In my friend Dan Pilling's chair, West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester. Art College End Of Year Exhibition, 1994.
Michael Priestley
About the Artist
From an early age I’ve always enjoyed drawing, painting and making things. As I grew older I became keenly interested in a broad range of visual stimuli including architecture, art and design, trains, cars, landscapes, Americana, and popular culture. I left school in 1974 and joined Post Office Telephones, where I also gained the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, in 1981. In the 1980’s I decided to develop my artistic skills and consequently became a ‘night-school’ student in various art courses, eventually gaining grade A in ‘A’ Level Craft, Design and Practice (Pottery) in 1987 and grade A in ‘A’ Level Art with Art History in 1989.
BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design
In 1992 I left my design engineering job at British Telecom to further pursue my art and design interests. At the West Cheshire College Chester, I completed the one year full-time BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design, specialising in Three Dimensional Design, Ceramics, finishing in 1994 with an overall distinction. Highlights of the course included, making a Fine Art installation ‘A Personal World’, making a Snow Sculpture as well as a Snowman, designing and making a Gothic Throne, being commended for my sewing for the project ‘Body Adornment’ in the Textile and Fashion area and teaming up with two female Textile and Fashion students, one of whom was Kate Pratten, to choreograph our movements for parading on the Dressed to Thrill Fashion Show catwalk at the Art College End Of Year Exhibition. Along the way I was a nominee for, The Randolph Caldecott Society Award and also a nominee for the West Cheshire College Chester School of Art Student of the Year Award, gaining second place in both awards. At the end of the course, a top moment in the Three Dimensional Design area, was a staff organised humorous Three Dimensional Design Award Ceremony, with drinks and nibbles. Ceramic vases made by college ceramic technician and potter Michael Fox, were awarded to various Three Dimensional Design students and I was presented with the, ‘Potty student of the year 1994’ vase!
West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester. Dressed to Thrill Fashion Show catwalk. Kate Pratten's designs and my choreography to Strauss’ The Blue Danube Waltz, 1994.
On my Gothic Throne, West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester. Art College End Of Year Exhibition, 1994.
West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester. Three Dimensional Design, me by my Snow Sculpture, January-February 1994.
Me constructing Dropouts (Version 2). Completed 1996.
In my friend Dan Pilling's chair, West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester. Art College End Of Year Exhibition, 1994.
In my Fine Art installation, 'A Personal World', West Cheshire College, Blacon, Chester, 1993.
BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree and PGCE
In 1995 I started on the three year full-time BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree course, at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), Howard Gardens, Cardiff, gaining an Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1) Degree in 1998. Top moments of the course included designing, making and building my Brick Sculpture and BBQ for the University which included working at Ibstock Cattybrook Brick Factory near Bristol and which was based on designing and making a ceramic model for The Priestley Mausoleum which was exhibited in the Art, Ritual and Death in Prehistoric Wales exhibition at the The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff in 1996, designing and making a ceramic Table Centre Piece with some ceramic plates and bowls as well as cooking some food for the First Year Ceramics Mediterranean Banquet and in 1998 pit firing some of my ceramic work at The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff. A highlight and an honour as a student, was to be chosen to represent the UWIC Art and Design Faculty, by reading a Bible Lesson, two years running, in 1995 and 1996, at the UWIC Christmas Carol Service at Llandaff Cathedral. My BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree exhibition was an installation based upon a church shrine, the focal point being my ceramic work about Princess Diana’s death. I also enjoyed teaching Ceramics part-time at the Bryn Hafren Girls Comprehensive School, Barry, as well as being a part-time Art Instructor in the Education Department of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, both in 1997. I was awarded the Celtic Prize Award for the, Most Outstanding All Round Student, on the BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree course in 1998. And of course, not forgetting the end of academic year Ceramics BBQs and Ceramics fancy dress parties. Finally an unusual aspect of the course was sometimes I and others were said to be, ‘in George’. ‘George’ was the name given to the combined second and third year ceramic studio and was taken from Brian Murphy’s character ‘George’ in the hit 1970’s ITV sitcom, ‘George and Mildred’.
