'Dark Skies'

I finished these two pieces a while back, but I have been saving them, plus keeping the images back, because they are for Zoe's 'Galloway Dark Skies' exhibition at the McGill Duncan Gallery, opening in a couple of weeks. Zoe used the images in her invitation leaflet and I see the Dark Skies vase is even in D and G Life magazine - thank you Zoe.


I called in to pick up some invitations yesterday but the McGill Duncan Gallery is a dangerous place. It is TOO tempting, with such beautiful things that I immediately become filled with lustful 'wants'. Of course Jill says this is exactly what they are there for! Recently aquired were some Paul Young pieces which looked particularly stunning, well displayed and beautifully lit. I simply had to stroke a few birds and sheep. In total contrast a were a pair of beakers and a teapot, made by Andrew Priestman. Quiet, simple, perfect in form, weight and finish. Uncluttered, and filled with a serene presence. In other words everything my own work is not and I loved them!


This tree bark had such a beautiful natural spiral, some sort of damage like whirling railway lines, it might well feed into a yet-to-be-made table, a far off floating idea which will have to wait until after the New Year.

Right now I still have plenty of slip decorated orders to finish. I never know at what point to say, 'Too late now for Christmas', but I hate to disappoint and will no doubt end up in a total last minute panic. Think the cut of is definitely next week though.

Yesterday I ended up doing a small glaze test as the new mix, a big batch of 10,000gms looked and behaved in such an odd way I didn't have the confidence to proceed. It was a new batch of ingredients, possibly the lead bisilicate (which has doubled in price), is from an entirely different source. I have a small and invaluable test kiln, and all seems to be ok, so even though the mix is white instead of cream in colour it seems to be behaving. Phew!

Today became filled with Sunday things, such as making a Christmas cake, and a lovely cliff walk. (Actually it was a cliff hobble, I had a 'Capoeira' beginners class the day before, great fun, sort of Tai Chi meets samba, but I think I over did it)! I also spent an hour trying to get my mobile phone monthly contract changed over to Pay as you Go. Four 'advisers' and queuing systems later I actually spoke to a human being with a soul.....

But ho ho, such a warm workshop awaits me tomorrow. Rodger had been on a mission to insulate and now we have underfloor polystyrene in place, plus double glazing - perspex sheeting held in place with magnetic tape. The windows look amazing because they have never been so clean and spider free in years. Roof insulation still to come. The only thing is that I am USED to dressing like 'Michelin Man' in the winter and now I keep getting too HOT!

Boom!

A good friend from art school Stephen Jon, who has just come back from Kurdistan where he has been working on an arts project with masks and puppets, sent me this photograph. It is an improvised water trough which a herdsman had made for his cows and goats. Well spotted Stephen. of course I recognised and loved it immediately!

What has been happening in the land of Barnbarroch Pottery? I see it is three weeks since I last caught up on blogland. I've been busy, very busy, catching up and pressing on with with plenty of Christmas orders. Some have been going more successfully than others.


How easy it is to forget to vent an enclosed runner. Never done it before and I hope that I won't be so dozy again.... Disaster at bisc, and it was no small vessel! Oh the joys of pottery....

I hadn't really relished the idea of making Christmas mugs for an order, I thought that they could turn out a bit 'naff', but in the end I quite liked them! Think I might even make a few more 'reindeer on Criffel' ones.

I felt rather smug when managed to fit three of these in this kiln, (plus pots around of course), as I had been rather expecting another slanting kiln shelf escapade. The solution to long dishes and a tight kiln fit is to give them asymmetric handles it seems.



Lots of runners to wax, and I quite like them upside down. Hmmm...!



What a beautiful example of repeating patterns which repeat themselves. It's called a 'Romanesco' and when I found it in the Castle Douglas vegetable shop I just had to buy it. Way too lovely to eat though.

An Interesting Experience and a Special Birthday

Back from East Anglia and an interesting trip and quite an experience it was too. It was indeed a long drive, taking eight hours to get down, but no mishaps (such as squashed dish lengths). When I arrived at Mundford on the Sunday morning I did momentarily gulp to see that Rodger hadn’t been joking, I really was to be mic-ed up with a screen on the back wall, projecting a giant image of the proceedings. Given that I could have either been like a frightened rabbit or just get on with it, I went with taking a deep breath and just getting on with it! (Not much choice really).


