma (2024), enamel paint on fossil stone, found church kneeler, wood, 28 cm (diameter)

explores the diversity of routes available to maker and viewer alike through the radically different practices and interests of four artists. Will Cruickshank is based in Devon, Jemma Egan in London, Jesse Pollock in Kent and Jonathan Michael Ray in Cornwall.

For Will Cruickshank, the dynamics of production are fundamental to his work. They determine form, scale and even potential meanings. Within the broad sculptural parameters that he sets himself, the shape of an object is unknown at the outset. It assumes form and surface as the artist follows his materials, battling with their characteristics and being surprised. His primary material is spun yarn. Its durability, tenacity, flexibility, softness, resilience and colour-bearing appeal to him technically, because it can be manipulated by makeshift technology. No rational system governs the chromatic outcome of his Spliced Spindles (2019). He chooses from random overstocks of thread from a local factory and cannot predict the colours or textures he will receive. Some basic selection occurs but he often

loses track of which threads he has fed into the spinning.

So he anticipates with excitement the “butterfly moment” when the thread is cut open with a steel knife to reveal an interior pattern, arrived at by chance. The full array of internal patterns appears from the chrysalis of the wound object. At first, however, the outcome was momentary: the threads quickly fell away to nothing. He then improvised a method of stitching the thread in place so that the interwoven colours remained in place.

He did not fall into using textiles by design; he began by carving wood. Out of curiosity he wrapped geometrically-shaped carvings with yarn. He had liked the quilted pattern on spool cones and that was his starting point. Initially, winding was manual and arduous. The process quickly moved on to machinery he constructs himself. His first lathe for turning wood spindles and related objects utilised a cement mixer’s motor. His

studio now houses numerous self-made devices with varying capacities, speeds and uses – for winding, carving, cutting. To complete Wound Frame No. 4 (2022), the diameter was partly determined by the limits up to which his machines can still wind and turn. Studio space and technical ingenuity lie at the heart of subsequent developments.

For him, yarn is principally one more art material. Comprising parallel chromatic bands, symmetrical arrangements such as Inside Out (2023) highlight flatness, line and physical shape, like a modernist abstract canvas. Spooled by machine and carefully removed, the threads are nailed flat to horizontal wooden rods and mounted on the wall. That manoeuvre gives taut, even pictorial form to the shapeless loop, the sculptural element. If unfastened, the parts would return to loose skeins. Improvisation also guides him through types of making: “When I reach a point where the work is getting predictable, I see where to go next. There is a risk in over-refining things: you

Will Cruickshank, ‘Wound Frame No. 4’ (2022), mixed yarn and wood, 77 x 77 x 70 cm

can get too skilful. That’s when the work can get a bit flat.” So he’ll find a way out of that position, or it arrives by chance.

The spiky-sided Large Flask and Husk (both 2018) materialised from an experiment that went wrong. Washing blocks intended as plinths to display other works, the pressure hose loosened the structure of plaster and sawdust, eroding the form to expose random coloured threads imbedded in the plaster. A new sculptural process was the result and strengthened. “The bolder and more aggressive you can be,” Cruikshank reflects, “the better the results.” Physical energy is an important factor, too, for Jesse Pollock and the shapes his sculpture assumes. Heat and fire are involved in melting the aluminium he uses, which he likens to working with magma, the molten natural material at the planet’s core. “Heat is doing the work, warping, melting, pooling metal into chewing-gum puddles,” he says. “But I’m the

decider, I force things into place. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll hit it or cut it.”

To retain a sense of their fluid origins, Pollock casts objects in sand moulds. Like Cruickshank, he is wary of a precise finish because the world is not neatly edged but volatile and chaotic. He creates within that realisation. His skulls like EMBRACE or SILENCE (both 2023) emerge from blocks of aluminium modelled by plasma cutting with superheated, electrically ionised gas. As well as making the process of production evident, Pollock stresses the repetitive nature of making, such as hammering to achieve the abraded, shaken up and muchhandled surfaces he seeks.

