The Summer that isn't, the piece that hasn't and the trouble with trousers

The extraordinary wet drab weather continues on and on. A couple of weeks ago a group of friends climbed Merrick in the Galloway hills.  This was the view from the top.

Then by some miracle the dense cloud lifted momentarily, enough to catch a glimpse of the views. 

Here north towards Loch Doon.

Meanwhile in the workshop I seem to have been extraordinarily busy not getting on very fast with anything! I can't blame interruptions as there have been an almost eerie lack of visitors to the showroom, (is that the weather, the recession)? 

I should be making more useful things like mugs and bowls for the summer visitors, that is if they DO come, not to mention some rather overdue orders, but as usual I have become a little too absorbed in making my Potfest competition piece. 

This has taken a few strange turns and twists since the initial idea. What is it? Will it fly? Has it even decided what it is at all?

 And what are those strange conical pawn like objects? Answers on a postcard please and the winner gets a, erm, well what about a Spring Fling penguin!

 Timbalada has decided that the dusty, waiting-to-be-cleaned-up Spray booth is a good place to sleep. Ha, found you, now what colour would you like to be sprayed? She looks a little worried.

 But she turned out perfectly as usual.

On Monday morning, after the cones had bent in my kiln, I decided that I really did need desperately to get off the premises and have a change of scene. Apart from the expedition up Merrick I have hardly been out of the workshop for days on end. As is becoming boringly usual it wasn’t great weather so I decided to take the day return to Carlisle and buy myself some long needed new trousers. 

Now my perfect trousers would be baggy, comfortable with lots of pockets and hopefully made of some nice interesting coloured soft yet sturdy material - not that I am not fussy, not at all !

But what is it about modern trousers. Huge wide waists which aren't actually where ones waist is anyway, tight bums, narrow ankles, no pockets.  Then I became aware that everyone I saw walking down the street looked like their trousers didn't fit properly anyway - because they don't MAKE trousers for human beings at all. Oh well, it's the fabric shop and the old sewing machine for me. AFTER Potfest that is.

Earth (Wind, Rain) and Fire

Well, it not only rained at Rufford, but more worryingly it was also an exceedingly windy weekend with gusts predicted to be up to 70mph. This made life rather stressful for potters showing their treasures on market stall type stands, which wobbled and rattled alarmingly.

The inclement weather and dreadful forecast undoubtedly meant that visitor numbers were down, but those who came were rewarded by a fantastic show of great and varied work. There was a superb exhibition of Sue and Ashraf Hanna’s work in the Rufford Craft Gallery. Here was an oasis of calm, out of the whistling wind, clear, clean and uncluttered. Certainly worth seeing and it is on until July 15th.

I was next to one of my favourite potters Anna Lambert, whose delightful pieces were a joy to spend three days next to. 

On the other side was Toon Thijs, a Potter’s Market pro, who had a tool, implement and solution for everything. I certainly benefited from his extra stays and his shelter, not to mention his Dutch beer. The awning we attached to the back of the stand also worked a treat, (that is until the wind tried to blow it away).

Potters are a resilient bunch, but their was an air of anxiety as we held onto our stands and pots. and heard the occasional crash. There were some horrible casualties, Peter Beard experiencing the worst one in my area, losing a whole load of pots and a glass cabinet. Jim Robison kept smiling as he always does, despite losing three large planters. 

Normally having set up the display you can relax, knowing that the work is done and for three days you can just stand (ideally in the midsummer sun) and chat to pleasant pot lovers and potters. Not so this time. Each evening we had to take everything down and stack it safely beneath the table to start all over again early the next morning. 

By Saturday evening the wind calmed down a bit and by dawn was replaced by torrential rain. In the morning our white boards were a little rain stained, and the cardboard boxes had gone soggy. 

Despite what I have written there were sunny intervals and on Sunday it was a beautiful afternoon and calm evening to pack up!  It is a really good show in a beautiful setting and it is great to meet all the fantastic potters and their work, and forge new friendships.

Sales were not the best but certainly not a disaster either, which is good considering rain wind and economic gloom. Just-out- of-the-kiln Penguin platter above found a home  - I was barely ready to let him go.

 Oh, and I never did take part in the' Potter’s Olympics'. ( I got a severe joint problem in my finger, (honestly), which I have had splinted all week. RSI/arthritis? who knows, rather worrying). Doug Fitch kindly agreed to stand in for me and so I escaped such delights as blindfold throwing!

This one of my new black vases definitely felt at home in Rufford, (or WRUFFord as my nephew pointed out), as it is a very doggy place. There were lots of tails and noses around, and a fascinating variety of dog breeds. 