It must have looked quite comical as I needed a helper to hold each leg of the table to which I had G clamped the Big blue extruder. There were one or two mishaps, such as I managed to put one of the die plates on upside down so that instead of a hollow pipe, my handle fell into two bits. Then I didn’t spend long enough wedging the clay so it was full of air bubbles and one of my handles split, and I didn’t make enough spares. However, to be fair it mainly went well, and the timing, which was probably the bit I found it most hard to judge seemed to work out. By lunch break I had managed to throw, bend and slump the dishes and extrude the coracles, leaving the afternoon for assembling. I did feel more relaxed as the day went on, as I had the sense that the audience was interested and everyone was exceedingly nice and helpful. It felt very strange to be ‘clapped’!


As I packed up I had to sign the wheel which I felt was a bit of a cheat seeing as I had only thrown a sailor and a gannet, and the other signatories were huge throwers such as Nick Collins!

I was told later that a lot of other demonstrators bring a helper, I can see now that this would have been useful. It was the little things, like not having time to clear before the next stage, which I found tricky, so I kept losing tools, and often had to ask the audience if they had seen something. Also I hadn’t taken on board that I might be selling work. Felicity kindly sorted this side out for me as there was no way I could handle it.

On the way home I stayed over at Oskar’s where he and Rachel had a very large whisky ready for me. (Don’t worry. it’s not a habit, but it was a welcome dram that evening).

I decided to meander home and just enjoy my outing, so on the way home I called in at Jim Robison’s Booth House Gallery, hoping there might be some of his 70 at 70 show still remaining. Indeed a lot had gone, but it was still on and it was a treat to be shown round his woodland walk. The trees which he and Liz had planted when they first moved there, and were once dwarfed by the pots, have grown into a wood which is now the setting for a collection of Jim’s wonderful large ceramic sculptures. In some of the latest pieces he has incorporated chunks of thick glass, which create a kind of iridescent ‘stopper’ or crown. All very exciting and inspirational. (Sorry I didn’t have a camera).

I then called in at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park where there is an exhibition of David Nash.



Already blown away by the scale of Jim’s pieces, I stood in awe, humbled and moved in the presence of these towering pieces of wood.







I got back to Rodger and Inigo busy insulating the workshop floor. Rodger had been told by his consultant that he in no way to grub around under the floor boards, so Inigo instead was (not) enjoying the experience of feeling ‘like a Chilean miner’.


It should help as at present the boards rest on a stone dyke with air blowing through. Loft insulation is the next thing, Inigo and I will have to toss for that one.



It was a very special birthday yesterday. Rodger's new stem cells were one year old. We had a toast with champagne to them, and to his anonymous French donor.

Off to East Anglia

Another very busy week, getting the new pots sorted out, some went off to Mainhill Gallery exhibition, some are put on one side for the Galloway Dark Skies exhibition, some are for orders and some have filled the many spaces in the showroom here. In addition I've been getting my demo organised for this weekend. The Big Blue Extruder worked ok sideways on a bench, as long as I was an octopus. I would like to take Allie too but there was no room in the box, so I will need some helpers on the day.....hmmm, this is going to be interesting. Rodger made up locating brackets and screwed them on the board runners so that they can go back to back with safe non squash able spaces between for the lengths of pre extruded clay.

The car's all loaded up ready for off tomorrow. I've probably got way too much stuff, but not being in my own space I would hate not to have that 'favorite' tool and it is amazing how many bits and pieces I do need - simple things like a sponge and bucket, to spanners and screw drivers.

I've also stuffed my much loved laptop with pictures. When I came to it I found loads of good images and hope that I have put together a decent presentation. It is all be a million miles away from working in a quiet workshop here, so it will be an experience. I've been feeling pretty nervous, and I had to give myself a pep talk. Instead of 'Oh how scary having to explain myself to all those strange faces, I have been turning it round and making myself think, 'How exciting to meet all those potters and have the chance to show them what do'. I think it's sort of working. Tell you when I get back!

