Ripen at home

Best wishes to you all on this, the first day after the shortest one of the year. With this thick blanket of cloud it may not feel like it, but we know we have turned the corner, and that is good enough for me. 

Was it really Corsock Craft Fair at the beginning of this month, and if so where has December gone? It is a great fair, something quite special in rural Galloway, and packed as usual, an extraordinarily jolly mixture of friends, cake and sales. Here are a few stands, my own one, Hannah McAndrew's, Jo Gallant's cushions and Tom Iglehar'ts glass. These were taken just before the crowds arrived, after which I had no time left for any more photos. More images on the Corsock Craft Fair Facebook page here.

Since then it has been a busy few weeks of both making and finishing off orders, followed by a lot of last minute wrapping, parcelling up and posting. This is also where I realise that the website actually works which means that the next job is definitely web updates, long overdue.

                                       

Negotiating the mine field which is the Royal Mail parcel service, the price now dependent on dimensions as well as weight is not much fun. I joked with the postie that I would have to make flat mugs! No wonder independent carriers are doing so well.

Just occasionally I actually decide to keep one of my own pots, and this is a dish which has been in the showroom for too long. I have always rather liked it myself but no one has ever wanted to buy it. I found that it just fits perfectly on the window sill for 'Ripen at Home' avocados and seemed to be perfect colours for them. I am quite encouraged to make some more, and perhaps even display them with wooden avocados. Sometimes people just need a little help to envisage.

Meanwhile Timbalada has moved into the old 'ripen at home' receptacle and here she is enjoying being ripened by winter sun.

Happy Solstice.

Winter Pots for Autumn days

I have had a busy, but rather bitty, making period for a few weeks now. It has been a case of juggling a lot of small outstanding orders, replenishing my slipware for the showroom, and making some new pieces for Christmas. 

 It was a windy Autumn day when I designed these vases.

The boat theme continues - this time with Barge Vases.

This Barge Vase has a Royal King penguin salute.

The load of boat, vase and sea bits were abandoned for a few weeks while other things took priority.

It feels good to get this batch of work finished at last. 

Do come along to the McGill Duncan Gallery's Winter exhibition where you will find  some of these new creations.

Unfortunately I had yet another kiln fiasco last week. Whether it was another element going (seems the kiln is getting as old as I am), or the second contactor in the control box, the result was a kiln which refused to reach temperature. Eventually the top zone cones went down, 4 hours later than expected. 

We had a long planned treat, which was trip to the Sage Concert hall to hear the 'Songlines World Music Award Winners' concert that evening, so it all got a bit late and scrambled. It took a while to unwind, but it was a great evening of music and luckily impossible to carry on fretting about kilns when aborbed in all that exuberant musical energy. It was and lovely to stay over and see Tim Foxell's wonderful spatula workshop, humming with creativity, and Sue Dunne's ceramic workshop. 

Order complete

The plate order is complete and they are now winging their way to No 16 Restaurant in Glasgow's Byers Road.

The brief was a small creature in each.

Some small creatures were more complicated to trail than others.

Some were from designs already tested, but in different colours.

And some were quite unwelcome in Galloway.

Cardboard and Cake

 Last Friday the workshop turned into a seagull making factory!

What a great time you can have with cardboard, coat hangers and paint.

All in aid of the ceilidh at the weekend.

My friend Jolanda and I decided we should organise a joint ceilidh to celebrate both our birthdays. Everyone brought a dish and the food was Galloway's finest with a special mention to Annette's chocolate ganache cake and strawberry cake which were fit for a queen! Thanks so much to 'The Other Band' for the great music and dances. 

What a joy to share the evening with so many lovely people!

I have here to mention the SURPRISE CAKE! Anyone who follows this blog will recognise the boat and gannet theme. This time Jolanda is on the bow and your truly is at the oars! Thank you dear Jools for this incredible surprise! 

Potter friend Sue Dunne and Tim played us a tune and Donald Adamson read us a witty and apt poem (with the Scottish referendum looming), entitled 'Sitting on the Fence'!

All on the kindest September evening that Scotland can offer.

My creature found a friend!

My Creature has found a friend!

I have to say that turning is probably my least favourite thing and I had to make a neat job of fifty of these plates because they are for a restaurant and need to be stacked. It is rewarding when the job is completed though!

It's that time of year again - the Dalbeattie Hardrock Challenge (run and mountain biking race) is coming up.  It is a different shape of mug and another colour this year but the images trailed are similar to before.

This couple of fairly substantial orders seems to have taken care of the last few weeks and now I find it hard to believe we are in September!

Happy in his new home

I love Chiu-i Wu's ceramics and lusted over this little creature at Potfest in the Park. When I went back to have another look at her stand he had gone. Well he jumped out of a bag here on my birthday yesterday,

and was very happy saying hello to a another of Chiu-i Wu's creations from another time. Thank you to both maker and giver!

Meccano to the rescue

I've never had a height gauge before. I suppose that I have just never thought of myself as a production thrower, so somehow I have always got by just by having the same weight in each ball of clay. In this batch of rather straight sided mugs which have been asked to make, it seemed more important than usual to have an exact uniformity in height.

Another reason I have never had a height gauge, is probably because of the extraordinary cost of them (I just looked it up again and as usual, gasped).

To the rescue - the old, old box of original Meccano.

Now then I wonder, why has this revolutionary tool taken me thirty years or so to come round to making? It certainly made a difference - what a neat set of mugs. No 'his and hers' sizes in this batch then.

A Corsham contingent at Potfest

Here is the 'Black Hole' seat, the piece I made for  Potfest in the Park this year.

  

There were some wonderful pieces of ceramics on the 'Out of this World' theme this year and I am afraid that I was woefully useless at taking photos of them, but it will be well worth having a look when Chris Cox puts the images up on the Potfest in the Park website.

At least I saw her hard at work with the camera.

Most of the weekend was VERY hot and very sunny.

There were a few moments when it was rather wet! 

There were some 'Ahhh' times. 

It is always lovely to meet up with with old friends. Sue and Tim here - Sue was at Corsham (Bath Academy of Art) with me. 

Also at Corsham was Anna Lambert, who was a few years after me.

Eddie Curtis, was in the year above me. 

Alan Foxley, was possibly a decade before me when the College was a specialist art teacher training  establishment. Now there is a dream for today!

Potfest in the Park is a such great show. After all the hard work, it is inspiring and rejuvenating to be lifted up by all you lovely potters. Thanks you for your company, and of course to all those who make the trip to see the show. But most of all thanks to Geoff, Chris and Matthew Cox for all your hard work organising us all.

And thanks also to my special and supportive neighbours, this year I was lucky enough to again be next to Scottish potter Wendy Kershaw.

Flanked by Dumfries and Galloway potters Andrew Adair (here his work on the plinths)

and Andrew Priestman, with his calm and quietly contemplative wood fired stoneware. The perfect antidote to the busyness of my own stand!