I also completed the one year full-time course, Education and Training for Post 16 Education, at the University of Wales College Newport (UWCN), Caerleon, gaining the PGCE in 2000, where I enjoyed teaching Ceramics and Art part-time at Coleg Gwent, Pontypool.
Me as Clint Eastwood, ready for the UWIC Howard Gardens, Cardiff, BA (Hons) Ceramics fancy dress party, Christmas, 1996.
UWIC Howard Gardens, Cardiff, BA (Hons) Ceramics. Me building my brick Sculpture & BBQ, 1996.
UWIC Howard Gardens, Cardiff, BA (Hons) Ceramics, First Year Ceramics Mediterranean Banquet, 1996.
UWIC Howard Gardens, Cardiff, the end of the academic year Ceramics BBQ, 1996.
Me pit firing some of my ceramic work at The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff, 1998.
Artist in Residence and Artist Assistant
I have also enjoyed being an Artist in Residence at the Segontium Roman Museum, Caernarfon and at The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff, all between 1998 and 1999, organised by the Archaeology Learning Officer Kenneth Brassil at The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. At various other times I have also enjoyed being an Artist Assistant to artists, Lynn Carter, Gwen Heeney, Robert Harrison and Patricia Butters.
Artist in Residence at the Celtic village, Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff, 1998.
Artist Assistant to Gwen Heeney at Dennis Ruabon Brick Factory near Wrexham. Working on her Sculpture for Llanfyllin High School, 1998.
Me working with American artist Robert Harrison at the Creating the Yellow Brick Road Conference and Symposium, Shrewsbury. 1999.
Art Exhibitions
I have contributed to several art exhibitions, notably at The Business Design Centre in London, The Royal Exchange in London, The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff and Euro Arts Birmingham. My solo art exhibitions have been at St Paul’s Church, Chester, The Museum Of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff and at the Wrexham Arts Centre.
In 1984 I entered the, BBC Look North West Painting Competition, where I reached the final with my art work being, ‘Highly Commended’.
Some of my art works are in private hands, one Princess Diana Commemorative Plate is in the University of Wales Institute Cardiff ceramic collection and some of my ceramic art work is represented in the slide collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum London and at the Anderson Ranch Arts Centre, Colorado, USA.
Continuing Art Work
Unfortunately I was unable to obtain a full-time ceramic teaching position in a college. I therefore joined Royal Mail in 2000 and retired from there in 2021.
As I have now retired from full time paid employment, I am now able to concentrate on continuing to create my art work. Please see my email address contact details below, under the heading Contact.
Debt of Thanks
In my art journey I would like to record a debt of thanks for help with my drawing to Barbara Davies, Betty Edwards, Gwen Heeney and to my favourite Great Uncle, Henry Cecil Taylor. One of my Great Uncle’s drawings, of King Charles’ Tower, Chester, from about 1912, was drawn when he was about 20, and he encouraged me when I was 12 to do a similar drawing. Both drawings are shown alongside each other below.
Big thanks to my Mum and Dad and my Uncle Eddy, for on my seventh birthday they gave me presents, respectively, of a set of Lakeland by Cumberland Coloured Pencils No 22 and a blue painted metal Winsor & Newton 12 round pans watercolour paint box, which encouraged me to do drawings and paintings. My paintbox and the remains of the set of my coloured pencils are shown below.
My thanks also go to Thomas Leach for printing the covers and disc for THE TURFS ‘A Fine Selection Of Cheese’ CD and to Richard Coan for designing my web site.
Great Uncle Henry Cecil Taylor, King Charles' Tower, Chester, pencil, c1912.
King Charles' Tower, Chester, pencil, 1969.
My Winsor and Newton watercolour paint box with the remains of my set of Lakeland by Cumberland Coloured Pencils No 22.
Contact
My website displays some of my art works from the 1960’s to the present.
If you are interested in my art works please email me at:
artmpmp@yahoo.com
(If you wish to use the above email, please copy and paste).
Thanks for viewing.
Mike Priestley.
I was presented this Award in the humorous West Cheshire College Three Dimensional Design Award Ceremony in June 1994. Michael Fox, 1994.
UWIC BA (Hons) Ceramics Degree Award Ceremony, St Davids Hall, Cardiff, 1998.