I just wish it wasn't so far to East Anglia - I got quite a shock when I actually got round to looking at a map.

I found this Puffin teapot in a box. It was made for a special order and then never picked up. I was busy saying to someone that I didn't have any teapots at present when I remembered it. As the customer wanted one with a bird on it was just the thing. So sorry to the original owner to be, but two years is a long time on the top shelf!

500 Vases and some new pots

A parcel arrived last week from the USA. A complimentary copy of 500 Vases, the latest Lark Books publication. How nice to be once again included in this sumtuous feast of pots. Having already been in 500 Platters and Chargers I was invited once again to submit an image, so thank you Lark Books. Most pots have a full page to themselves giving them the space they deserve and it is an interesting and varied collection with superb photographs. Mostly potters are from the USA with a few from Canada, and I have only found one other from Britain so far. Is it churlish to feel a bit peeved that I was one of the few who had to share a page, with the right hand side of the main image nearly lost in the spine? A pity, but still, nice to be in such good company whatever.



I had hoped that by now I would have sorted out my presentation and demo for the East Anglian Potters, but timing has been such that I have been too busy trying to get the last pots out for the Mainhill exhibition. So it’s all been pretty manic again. What is it about deadlines, however hard I try to keep ahead I still go crashing into them. Perhaps I am always too optimistic about how much I can achieve in one day.

So here I am on the computer getting some photos in order for East Anglia next weekend and thought I would just quickly catch up on the blog.



Two big kiln loads of glaze over the last few days. One unpacked and one cooling. My Father came over yesterday and kindly acting as courier to take the pots over to the Mainhill Gallery exhibition. He quite enjoyed leaving the cloudy East for a day to soak up a bit of Galloway Autumn sun.



Those two kiln firings coincided with beautiful and unseasonably hot weather here, leaving me gasping in what is normally a cool if not austere workshop.



Mainhill asked for something hare-ish. I was pleased with this one's face.


Here are some of the coracle boats. Above 'Noah with an outboard'.


This fellow is either being pecked, or has a hand full of corn.

..... Noah went for a swim?


Last week we took the big blue extruder off the wall and Rodger has found a thick board to mount it on. I am going to experiment with G clamping it to the table top and see if I can extrude from it horizontally. That way I can at least do some actual extrusions in situ next Sunday. Otherwise I will be taking pre extruded lengths and somehow not squashing them in transport. Quite a bit to work out yet. Better go!

The Hard Rock was Hard, but look who won

After a torrentailly wet night and morning, things dried up just in time for the Hard Rock Challenge. It starts off with a 10 mile run followed by a 17 mile bike ride round Dalbeattie's Hard Rock MTB trail. I was posted to marshall at the top of one of the steepest decents. What excitement when the first bike through was no other than Hannah's Paul! Go Paul Go, (but take care please).

Here is Allie negotiating the nasty little rocky bit with two tree stumps. It was rather a too eventful place to marshall, as with nasty skiddy conditions the tricky stump produced one casualty who has to be taken off with a suspected broken collar bone, plus there was a broken ankle at the bottom of the next section. Blimey, making the prizes for the event was the easiest bit. These folk are nuts!


Well done to our very own, or rather Hannah's very own Paul and his runner Steven, winners of the mens team. Enjoy the mug!

..and Allie put up a great fight, winning first local woman in the individual competitors. Pipped to first overall by an unknown tri-athlete from Aberdeen. Sorry Allie -not these mugs again, she can't get away from them.

The herd of runners.
The final corner, photo finish.

Here is Rodger's consultant Ranjit, cruising along. A lot of local doctors seem to do the event, Dalbeattie clinic has two who take part. We were happy that Ranjit stuck to running only this year, we need him in one piece.

Hard Rock again and an Artistic Slug

I can't believe that a year has passed by since I was making last year's 'Hard Rock Challenge' prizes. But 49 mugs are all boxed up ready to be presented to the interpid winners of this gruelling duathlon this coming Sunday. I'm going to be marshalling at one of the posts (in the rain if the forecast is right), and shall be cheering on Allie who is doing both the run and the cycle and has been training hard. She has a good chance of winning one of the mugs which she helped to slip and put handles on.