It rained and it rained

It started to rain on Friday and it never stopped for 48 hours. The drumming on the roof was so loud, that when it became even louder it seemed ridiculously impossible. I went outside late yesterday afternoon to have a look at what was making the whooshing sound on the road. 

The land drain was so full it gave up even pretending to cope and every now and then  sent up gigantic water spouts.

 A good couple of days to be inside doing a mega glaze. The big kiln is cooling and these overflow black vases are in the top loader. I trail the glaze on these using a fine slip trailer. The clay has had a high bisc so I have to use the glaze thickened up and float it between my incised lines.

 I hope that our overnight visitors, Maureen Minchen and John from Ardnamurchan got down to Wales and back North on their motorbike in the weeks deluge. Maureen makes exceedingly beautifully thrown pots,  intricately decorated with flora and fauna from her home on Britain's most westerly bit of mainland. Maureen was on foundation with me and is always an inspiration to meet up with, full of wise knowledge from her enormous range of potting experience.

 I picked the magazine up off the mat where the postie had dropped it, turned it over and whooped, Hannah is on the front cover of Ceramic Review! How exciting is that!

Next week I am off down to exhibit at  Rufford for Earth and Fire. I'm looking forward to it - meeting lots of great potters, but please stop raining, please! The only thing is it's just so disappointing to be missing Dan at the American Teaparty workshop at Hannah's on Saturday, tantalisingly just down the road. Och weel, can't be helped.

The only thing I am getting a bit worried about is that just to SHOW WILLING I gaily said, 'Yes of course I will take part in the Potter's Olympics' at Rufford. I kind of thought it would be churlish not to. I hadn't appreciated how few would say yes, and of those who did agree they are all full on big-time throwers, and the competitions are, well throwing....! Eeek. Get the booby prize ready.

The cellist went ‘Boom!

Stupid stupid stupid. I was rushing, trying to get some new vases out for 'Earth and Fire' at Rufford next week. During the morning I dried them in the tepid half- hearted sun, which didn’t get them very far. Then I found that three of them were JUST too tall for the biscuit emergency top loader kiln.

But yes, of course, take out the bottom shelf completely, that gets me the extra half inch I need. Was it because I was so pleased to have got them in and shut the lid without breaking the tops off that I FORGOT to put in the pyrometer? I set it on my pre-heat...to steam soak at just below ninety degrees, crowed to a sceptical Rodger that I got them in, then made a phone call. BOOM!

Instantly I knew what I had done, switched off, and opened a steaming kiln to find the tragic sight of three exploded vases.

What an idiot, how COULD I have forgotten to put the pyrometer back in?!
Maybe I have been working too hard, trying to cram too much in, I haven’t actually stopped since Spring Fling, or maybe I am just getting past it.

Anyhow a bike ride later I was feeling better. I've still got seven left, now steaming happily away. Just a pity it was the cellist, the last one I drew, when I felt that my drawing was in the zone, that I lost.



After that sorry tale, here’s a faintly winsome detail of “Girl and her gannet'.

 Lots of glaze painting over the next few days as I work out my kiln firing count down.

 And how’s this for an exterminating cactus. (Dalek sounds emitting).

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Oh and it's that house again. I got over to see it eventually. 'Couch' by Alice Francis, an installation which was part of Spring Fling. Makes you smile and especially effective as a tractor rumbled by. I loved the zip fittings.

A little white fluffy cloud of nothingness.

 Spring Fling Open studios is over and all I want to do is sit quietly in a little white fluffy cloud of nothingness.

I had some really lovely visitors, interested and interesting and I wanted to give them all a rewarding visit to my studio, but by half way through the afternoon on each day I fear that I was beginning to become a tad incoherent, occasionally completely running out of steam. We got through plenty of pots of coffee and several bakings of flapjack. The latter I kept nibbling to give me an energy boost - in fact I couldn't face another bite of treacle flapjack for at least a year.

At various points over the event we had the cycle tour, the walking tour and the bus tour, and goodness knows how a quiet person like me managed to rabbit on about dies and extrusions and glazes and slips and kilns and pots for four continuous days.

 

Thanks to all my helpers, especially to Rodger who heroically came to the rescue on many occasions when my brain ground to a halt.

Big sort out tomorrow, and back to making. I actually managed to get the big kiln packed late this afternoon as it started to quieten down, although I was so spaced out I went and chipped the edge of one of my big dishes. Grrrr! As someone had decided to turn the cold tap back on the weather I'll have a nice cosy workshop in the morning.

