Rapid departure of the Rapids!

There is something odd about parting with a piece too quickly. It still seems too attached and not ready to leave - I haven't really absorbed how I feel about it.
Well, I hardly had time to think about this one. It only came out of the kiln on Monday and I hung it in the showroom as much so that I could look at it in a decent setting. The ripple and the poured slip all seemed to add to the confusion of the Canoeist in Rapids. I was rather shocked to sell it today - pleased of course, but it was all I could do to grab my camera to record it.
A very nice happening. I had lost one of these fish earrings that Rodger had given to me, and I wrote to Eileen Gatt, www.eileengatt.co.uk the jeweller who made them, to ask if she could possibly replace it if she ever had a minute. It turned out that she was on the panel of the Scotttish Arts Council when they decided to grant me the award last year, and then, she didn't even want a payment for her trouble. Well, I have parcelled up a pot to send to her tomorrow as a thank you, but I was thinking about what kind and generous people craftspersons are!

Huge fish dish

This huge dish came out of a second kiln opened today. I thought it was a bit of a monster when I constructed it so I just went for scale in the fish design. Not the best of photographs -I just a 'snapped' it as I hung it on the wall in our showroom last thing tonight. There were a couple of others which I'll try and 'snap' tomorrow, but really a serious photo session is in order. (Inigo, we will need your bedroom back as photo studio I'm afraid).

Snakes and ladders of glazing black clay

Kiln out and I had one or two good results with glaze over the black clay. This was actually an off cut from the piece below but it made rather a sweet little wall rack and I rather liked it.
The swimmer's body colour is a lot more runny on a verticle surface. I am glad that I am doing so many trials before the big ones, although I have invested a fair amount of time in this piece.The fish contrasts are a bit disappointing, I prefer the swimmer side. I've still a lot to learn about this clay, but I do love it's blackness.
...Oh, and here is the awkward commission - cider and wine images on a vertical sided dish. Hope they like it!

Sparrowhawk attack!

I've been out of blog land for a while. While I was away Rodger had sparrowhawk shenanigans in the garden. We lost 2 of our white fantails, and rescued another 2 from her talons, then were alerted by a neighbour to the plight of one cowering in the swamp over the road. She came back for more and the only thing to do was to lock them up for a few days, but by this time she was really tuned in to a meal in our garden and decided to attack the stone dove instead!

Back to clay after a fantastic three day latin drumming workshop. So sorry that my being away ( and I am hardly ever away ) coincided with Doug Fitch being in the area. Sorry to miss you Doug, sods law!
It was hard to remember where I was after such an absorbing break. Four days of glazing and I now have a kiln to unpack tomorrow with some larger pieces in the black clay which may (hopefully) give me confidence to finish the stools.

We also got some more extruded dishes underway, so lots to do tomorrow.
Lots of mail to catch up on and I was delighted to hear that Mainhill Gallery sold three of my big pieces at the Affordable Art Fair in London. Good oh!