The 'Noah series' dried out eventually and I'll unpack the bisc tomorrow. It has been so humid that I gave up waiting for them to dry out naturally and resorted to lighting the workshop stove just to get things moving. I hoped to get a few more new pieces finished for the Mainhill exhibition and time was ticking by with damp pots going nowhere.

It was becoming difficult to start anything else as I had a shelf traffic jam and the couple of days throwing last week which has been hogging the benches. What a great feeling to get the kiln packed, get everything moved up and order restored.

Perhaps I should employ this artistic slug to help with a little slip trailing?

A Harbour Full of Coracles

When I was in Kendal last weekend, immersing myself in Edun Ara (a fantastic event with singing, dance and drumming, and this year part of the Lakes Alive Festival), one of the participants asked me a simple question. So you are a potter, what sort of pots do you make?


Whether it was because at that moment in time I had a head full of music and not ceramics - but I found it very hard to answer. In fact I never have had a good answer to this question. Surely it can’t be that I don’t know what I make? But somehow I still don’t know how to communicate in a concise sentence WHAT it is I make. It would be so much easier if I could simply say, ‘wood fired stoneware, blue and white tableware, or even slipcast spiders. All rather worrying at this stage in my life and my career, especially as I have been invited down to the East Anglian Potters next month to give them a presentation and demo and generally explain myself.


Maybe I just I follow my nose? This month I decided to make a baby version of the coracle dishes, perhaps with a design of one bee or fish in the middle and they were to be dinky in scale. The first thing that happened is that when the first extrusion went through it became immediately apparent that I had misjudged the scale and they weren’t Mini coracles at all, more ‘Junior’ coracles. Then as Allie and I started to get the curves working they became very boat like indeed. I started to throw a few sailors and gannets and before I knew what I had a fair harbour full!


Di and Bill Bruce from Mainhill Gallery came over last week to discuss what sort of things they would like for their exhibition ‘The Shape of Things’ next month and dropped of this smart invitation. I get the whole back page which is rather good.

Friday 13th and other stories

Friday 13th came and went. A strange day, not all good, suffice to say that it is an unfortunate fact that when a large ceramic object drops it breaks. A rather catastrophic reminder of the impermanence of pottery, significant by the date and curiously strange in that it was also my birthday!

Potters are pretty good at putting things behind them and it was otherwise a pretty good weekend. Oskar came up and we windsurfed out to Hestan Island on a steady Easterly. We had left it a bit late so the tide was well turned by the time we reached the island. This is the Solway so there was a fair rip developing over Hestan rack (a causeway appears at low water). We didn't linger there and Oskar set off easily. I had a bit more trouble as the rip was beginning to pin my sail and board down. It was a relief to get up and going and make the more friendly waters off Almoness Point and reach back into Kippford in glorious sunshine.

No photos of that day but here are some of the weekend before when a few of us joined the Edinburgh Samba school to play in the Festival Cavalcade.

It was exceedingly hot, and we drummed energetically round Arthur's Seat making a terrific racket.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHpyT_WW5jY


Back in the workshop I have been having one of those sorty weeks, with little to show for it. We got an order for materials written up and off, I tidied out the garage, updated photos on the websites and eventually wrote out a list and made a start on those itsy bitsy small orders that I have managed to put off for ages. None of them are particularly hard, or exciting, but strangely they take ages to do. 'One of these, one of those', and of course I have to throw more than one to get into the swing of the form. This on top of the showroom having a steady stream of holiday browsers has made for a rather unsatisfactory week workshop wise, but it will be a relief to get them made and off to the patient clients and then have freedom to get on to new things.


I remember Mary Wondrauch in her book on Slipware relating how she kept the rare but treasured letters of thanks she received from happy people who had bought her pots. Well nowadays it is emails but I received one of the nicest correspondence the other day from someone who had bought one of my dishes at Potfest. It made me smile from time to time all day.