Garden of Cosmic Speculation

One day a year the Garden of Cosmic Speculation is open to the public. This year I actually remembered in time and alerted other members of my family who came from far and wide to join me there. The place is a visual feast and everywhere I turned brought new wonders. Why, there was even a giant undulating landform constructed from turf and gravel which looked remarkably like the wiggly dish which I had been working on last week....!


There are plenty of websites with wonderful pictures of Charles Jencks extrardinary creations, but here are a few of my own.



It was my brother's birthday, and how I wished that I had brought a candle to stick on the top.


Now how about this for a seat.


After the Cosmic Garden, My 'large scale' pieces have shrunk to insignificance!

A busy Easter

Some more new pots came out this week.


I got some of them priced and put out in the showroom just in time for the Easter holidays. It is always rewarding to get them away from the grubby workshop and see them in a good space. But it was a bit hard when one, (the three fish below), went in the first morning - before we had time to get to know it. Lucky I took some shots the day they came out.

I'm quite pleased with these new extruded shapes. I'm not sure what to call them. They do feel coconut shell like in your hands, and are sort of boat shaped. Maybe they should be called coracle pots.


I had to open the showroom early last Saturday for some people who wanted to call in on their way home. I was pretty pleased when they decided to buy the second of the two freestanding upright wavy pieces. But oh dear, then came the faff. The credit card machine was ‘out of sync’ with the bank, so I had to ring the helpline. Aware that the poor souls were trying to get away early, I was most apologetic. I was eventually passed on to the card machine company, whose stony recorded voice informed me would cost of 10p per minute. By this time the pair had decided to drive to Dalbeattie 3 miles away to the cashline machine, leaving me fuming at a service for which we already pay an exhorbitant amount. What a palaver -I really prefer making to selling, if you know what I mean.


Some more long dishes, slip decorated earlier in the week, and now drying out. Another fox and fox gloves,


some penguins,

and a tiger. A visitor remarked that I had gone all long and rectangular - oh dear, is it that obvious?!

Last Autumn I was invited by an nice gallery to exhibit in an exhibition entitled 'Twitter'. I had to turn it down, knowing that I would be hard pressed to fulfil at the time. However I had already formed an idea of a twin 'vase 'shape which I would have liked to have made for it. At last I am managing to get the idea out from my head and into reality. So far so good...

The twitter bit is still to come...

It's been a busy Easter weekend, and I am most encouraged by so many appreciative visitors. (Bit annoying though when I am TRYING to get a twitter vase made and keep having to stop for 'customers')!

For some strange reason, today I sold TWO sets of stacking pots. Unlike the coracle pot I have had them around for a quite a while now, but still I had a bit of an affection for them. They left a big gap in the showroom to fill with someting exciting though.

March pots

That's one big kiln out this week, and another one cooling tonight - there has been a lot of glazing going on. This little chap seems to have survived his fiery ordeal with equanimity. Maybe he had to stuff his paws into his ears though, as the kiln control box has been making an increasingly and alarmingly loud crackly noise as it cuts in and out. Rodger assured me that it wasn't about to go on fire, but I still think I should get an electrian's advice before the next firing.

Some of these long dishes were quite sucessful -. I have another batch underway right now, which I think (hope) are looking more confident than these first attempts at sideways bending.


I was sitting by the burn near Langhom a few weeks ago, watching the water rippling over the mossy stones and noting the colours, mossy green, browns, golds, greys, all quite beautiful in a cold March sort of way. As a result a few new glaze and slip colour tests are on their way which I hope to incorporate into the next ones.

Other new pots included some espresso cups, I liked this one - just big enough for one sheep, rather than the usual whole hill of them,


..and the new shape fatter mug. I've kept this one as I wanted to 'get to know' it through use, and I have found that I am drawn to it as it hangs on the mug hooks. This one is an entirely new design colourwise as well as shape and still has the brown handle.



Unfortunately for me I also really liked the ones which survived having had their handles slipped as well, so I shall have to get to grips with this slipping handle business.


A Spring Fling 'preview' article in D and G Life was shoved under my nose last week. Top pic features Hannah and bottom pic Allie and I doing a long dish lifting demo at last year's event. A photographer came round to do a shoot of one or two studios last year so I suppose I shouldn't have been so surprised.

And for something completely different, I managed to dash into Dumfries for a couple of hours to join the Samba Sisters playing for the bikers 'Easter Egg run as they roared into the town centre. The sun shone, mostly, and the rain kept away, mostly. But the best bit was noticing this baby in a pram, not much more than around 14 months old and sitting up with wide blue eyes and rocking intently to the rythm, competely entranced.

Year of the Tiger, (crocodiles and foxes)

I have been wearing a lot of different hats lately, metaphorically speaking.

However I am also genuine hat-aholic, so I rather enjoyed crocheting my tiger tail appendage for a 'Year of the Tiger' party the other week. It was great having dreadlocks for a night. I have plans for another head piece with thinner locks using French knitting rather than crochet, this time in red and black to fit in with the colours of the 'Samba Sisters'.

I was discussing the benefits for the old knitted balaclava with my textile friend Jo Gallant. We decided that this fifties and sixties piece of practical childrens' headgear has been much maligned lately and it is time that it had a come back. If we could but slip it under the fashion designers radar - reinvent it as a must have accessory. Sounds like next Autumns challenge. Maybe a few crocheted dreadlocks to cheer it up?

But I digress!