Prior to casting aluminium in 2022, he cut shapes from sheets of the material. In Sheer Teeth (2024), made especially for this show, he revisits the laborious technique of nibbling strips with a tool before applying

ABOVE LEFT Will Cruickshank,’Pink Flask’ (2018), plaster, pigment, thread, metal, 62 cm (height)

RIGHT

Cruikshank

long welds to fix them together. Many then resembled domestic objects out of kilter with reality. Flagons, stiles, steps and a granary on staddle stones (a public sculpture still on view in the City of London) were derived from the rural periphery to his childhood surroundings in Kent’s Medway towns.

He says that borrowing shapes from familiar, functional objects “connects with people who have not thought about sculpture before.” Planning his objects in his studio, their shapes loomed larger in his imagination, prompting their unnatural scale and heightened colour. As he says, they were “hyped up, futuristically.” Using powdercoated coloured metal, especially the virulent “candy orange” that sheets are supplied in, also exaggerated the original idea.

Contemplation defines an artist’s studio existence. To dwell productively on possibilities, Pollock contends, it is best to sit down, figure out the next step and act ingeniously rather than re-tread wellworn, “cheap” and reassuring tactics. His opinion applies equally to art and society. For him, the two are interconnected. “I

intend my work to exist in the now,” he said in a recent interview, “speaking to current events in society and to political conditions.” He admits to unease with certain nostalgic traits that colour our perceptions of the past at the national level, defy historical fact yet influence decisions taken collectively about a community’s future.

Contained in Pollock’s work is a metaphor for human existence and the world we live in. While it is not the full story, life’s contradictions and prejudices, its humour and inventiveness concern him deeply. The skeleton encapsulates that array, being “deadly serious”, grotesque and jokey. The largest, called BLISS (2023), is seated, at rest and maybe thinking; it has a weird grin. Are we sleep-walking towards a rude awakening?

He first adopted the skull as a way of bringing the figure into his imagery. Britain was emerging hesitantly from the pandemic, a frightening period when nations moved fast to find a cure and, thus, survive. Pollock wants his skeletons to appear alive. But what does “bliss” suggest? A state of happiness? Or ignorance? The composition is certainly provocative, offering no clear answer but settled in its uncertainty, a state of being many are reluctant to accept.

Jesse Pollock, ‘SILENCE’ (2023), powder-coated aluminium, 25 x 16 x 24 cm

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Jesse Pollock with ‘BLISS’ (2023), powder-coated aluminium

ABOVE

Jemma Egan, ‘I had a little play with him today and absolutely fell in love all over again’ (2019-24) (detail), pewter, dimensions variable

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Jonathan Michael Ray, Portal (2024), enamel paint on slate, wool, steel, 65 x 75 x 75 cm

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Jonathan Michael Ray

Jemma Egan’s three Imposters (2021) are also, indirectly, products of the pandemic. During lockdowns, limited access to exercise outside her upstairs flat took her past houses where, despite open space being a rare asset in the city, she was surprised that garden furniture and pizza ovens remained covered and unused. An amalgam of those sightings led to these ungainly and endearing figures. They inevitably recall domestic environments where attachments are made (literally and emotionally) to inanimate objects. Like the face humanising a Henry vacuum cleaner, these bizarre surrogates are admitted to our homes – we might even mourn their passing like a friend’s.

A sense of the ridiculous is embedded in all Egan’s work: viewers identify with it and may feel relieved that art’s presumed seriousness has slipped. The Imposters refer to public sculpture, the bronze statuary on plinths (many forgotten) that take up space in towns across the country. Egan’s response is distinctively tongue-in-cheek: flimsy modern sculptures with anthropomorphic undertones masquerading as something robust and permanent. They resemble solid forms but are loose synthetic canvas covers over wood armatures hidden from sight. And, with all that, the art remains, vividly leavened by the push-and-pull between unattainable culture and real life. All the artists in this show question the forms art can take. Theirs is not a search for “newness” but earnest recognition that the materials and techniques available to earlier generations are either superseded today by modern technologies or out of the price range of contemporary practitioners.

