Frosty Monday and the Fieldfares in the orchards

Well I made it to the workshop on Friday and it was indeed, as my friend's picture had shown it - bloomin' snowy and bloomin' slippy. In spite of the man flu, I bravely soldiered on and managed to get the pots wrapped and packed and into Exeter in time for the opening - just.

The drive back was precarious, it doesn't look much, but the lanes out in the sticks aren't gritted and as soon as you get to a hill, it becomes a game of stop, start, stop, reverse, run-up, go........ hope for the best.

Anyway, I made the opening in a somewhat unprepared fashion and chatted, through a fever of man flu, to the good folk who came on such a cold night. I didn't take any pictures, I'll get some later in the week.

This morning I walked to work. This is the frosty orchard.

The trees were full of Fieldfares, they always are at this time of year, they migrate in from Northern countries for the winter months.

It was chilly, but beautiful.

I have been waiting to get on to sgrafittoing this puzzle jug and the walk through the orchards inspired it's development today. Usually I pinch a traditional rhyme from old puzzle jugs, but this one has one of my own, written in a similar, folksy kind of way. It says:

Fill me full with cider sweet

From orchards where the fieldfares meet

And puzzle as I challenge you

To drink, not spill, my appley brew.



So far it has a number of birdies that look (very, very)vaguely like fieldfares- well they have speckles and two wings at least. They're hanging out on the bare, winter trees. I could make them look more realistic(yea right) if I were to copy them from a book, but I like the idea of drawing what I think they look like, as they would have done in the days before photography. I hope that they capture the naive essence of the old North Devon slipware jugs that I admire so much. Many hours of scratching still to go this pot.

Well that's all for now other than to invite once again, anybody who would like to come to:
The Exeter show
The Cambridge show

Or to browse the Great British Potters on-line show

Goodnight all