Releasing the inner Da Vinci

Inside all of us there is a demiurge, a primal creative instinct to make something that wasn’t there before. Admittedly this inner Da Vinci is hidden deeper in some than others, but nevertheless given time, materials and an ounce of self-belief, it is bound to emerge.

At Pilsdon it is very possible to find some outlet for such artistic self-expression. There is a craft room in the Manor, set up with a wooden spinning wheel, a hand-driven carding machine for preparing wool, several ancient Singer sewing machines in good working order, an electric knitting machine which looks like a cross between an early prototype for a harpsichord and a torture device, and a vast array of different types of thread, pins and needles. Monday evening is designated Craft Night when those with an aptitude for such things create baby clothes, handbags, scarfs and so on. The extent of my foray into this world has been to use a Singer machine to sew up a rip in one of my shirts, which has subsequently come apart again.

There is a “Wet Art” room for those wishing to slap paint onto canvas. One resident has particularly taken to oil paints and can sometimes be found with easel outside a hay barn making his own inimitable interpretation of it.

Pilsdon also has a working pottery complete with three potter’s wheels (two of them electric-powered, one foot-driven) and a kiln. Once a week an experienced local potter, Nick Hillyard, comes in to provide some gentle instruction in the art of making bowls, pots and cups. He first began learning pottery whilst living at Pilsdon 25 years ago and has been making a living from it ever since.  I’ve made two small bowls so far, one blue and one brown, and am inordinately pleased with them despite not having proved their worth by actually eating any corn flakes from them.

But as you may know, music has always been my favoured way of inflicting my creativity upon the world. The Common Room has a half-decent upright piano, an electric Hammond-style organ and an acoustic guitar, and there is another piano in the church of a more honky-tonk variety, all of which I bash away on from time to time. 

It’s always more fun to make music with other people and so I’ve got together with four other musicians here and formed a small wind ensemble comprising trumpet, cornet, trombone, recorder and sax. As there was no sheet music around for such a set of instruments, I’ve arranged a few Gershwin showtunes for us taken from a piano book I have. We practice every Sunday afternoon, and had our debut performance on the Queen’s Jubilee day at a little concert in the church which was, if not rapturously, at least quite well received. Our meteoric rise to fame has begun. Even the Beatles had to start somewhere.