That reality partly accounts for Egan’s choices. She does not set out to make funny sculpture: “I am interested in everyday, somewhat mundane things, perhaps seen in a garden or the street. I find them spectacular in some way: I walk past them and keep coming back for another look.” She then positions them in the art realm where they gently poke at tradition while refocussing the parameters of art’s subject matter on the exceptional in the everyday. “All my work refers to me and my background,” she says, referring to growing up in working-class Liverpool. Art was not part of her family upbringing although at school ‘copying’ was her favourite activity in art class. She recalls copying Picasso’s Weeping Woman (1937) from a reproduction, then discovering the original in the Tate was much smaller than she had imagined it.

The contrast between real and “fake” still interests her. The log-like shape titled Lum ber (2023) is not tree-hard but soft like the bag it resembles. Indeed, handles mean its weight can be shared between carriers. Not only are physical expectations played with, wordplay occurs too. Baggage implies contents; people are said to be lumbered with emotional baggage. Shredded bureaucratic documents pad the sculpture relating to tedious immigration wrangles. But her audience can neither see them nor know their content: concealment is part of the ongoing masquerade with the outside world that these objects perform and highlight.

“I’ve always moved around a lot. So I often use materials around me and which I don’t need to buy.” She learns techniques as she works with a broad range of media. After

Lum ber, for example, she took a garmentmaking course. While living in Toronto she did not have a studio so making art videos with her computer was a practical solution. At London’s Royal College of Art, she relished time in the foundry. The small disarming object Stella (2015) is cast in hard bronze, a material associated with grand sculptural statements.

Why Stella? The title refers to Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman in the US who successfully sued McDonalds in a celebrated lawsuit in 1994. She had suffered third-degree burns when hot coffee spilled over her lap when she removed the cup lid.

The work replicates a plastic lid that Egan found by chance in Canada (hence the French script). Crushed and discarded, it looked like a face. The form spoke volumes to her. She photographed the lid where it lay and then went back later to retrieve the actual object. That photograph became the basis of a three-dimensional scan that, once printed, formed the mould for casting with the lost-wax method that dates back several millennia. Pewter is a soft metal with a shiny finish; poured into moulds it is shaped easily by hand tools. That process produced the numerous miniature dogs that comprise I had a little play with him today and absolutely fell in love all over again (2019). Its origin also lies in Egan’s attraction to offbeat consequences of human behaviour – here, the 1990s craze for Sony AIBO robotic dogs, expensive metal devices adopted as substitute animal companions by their owners.

There are often many layers in Jonathan Michael Ray’s work; “it looks deeper into the material than just the polished surface,” he says. Materials have always been his starting point. House bricks, several types of slate and granite, serpentine stone, glass and lead, chalk, limestone, windfall oak, wax, seashells and discarded objects found on the Thames foreshore have featured in recent years. Ray also employs photography, film, engraving, drawing, cutting, grinding, polishing, sanding and incising. His career provides a definition of the term “multidisciplinary”. “There are often many layers of reference in my work,” he says. Within the dense, tactile solidity of stone, Ray perceives a multitude of stories.

In colour, texture, weight and shape, he draws out signs of the passage of time and the natural forces that have modelled the physical properties of these substances.

The form might outwardly be simple, like the orb in Fántasma (2024). Its surface is traversed by etched lines drawn out by ivory enamel. Their significance at first seems impenetrable. Careful looking reveals that they pick out the stone’s composition in colour and fossils, as if registering the exploratory trajectory of the eye or hand in graphic form. The title comes from the Greek word for “apparition”: “The markings appeared to me to make the orb look gaseous or cloud-like in contrast to its solid and heavy form,” Ray points out. “Some stones tell you what they want and with others you can put something on it.”

He imports the inspiration he feels from another spherical artwork, the so-called

Jemma Egan

Magic Sphere of Helios, the sun god, seen in Athens’s Acropolis museum. Constructed in the 6th century BC, it may have been an ancient spirit house, a type of stone or jewel that could hold a spirit. Ray explores that mystery in his own work, separating it from the everyday present.