New Pots for Spring Fling

 What a week, what a weekend. But (so far) I'm still standing! Here are some photos from last weeks manic photo session of some of the new 'Water Boy series'. 'Black Hair' found a good home yesterday - I'm so glad I took a good shot of him as wasn't around long enough to 'let him go' easily.

 

'Nosey' Water boy

  

'The Swell' , who suffered a little mishap drying out, but Rodger's sculptural skills came to the rescue with a bit of resin filler in the base and saved the day.

  

I'm pleased with the inner glow of this  oval dish.

'Ethel' Oskar and Rachael's Italian greyhound puppy had to go on this long dish, all long legs, noses and bottoms.

 On Friday I rushed in to town to find a few flowers for the Flowers barge. Hope the dog doesn't sneeze...

Here's a close up of the new husband in the 'Honeymoon Couple' boat.

It was good to have so much new work to display and to show to the Spring Fling visitors. Two more days to go, will my voice last out I wonder? I'll try to remember to take some photos tomorrow, but it's hard when I don't even remember to drink the endless cups of tea and coffee my kind family and friends are plying me with.

Too hot to work - but I have to, it's Spring Fling next weekend

 

Loads of finished pots came out of the kiln over the last week. The workshop is in chaos. I haven't had enough time to sort through them so they are all over the place waiting to be reviewed, photgraphed, (the best ones), and priced.

  

I'll show some better photographs soon, these are just snaps as they sit on the shelves. I feel that I have to get to know these pieces again in their new glazed state. As always there are bits I like and bits I am dissatisfied with and could improve. But generally I like them.

  

There is so much to do through, next week is going to whizz by. It didn't help that the good weather brought out an unusual amount of visitors to the showroom last week. Not only did this take up a lot of time,  they kept buying things, things that I wanted to keep for Spring Fling. How annoying is that!

Last weekend there was one day I simply couldn't get warm and went to bed that night with two hot water bottles. This week each day it has been getting hotter...and HOTTER. Today with so much to clear and clean for Spring Fling I have hardly been able to function for overheating. At five o'clock I realised that the tide would be in and cycled down to jump in the sea - bliss!

But its getting there. By this evening the back yard was looking like a proper courtyard again, with clean tiles, pots and plants.

While the immediate panic is next weekends four day Open Studio, I also have one eye clearly focused beyond Spring Fling, on Earth and Fire. I knew that to have these bigger dishes finished for this event I had to have them well underway and drying out before next weekend. After a full day slip spraying on Thursday and Friday  they were safely on the high shelves drying slowly under polythene.

 

I still hope to get the Spring Fling preparations all in hand by mid week in time to have a couple of days to work on a damp cupboard full of black vases, which I hope are still damp enough to work on.

But its not all pots. I did have a grand afternoon out on Saturday playing with the Samba Sisters at the Kirkcudbright half marathon. It was great to be away from the workshop for a while and make a good old racket in the sun.

I tell you what though, those cats have been loving this weather.

Cats, Clingfilm and Wasps

 Timbalada views the outside world from the safety of the top rung of her favourite ladder. It is cold out there and who knows what scary things might happen to her if she ventures out. Such is her character.

                                                             
I have been glazing my flotilla of boats all week. It has been rather a labour of love, trailing small areas of colour then masking out with wax the sections that I didn't want the transparent glaze to cover. This worked fine on the smaller boats which I was able to dip and pour. But I chickened out of dipping the large pieces - they were just too awkward and heavy and resorted instead to the spray gun. I soon found that sprayed glaze doesn't run off wax, leaving instead a fine residue of powdered glaze which is hard to sponge off. It was cling film time, head stockings and arm stockings of the stuff. This worked a treat and saved a lot of wiping off time.

 Meanwhile Rodger has been busy fixing the new huge expansion box to the vertical pugmill. It's all ready to go, but I will have to be patient. I simply don't have the time to take the leap into the dark at this stage with the next two shows  looming. All that potential but later. I have a rather nice commission to make two tables this Autumn, so there is plenty of chance to come into its own.





                                              


 Tomorrow I get to open the kiln and see the first flotilla results. It's a bit scary really when I seem to have spent so much time on them. I am bound to be disappointed! The kiln is back to full health, our very nice local electrician sorted it out, it was a seized up switch. However he also spotted that when the fellow wired up the heat pump last year he somehow managed to alter something which meant that when you isolated the mains to the kiln it wasn't actually isolating it at all. Eeeek! Pretty fortunate we still have a Rodger.

 Today Rodger found this (empty)wasps nest and cracked it open. What a beauty from such tetchy insects.