Ashley Figgis

It is good to be challenged, to not know what you are seeing and Ashley Figgis's degree show at Gray's School of Art, certainly succeeded in bemusing and generating wonder in it's audience.

Ashley had sliced and excavated potatoes, dried them, and stitched or varnished some of them all.
Some were suspended others arranged on shelves and walls, all were fascinating.

"A key element of my practice is the idea that you can made from anything. I enjoy working with materials which aren't expected  - specifically, a material which I frequently use in my work is the potato. I enjoy taking an object with pre-existing connotations and using it as a material with which to produce new objects which no longer share those associations and are almost completely unrecognisable from their original form. By using natural, biodegradable material to create art from, there is always an uncertainty towards how the art piece will change over time." Ashley Figgis

Annika Sandin II

Today I have Annika Sandin's happy sweet potatoes, to prove that you should play with your food.  Now I just want to spend the day drawing and painting on sweet potatoes, unfortunately I can't  . . . maybe at the weekend.

Ira Deshalyt II

This illustration by Ira Deshalyt is called 'potatoes delivery' was produced for a magazine I just love the way a sack of potatoes is replaced beautifully by a giant potato.

Playing with Potatoes

Sometimes it is good just to be alone with a strange thought. The strange thought this week is potatoes have eyes . . . now I have a potato, a book of potatoes and three potatoes with eye holes.
Why? because I am playing and I need to play. . . and now my potatoes have eyes and legs.
I particularly like my King Edward potato as he reminds me of Henry the Eighth.
I also learnt about the potato breed called 'smile' which has a lighter patch in the shape of a smile around the eye.

Kaye Blegvad I

I am continuing potato creativity today, with Kaye Blegvad who's work can be quite dark, so this is an edited version of her wonderful Potato Baby.

Marie-France Annasse

It is always difficult to know where to start in a New Year so I decided to start with potatoes. I have wanted to share the joy of potatoes by Marie-France Annasse for some time, what better time than the New Year. Marie France is a stylist for my favourite magazine Marie Claire Ideas. This wonderful potato rocket inspired Freya and I, I hope it inspires you too.