“There is something futuristic about the very ancient,” he says, a view encapsulated in Portal (2024), created specifically for this show. Slate blocks, piled in a column, imply various typologies: a standing stone survival from earlier times such as populate parts of Cornwall or a modern energy generator. As with those possibilities, its purpose is lost in translation to the gallery. Each block is inscribed and the patterns possibly connect, but what do they mean? In fact, Ray has borrowed a recent language that is now largely defunct, the schematics from 1969 of the Intel 4004, the first commercially produced microprocessor. Supplanted by multiple generations of more powerful successors and discontinued before Ray was born, what device will read

its data now? Yet the language forms the basis of the microprocessor revolution powering the digital age.

Like many artists, literary science fiction influences his approach. He salvaged fragments of stained glass where the stories or commemorations the windows had once visualised have been blown asunder by dereliction and destruction. Pieced together in a random, abstract fashion, images like Golden Vortex (2023) now unwittingly project the very picture of disorder. New myths that arise from imagination and misapprehension, Ray implies, unleash new creativity. That conviction provides the cornerstone of every sculpture in this exhibition.

Become an Object continues at Tremenheere Gallery, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, near Gulval, Penzance, until 1 June 2024. The exhibition is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation. tremenheere.co.uk

ABOVE Imposter’ nos. 2, 3 and 1 (all 2021), polyester canvas, wood, dimensions variable. Installation at Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer. Photography by Rob Harris

SHOW HOME OPEN TUESDAY - SATURDAY 10am - 5pm

SHOW HOME OPEN TUESDAY - SATURDAY 10am - 5pm

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BALANCE Freshness and

WORDS BY ROSIE CATTRELL

From the crisp zest of cliff-top alexanders to the delicate fragrance of beach roses, Padstow Distilling has found a way to bottle the very essence of Cornwall’s wild and wonderful coastline.

Scents and flavours have the power to transport us through time and place, whether into long-forgotten childhood memories or back to the landscape we know to be home. For Founder of the Padstow Wine Company, David McWilliam, it’s the borders of the Cornish coast that called to his own senses, producing his first gin in 2019 before developing an original barley-based recipe as part of the Padstow Distilling Co, inspired by the natural world around him. It is through this story that he kindly guides us, on a journey through barley fields to the edges of Cornish clifftops, fringed with alexanders.

How important is it to you to be using locally grown and foraged ingredients in your collection of gins?

We see it as the most wonderful opportunity. Not only do we use barley

that grows literally a quarter of a mile from our HQ, but I pick botanicals from the edges of the same fields. We’re very lucky that the produce that grows around us works so well, producing a lovely, bright, crisp taste. There’s a certain amount of curation that has gone into the gin, and we’ve certainly experimented and played around with different flavours and different styles in order to get the one that we think really reflects the region. It seems that increasingly people want to understand that what they’re eating or drinking has actually got some provenance to it.

Tell me about the relationship that your gins have with Cornwall and the landscape in which they were made.

I’ve been visiting Cornwall since I was a child; my grandparents and parents would holiday down here and we’d always take

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The Hawkers Cove rose gin

ABOVE

The barley fields at Gun Point

long walks along the South West Coast Path. I’ve had all that sensory input from childhood, which came back to me when I moved here at 24, and I’ve lived here ever since. So, when we were looking at recipes and the way to create our gin, it was when we started adding the local botanicals that really took me on this sensory journey right back to the coast, so there’s a kind of give and take relationship with nature there. And there’s a certain amount of trial and error that comes with that – I didn’t know that that alexanders, for instance, (which is the botanical that I picked from that little stretch of the estuary) were going to make the most wonderfully evocative spirit. It’s as much about discovery as it is about design.

Taking on all the foraging yourself, what does it mean to you to be so hands on in that respect?

are some lovely cliffs overlooking the beach where I pick the alexanders. It’s a lovely experience to go and taste those botanicals; we snap them and put them in our mouths for a little nibble of this lovely sweet, savoury, saline flavour. Naturally we finish with a gin and tonic on the beach which is just wonderfully luxurious, but at the same time a really natural experience. It’s a bit like going to a vineyard and looking at the grapes, and the sense of nostalgia that comes with smelling and tasting the wine.

