Boxing Day Swim

Rockcliffe beach, boxing day. It was FREEZING.....note the 'wimps' in wetsuits! Actually it was still freezing, I can vouch, hence the lack of a photograph of the event, but I can assure you it did happen.

The stool is growing

I seem to have taken ages getting this far this week - partly because of reduced elbow function still, but I've also been struggling with the 'engineering'side. The hexagons are from a north star Big Blue ready made die, and are making up the central column of the stool with the middle one acting as a locator for the second tier. After this shot I did perforate them (like a holey cheese) to cut down the weight. Slabs are wrapped round the central structures with 'fins' pinning the slabs together. I've put a back on the bowed seat and it should locate in the top hexagon.....with luck, and a lot of tweaking. Phew, all a bit tricky. Tommorrow I should be able to get the top seat on, and I hope it will look ok. Judging proportions, upside down, standing on my head is a bit fraught!

The start of a stool

The beginnings of another stool. This is going to have a slab on top to form a thick sandwich. The base is in two sections and I'll put a few photos up as I go along. I got stopped short this weekend as I STUPIDLY went out on my bike and hit a huge frozen puddle. A trip to casualty confirmed no cracks, but my elbow is only just beginning to function like an elbow should after two days rest.

Still, it meant I enjoyed two fairly leisurely days. Saturday was the opening of 'Galloway Past and Present' at the McGill Duncan Gallery. I only had a few pieces there, but it was a lovely mixed show and I'm pretty thrilled to have sold my big dish 'Speedy', as well as a wiggly shoals dish AND my Christmas Cracker penguins. It is always so exciting to find people actually want to have the things you make!

Today I was a visitor at the Corsock Craft Fair, (great to be on the other side). As well as Hannah's scrummy honey pots and Amanda's beautiful glass, there were HATS. Lots of them. For a hat-a-holic like me it was too much. Delightful Afghan hats ( sold for the Afghan Schools project), Jem Cox's handmade bonnets and Joanna Gisbeys incredible creations. She makes them out of old jumpers, deliberately washed up and felted. I bought one last year which has POCKETS. My favourite this time was one made from a V neck jumper where the V became the head hole and the side bits drooped down, medieval style, ending in four cornered knots - brilliant! Ron you would have been in your element.

Heavy comb and tassles

Some of the larger dishes from the comb shaped die came out of the kiln last week. While I am happy with the shape and decoration, they are far too heavy, the comb die just pushes through too much clay. My idea was to give the structure strength, but in fact it was overkill. I like the feel of the 'tassle' like ends though. Next time I am going to make a ridged sandwich to give the thick fat feel I like .

Lark books have requested me to promote their new publication of '500 Platters and Chargers'. If you ever find yourself a copy, don't forget to look at page 224. I am not sure about my fierce dog platters, ( or charging dog chargers) sharing a page with a skull, but hey I shouldn't complain. It is exciting to be represented in such a nice book.www.larkbooks.com

Ding!

At last I have been getting back to finishing these large dishes. I've been glazing them - with home invented 'brush on glazes', though trailing the glaze was also working quite well. It will take a couple of kilns to get them all glaze fired, more slanty kiln shelves...they didn't shrink in the bisc THAT much. The big loopy legs did crack a bit at bisc, I'm not sure whether it was the stress of being on a slant or that I hadn't put a proper hole in the hollow.
( Stupid!) I got the repair stuff out to fill the cracks and had made a pretty good job of it when I birled the thing round on the banding wheel and knocked a clean slice of the end! More repairs...(huh, even more stupid)!

Twisty spout

I quite like the way the spout of this teapot twisted as I was throwing it. I think the tea might come out in a spiral though, so maybe an exciting pour....

Doves

Here's some really nice dove pictures that Rodger took. They really do have very pretty pink feet. These ones live in our dove cote - the shed which is actually the old school outdoor toilets.

Too many small tubs

Three dishes with variations of this design came out of the last kiln. This one was the nicest as the brown earth in the middle glowed- it was just a lighter tone from being higher (cooler) in the kiln. I'll adjust the oxides in the slip so that I can be assured of repeating this colour. This is how I end up with litearlly dozens of small pots of coloured slips, it's a nightmare. Then I read Ron's blog on deliberate restraints...if only I could be so disciplined. ( I dare not even mention the shelf loads of small tubs of glazes)!

It was good to see Jim and Ian at The Booth House Gallery, always so enthusiastic and encouraging. Jim had some beautiful slabbed constructed pots and his use of scale is always inspiring. www.jimrobison.co.uk Ian Marsh who helped out on the extruding course was there too, and he told me he has just got himself a pneumatic extruder from the States. Mmm, nice one- I can begin to see the attraction of 'no hands', I always need a spare pair. Next day I went on to take some work to 'Gallerytop'. It was small but very nice, and beautifully located near 'Chatsworth House', ( looking splendid with its parklands and golden leaved autumn trees). Stopped off in Bakewell on the way back and had coffee in the Bakewell Tart tearoom. I brought a genuine Bakewell tart home for Rodger. The real thing really is quite something - Hannah and Paul enjoyed a taste of the remaining crumbs on Saturday. This swimmers wavy dish I took to Gallerytop. I wish I had unpacked the box it was in though as I now realise that I have abandoned my precious extra strong and famous 'Big Blue' rectangular box. I don't mind the pots, but do look after my cardboard box, Gallerytop!