Saturday

I went to work yesterday and spent many hours sticking little rolls of clay on to some of the jugs that I made last week, whilst listening to Exeter City's crushing defeat on the radio - I'm glad I didn't go now! 

Quite a few jugs are still tucked away under polythene, awaiting decoration. I'll work a long day tomorrow and try to get as many as I can all finished up. I'd like to throw the next batch of pots on Tuesday -this will be a number of larger, one off pieces, for a forthcoming exhibition with painter Adam Milford.

A five pound fat jug and a tapered seven pound jug.




I'm having the day off today. Perhaps Hil and I will take a trip to the seaside this afternoon if the sun keeps on a'shining.

Happy Sunday everybody, catch you tomorrow.

Friday handlage

Evening all. It's been a day of handle making today, slightly subdued due to the ill effects of last night's cider. I had a lovely birthday, I'm feeling my age tonight though!

Here are jugs in three sizes - the ones on the shelf are made from 5lbs of clay, the round ones beneath, 3lbs and the tapered ones, 7lbs. I'll try and decorate them all differently. Throwing the pots is pretty quick, it's the handling and decorating that takes the time. I think I'll probably work tomorrow, even though it's the weekend. I've a lot to do, with a number of commitments approaching in September, so I need to get these pots decorated and fired as quickly as I can.

The football season starts tomorrow and although I'm not a great sports fan, I do like to follow my local team, Exeter City.  I really enjoy working on a Saturday afternoon, while listening to the match on the radio, so maybe I'll do that - or maybe I'll go and watch it, then feel guilty for not going to work, just like I did yesterday.

Happy weekend everybody

Home again

Home again after a wonderful holiday in the Lake District. I needed the break so badly, I just hadn't realised how much. Now I feel fully refreshed and ready to get back in to making again in a big way. The Lake District is such a beautiful region - I love the countryside that surrounds my home and workshop in Devon, but it was great to see some different terrain - and to come back to my own again afterwards too of course. While we were away, I dropped off some more pots to the exhibition at the Castlegate House Gallery. The show runs until 8th September and is the first exhibition to be put on by new owners, Steve and Christine Swallow. It comprises of paintings and pots which they feel particularly passionate about, so it's a delight to have my work included, along with Hannah's and Paul Young's pots. I was pleased to be able to take some more pots along, as TNT destroyed a number of key pieces that I'd sent by courier a couple of weeks ago, with their careless handling, grrrrrrrrrrr. You can see all the work if you click on the gallery link above.

The workshop garden has been rather neglected this year but my blousey gladioli are giving me a bit of late summer colour. I seem to have been so busy this year, that I just haven't had the time to keep on top of it.

The apples in the orchard appear to be plentiful again this summer, they've certainly had a good drop of rain to drink in recent weeks. These will be used for making 'Irish' cider

A few more weeks and we'll be in to blackberry season.

'Lords and Ladies'

 I'll not bore you all with my holiday snaps, but if you're interested in seeing where we went to, here's a little film of our adventures in the Lakes. Luke has a job at the moment, so he opted not to come with us on holiday for the first time this year so we took Joe's buddy Albert along, to keep Joe company. It's less than a month now before Luke goes off to Bath and to art college - it seems like a blink of the eye since he was a baby.
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This is a badly chopped together film I made yesterday of the day's making. I should have been at work today really, but I gained another year today, so had a day off with Hil and the boys instead. We're off to the pub tonight for my birthday celebrations, so I'll be handling pots tomorrow with a cider head no doubt!

Bye for now

Scrub up

No sooner do I get back in to blogging, than I have to stop again. We're off on our holidays on Monday, so I worked late in to the night on Friday night to get the workshop clean and tidy for when I return. I've got a stack of clay pugged and ready to get started as soon as I get back. The place was so desperately in need of a sort out, when the workshop is clogged up it doesn't function properly and as a result of that, neither does my head. I had a good day yesterday with a photographer friend of mine, Claire Borlaise. Frank came over too and we had some pictures taken for a publication we're putting together. I'm not sure if this will work, but you might be able to see the pictures here Off to set up a little stall in the church near my workshop at Stockleigh English today. They have a cream tea event every year - it isn't really a selling event, but it's a pleasure to be invited there as part of the community. There's one of my jugs in the church that I made a few years ago for the Flower Ladies - you can see it here in the film that Alex made, Hollyford Harvest. Well I don't know what's happened to my blog - I lost all my paragraphs a while back and so just changed my template in an attempt to get them back. Now I've lost all my links and my clustermap. Sometimes technology makes me want to curse. I need a holiday!!! Back in a week or so, take care, bye for now.

Thursday

Yesterday was a day of decorating and tidying up. Last year, on my trip to America with Hannah and Ang, Dan took us to visit Guy Wolff in Connecticut. Guy gave us some slip trailers that he had made. They consisted of a clay reservoir, with a goose quill, through which the slip flows. I've been wanting to have some fun with these for a while - I like the challenge of decorating, with the material slightly out of control. I need to come up with some new ideas really, the design that I messily trailed is a traditional one, used extensively by Michael Cardew. It fits these dishes well, as the moulds were made by the great man himself. My method of applying the design however is rather more haphazard than his. It'll be interesting to see how they come out, they'll either work or they won't. Today will be another day of tidying up. The place is such a state at the moment after all the chasing round the country in recent weeks - it's not been sorted out properly for ages. Joe, my younger son is going to come and stack wood for me this afternoon, which will be a great help. We're going away next week for a family holiday, so I want to have everything organized and in it's proper place, ready for when I get home. While we're away, I'm hoping to spend a few hours in the Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth, where I currently have an exhibition alongside Hannah McAndrew and Paul Young. Well I have to walk to work today as the car is in the garage for a service, so I'd better get out on those lanes - I think the sun might be shining - hurrah! Back later, bye for now