As we grow I will eventually teach other people how to forage for botanicals, but the volume that we need from the cliffs isn’t huge, and we deep freeze alexanders for production all year round. One thing we have started doing increasingly is to actually take clients out on a discovery walk from the harbour in Padstow along the coast path to St George’s Well, after which our original gin is named, and then over to the barley field at Gun Point where there

One of your latest additions is the Hawkers Cove rose gin. How did you come up with that particular flavour?

It was important to me that we had a small range of gins, but I never really wanted to do a big variety of really intense flavours. I’m very much about freshness and balance. There’s a little tiny beach just below Gun Point where a particular beach rose grows, which in June and July produces the most gorgeous scented pink flowers. The fragrance is fantastic, and that was the inspiration for our rose gin. It’s actually a very light, soft gin based primarily on juniper (which gin must be) but we also include pink peppercorns in the botanical mix which gives it a lovely pink note. It’s got that perfect balance

between the delicate fragrance of roses with the dryness of juniper and the freshness of the pink peppercorns, which combines to produce a really soft, gentle dry gin, winning us the gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which we were absolutely delighted with.

What inspired you to create the rum and vodka in your collection?

The rum is an easy one. It may be fairly easy to work out that we’ll be producing some whiskey quite soon because we use barley that grows nearby, which is of course the foundation for whiskey, so the rum felt like a bit of a no brainer, especially with the maritime connection here in Cornwall. The vodka is something that actually arrived before the gin, which always begins with a spirit. Vodka is essentially the base of all gin, and in a way the DNA of what we do.

Do you have any exciting plans for the future?

Producing whiskey will be really exciting for us, so that’s definitely in the pipeline. This year is particularly special for us, because while we’re already distilling in

Padstow, our big plan is to bring the barley processing back to Padstow too along with the gin creation. We got distillery approval on 17th January, which was very exciting. The first still arrived very recently, and we’ve got more equipment arriving in the next couple of months. This means that it’ll all be happening in house, and that’s really exciting for a number of reasons. We’ll have complete control of our own spirits, which is really important, and we’ll have the development potential to make many different styles of spirits. For instance, there’s going to be a couple of citrus special editions, one of which is a lemon gin which will be available in the next few weeks actually. We’ll be able to make any number of little batches of whatever we choose in terms of experimentation, and we’ll also have the capability to make gins for other people. Imagine you’re a chef who has a lovely venue and you just think, ‘I’d love my own gin’. Overall, we currently make about 5,000 bottles a year, but now we’ll have the capacity to make closer to 40,000. That’s huge for us, and a massive step towards taking our little local brand and making it a national one

David McWilliam in his element

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David foraging for alexanders

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EatingRAINBOW the

Chef Kate Attlee’s deli restaurant group, Sabzi, serves an aromatic, fragrant and daily-changing menu with a taste of the Middle East.

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James Ram

Curried Yoghurt Potato Salad

This is one of our most popular potato dishes at Sabzi. Try serving alongside a spiced and roasted whole cauliflower or a lemon and rosemary rubbed leg of lamb and a crisp green leaf salad for an absolutely delicious twist on a classic roast.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS:

For the potato salad: Potatoes, apporximately 1kg

300g Greek yoghurt

1 tsp Sabzi dahl blend

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric Cumin seeds

Juice of 1-2 fresh limes depending on your preference and the juiciness of the limes

METHOD

Start by roasting your potatoes with plenty of seasoning, a sprinkling of cumin seeds and a couple of whole garlic cloves bashed with the back of your knife (you can then use these roasted cloves in your dressing, below). I love to roast the deliciously delicate new potatoes that are available locally at this time of year, but pretty much any white potato will do.

In the meantime, mix your curried yoghurt dressing using all listed ingredients. Sub out the Greek yoghurt for a vegan alternative if desired. This is a lovely way to use our Dahl Blend at Sabzi, but you can absolutely use a curry spice blend or a garam masala.

While your potatoes are roasting, pop a hot pickle on for your onions. Start with equal parts red wine vinegar and brown sugar; bring to a bubble and reduce the heat until

Best enjoyed warm or even at room temperature, rather than piping hot, so this is a brilliant option when you would like to get ahead before guests arrive; there’s no need to plate up with an audience!