Last week Allie was helping me to extrude and put together these 'baskets'. She got the boring bit of putting on the ends, (sorry Allie), and at the weekend I got the exciting bit of adding the edges and creatures. I have a nice little extrusion which gives a lovely fat body as a basis of these crocodiles...

and foxes. I wasn't going to add creatures to so many, but I was enjoying myself and got a bit carried away.

Today Allie was in and put the feet on the baskets. We were both surprised at the extraordinarily long time this took, but when we worked out that as we had made 17 in all with 4 feet on each that was 68 feet to be added! But the feet just make them float.

I also added a few feathery outlines to the trailing edge of the eagle's jodhpurs, something I had been deliberating (and suggested by Griffin, thanks)! Yes, it was a good move - just enough to break up the severity of the outline, but not too frilly, I hope. I have incised where I will add some glazed detail later which will also change the feel ot things.

Lots of throwing last week, mugs and jugs. I have been making the same shape of mug for years. I have TRIED to change it, honestly, but people collect them and always want the original tankard style. But I am BORED with it. So fuller bellies it is, and I really like them. New shape - needs a different handle, so another challenge. The way I slip my mugs, I pour the insides, leave to firm up, dip the outsides leaving the rim as red clay and then put the handle on afterwards so that it is also in red clay and picks up the rims. Now this came about, not only having looked at old Devonshire pottery, but also because at one point I had such a bad experience with shimmering and slip flaking.

Now, years later, having avoided it and slinked around the problem, I find that I am really challenged in slipping a mug, handle and all. At least three handles split and fell off, and the weight of the handle distorted some mugs horribly so that a few sagged against their neighbours. I did throw them beautifully light and even, but perhaps TOO thin?! There is no way I am going to start getting the blow drier out for mug handles, but any suggestions would be welcome. Is my slip too wet, too thick, or what. (The ones that did survive look great though).

Rodger was definitely feeling more like his old self the other day. He made me a nice low turn table from this old swivel footstool, on which to work on my eagle seat, so that I was seeing it from the right angle from the start.

But what do the neighbours think of our washing line?

~(and just in case you are wondering, the old tee-shirts are used for soaking down the clay)~

The Eagle has landed!

I got a couple of days in on my seat this week. I really love making big things, although it feels a bit indulgent. When I was at college I was forever making enormous pots. In those heady days we had maintainence grants and materials were FREE! When I set up my own pottery I had to learn to throw properly and scale down somewhat, with the occasional giant pot appearing now and then for treats. The trouble is I have got the large scale bug back, and there is so much that I want to make.


I struggled with the head. I was going for 'essence' of eagle in general, but the head was in danger of becoming a bit overworked. I had already taken it off once and re-positioned it, but today I nearly took it off again. I think I improved it by cutting out the eyes, so it has had a reprieve.

The talons presented an even greater problem. How to consolidate those wide 'legs' with some sort of representation of the talons. I thought that perhaps I could get away without feet at all but that didn't look right. My initial attempts were too small and insignificant, so I resorted to using a tube.There is something about bending an extruded tube especially with some ridges in it, that gives a great vitality.


I eventually made a special extrusion for the shape of the wing tips. Even then I ended up cutting and insetting but I do like the thick sturdy looking result.

So, nearly there. I am just lining out ideas for the glazed areas and then it will be a long slow drying out, with fingers crossed.

Meanwhile the gallery/showroom has been quite busy this week with half term holidays. When we were stock taking I put a whole lot of 'bits' of old stock in a box, not exactly seconds, but pots which have never really breathed much life and I have had no real desire even to have on display. We set up a 'sales' table, which has been going great guns. I've been topping it up every day and have just about got rid of all the poor old undesirables.
BARGAINS! I should be happy to have the money in the bank instead of cluttering up my shelves, but there is something rather depressing as well. Here I am striving for perfection, but how many people really care as long as they have a bargain!

Happy Valentine's day

Happy Valentine's day. The froth on Barnbarroch Pottery coffee is becoming a legend. It looks especially good today, particulary in these grand mugs . On the left is Rodger's Chris Lewis coffee mug, and on the right is my morning coffee mug, made by Margaret Gardiner.

After a 'bitty' sort of January, ( lots of half jobs, half a kiln packed, half a load of pots slip decorated, half a brain half the time), this month seems to be heading in a more productive direction. Not that last month wasn’t busy. Just too many job jobs, such as unblocking land drains, moving logs, stock taking and other such tedious delights.

However, pots are now filling the shelves and I am even making a bit more progress on my latest seat. The base and top were none the worse for their long mouldy confinement under polythene.


The legs are two roughly triangular shaped extrusions joined back to back. I got them on and then left them to firm up pretty well before Allie and I lifted the seat into position. They seem to be supporting it quite happily, though the seat itself was lighter than the first one I made last year being a sandwich with just a couple of structural ridges between. I am hoping that it will soon fly, though more of this next time.



From a huge seat to tiny little jugs

...and little dishes made from one of the new dies I made last month. They are quite small and just take a few little fishes.

There are always a few fiddly little orders to fit in. I had a rather unexciting order for a restaurant in Glasgow of 20 tiny salt pots and tea light holders plus some tiles for their cloakrooms. The tiles are still drying slowly weighted between suction boards. But I enjoyed making this christening mug for a child with a very grand long name , (here bisc fired and waiting to be glazed).


I had promised a to let Annette have the use of the workshop for a pottery party. Annette worked with us for many years before she became involved in parenthood. Her daughter Amber is seven and it was all very girly. Amber’s idea was that they should all make models of their pets to the music of High School Musical, and it was all very pink and fluffy!

I am not sure who had an elephant as a pet.