Pinch of chilli flakes (omit if you don’t love the heat)

50g fresh coriander finely chopped

60g mango chutney

2 roasted cloves of garlic, smushed

Approx 100ml olive oil (or oil of your choosing)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the pickle:

2 red onions

200ml red wine vinegar and the same volume in the measuring jug of brown sugar

the sugar is dissolved. Taste and add sugar to your preference; I like a sweet pickle for this dish, but everybody’s palate is different. Once ready, simply slice and add a couple of red onions while the pickle is still hot to kick start the pickling process. When cool this can be put in a container in the fridge for up to a week and is a brilliant garnish for many dishes, or thrown through a salad for a piquant edge.

To serve:

When your potatoes are cooked and cooling, begin layering with your dressing, drizzling generously over the potatoes. Add pickled onions on top of the dressing, a sprinkle of fresh coriander or chives, and a dusting of nigella seeds. I really hope you enjoy eating these potatoes as much as I do!

Fresh Herb Chutney

I love this chutney. It’s that simple really. Over the years it has become a staple in the Sabzi kitchen – it’s a wonderful way to avoid ever wasting herbs, it’s quick and simple to make, keeps beautifully in the fridge (you can even freeze it!) and it is extremely versatile.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS:

100g fresh mint

100g fresh coriander (though if you don’t like coriander, other soft herbs work really well too – and you can use any combination you like) 1 large red chilli, mild (or 2 if you like the heat!)

METHOD

Finely chop your chosen herbs (you can do this by hand or the whole chutney can simply be blitzed in a food processor – either is fine) and place in a bowl with enough oil to cover them. Add half as much vinegar as oil (I use apple cider vinegar but pick your favourite; red or white wine work well too), and half as much agave/honey as vinegar, along with a generous pinch of sea salt and a couple of (‘smushed’ on the back of your knife) cloves of roasted garlic.

Whisk together and add to this mix your chopped chilli. You can use fresh chilli or dried if that’s what you have to hand – use one chilli if not too hot, or a pinch of flakes. You can taste and play around from there. At this point it’s just a question of taste; this chutney should be sweet and sharp and spicy.

Serve on top of hummus for a quick starter with crisps or flatbreads, drizzle over roasted veg as part of a main course or whisk through dressings to add interest to a simple green leaf salad; once you’ve started having a tub of Sabzi’s herb chutney in your fridge, mealtimes will become a lot more interesting!

Agave nectar/honey

Olive oil

2 roasted cloves of garlic

Fresh lemon juice or vinegar of your choice (I like apple cider in this dish)

Trust your instincts, taste and simply add more of any of the ingredients until you get a flavour you love.

To serve:

I love serving it alongside creamy, unctuous tahini or a seasoned Greek yoghurt which are both great flavour absorbers, so don’t be afraid for your chutney to pack a punch.

Cook’s Note on garlic: Obviously in the kitchen at Sabzi we confit big trays of garlic regularly but at home try peeling 6 or 8 cloves, covering with oil, and gently warming on the hob while you’re doing other things in the kitchen. Cook until the garlic is buttery soft and sweet and keep in the fridge for dressings and cooking through the week – it’s so much more delicious than raw and you’ll keep finding ways to use it once it’s there.

©

James Ram

Sabzi Hummus and House Dahl

Hummus is fantastically versatile; throw in some roasted veg for added flavour and colour, or even try with a different pulse if you don’t have chickpeas to hand. Once you’re confident with the core recipe, you can play around with different variations or top your hummus with some delicious olive oil and some added seasoning. Sabzi’s House

SERVES 6 INGREDIENTS:

For the Hummus:

2 tins chickpeas, drained (save the liquid, known as aquafaba from the tins)

1 heaped tablespoon of tahini

Good grind of black pepper

1 clove roasted garlic 40-50ml lemon juice

20ml oil of your choosing 30ml aquafaba

Water, for texture

METHOD

For the Dahl:

For the Dahl:

Dahl has been on our menu since we opened in 2019. It is easy to make and I love serving it with some mint flecked Greek yoghurt; add a squeeze of lemon and a little drizzle of honey along with plenty of black pepper to your choice of yoghurt. It’s wonderful with some spiced and roasted vegetables in place of croutons on a soup.

Sabzi spice blend or a mixture of ½ medium curry powder to a ¼ turmeric and ¼ garam masala

500g red lentils

1 large white onion, finely chopped

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger , grated

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Gently fry your onion before adding your ginger and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant.

Add one heaped teaspoon of Sabzi House Dahl blend per person (6 in this case), plus fresh chilli if you like more heat. Continue to stir before adding tomato puree, 3 tablespoons lime juice (bottled is fine). Season with black pepper. Add your lentils and stir to coat well with the spice paste. Add water if needed to avoid catching. Add chopped tomatoes and one extra can of water. Stir through 2 tablespoons of mango chutney and cook gently, stirring frequently until lentils are almost tender. Keep topping up with water to avoid lentils becoming too thick. Add coconut milk to the Dahl along with a dash more lime and half of your fresh coriander, chopped. Taste.

1 tin coconut milk

2 tbsp tomato puree

Lime juice

Mango chutney

Fresh coriander (quantity as per your preference)

Greek yoghurt (to serve)

When cooked adjust seasoning to your preference; you will often need more mango, lime and salt at this stage. Serve with Greek yoghurt and the remainder of the fresh coriander.

For the hummus:

You can of course make this dish with a pestle and mortar and pure muscle, but it is easier in a food processor! Start by putting all your ingredients in above quantities in your food processor and blitz until the consistency you like. Taste, you will need to tweak – I will generally add more lemon, black pepper and sometimes some more aquafaba to really give the hummus its gorgeous velvety consistency. Once you’ve reached your desired flavour, don’t be afraid to loosen with good old water if needed. Sealed in a tub, this will keep really well for 4 days in the fridge, and can even be frozen.

There’s always been something spiritual about fire that brings people together. I first felt my ‘creative spark’ at a young age alongside a mammoth bonfire heap for Guy Fawkes Night. With a toffee apple in hand, the smells of sparklers and caramelised onions wafting everywhere, and the promise of toasted marshmallows, I saw my father holding a flaming torch. Next, a stiff waft of petrol hit my nose and, ‘wooofff’, the biggest, hottest thing I have ever seen took off! I was instantly mesmerised…

Fast forward five years and I’m in Polzeath, where just out past the Doom Bar, I saw the shimmering dashes of silver and green of what was to be my first-ever caught mackerel. Back on land, we scored the fish skin, sprinkled with salt and onto the BBQ they went. Served with just a squeeze of lemon, this was the best fish I have ever tasted. With this mix of flavour and fire, I was quite literally ‘hooked’, and I knew I was going to be a chef. I went on to hone my cooking craft with top Head Chefs. Then at night, I headed for a BBQ ‘shack’ that I had built, with an old oil drum cut in half, welded to an old steel frame with two stainless grills.

I became friends with celebrated chef Ben Quinn who introduced me to ‘Meatopia’,

an insane festival at Tobacco Docks in London. Those days of incessant open fire cooking became my annual pilgrimage and this was where I met, and worked with, the legendary Lennox Hastie – and my personal fiery future was secured! Now I’m at the helm at the stunning Harbour House pub in Flushing, and whilst cooking on fire has become trendy over the past couple of years, we’re amongst the first in the south west to bring these techniques to a pub/restaurant standard level.

With a view out over the sea, myself and my team are letting rip every day, smoking and firing the ultimate in quality Cornish produce on our sustainable British BBQ coals. I’ve even created a matching cocktail menu with my unique smoked syrups and fixings. My personal favourite is our Smokey Sundays where our 18-hour low and slow meats, naturally flavoured on ProQ’s reverse flow hot smoker, take centre stage. After two stints on Great British Menu my passion for fire cooking only grows stronger and it’s my honour to serve our smoky goodness to our appreciative customers every day.

Andi Tuck is Head Chef at Harbour House in Flushing.

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