Friday frustration

Well I made a big jug today, then spent the whole day decorating it. It was going well and I had an idea for the decoration that would have been quite effective I think. But then, right at the end of the day, I managed to knock the top off it, so it was returned to the reclaim, boo. At least I still have a video of it, part completed, as you can see below.

Hannah took some photographs today of the pots we fired last time I was here. These are a few of the little jugs that I made

  

Mugs, thrown by Hannah and handled and decorated by me.

And here's the film from today of my jug that copped it, grrrr

Happy weekend everybody

Scratched

Jugs scratched, plates thrown, cows escaped. Just another day at The Barm Pottery in Scotland



This is my 800th post! Back tomorrow for 801

Back across the Border

Here we are back in Scotland.

We travelled back yesterday, a long journey that was straightforward enough until just short of the border, when suddenly the engine on Hannah's van cut out and we were stranded at the side of the M6 in the pouring rain. The timing belt had snapped. So a couple of recovery vehichles and a taxi later, we eventually got home, tired and fed up.

This morning, we walked the mile and a half to the workshop in the rain. It didn't matter that it was raining though, it was good to get out in the Scottish countryside. We both realise how blessed we are to live in beautiful places and it's wonderful that we now get to share them with each other.

Hannah spent the day packing up the pots from her on-line exhibition and I scratched the little jugs that I made here a while ago. There are four of them, I aim to get them all done this week, then fired up and for sale on my website as soon as I can - we need a new engine for the van!

We worked late and walked home in the dark.

 Thank you to everybody who commented on the Valentines Day blogs. It's such a joy to be doing the thing that I love, with the person I love, words cannot explain.

Here's a little film of our day today, back with more tomorrow

Goodnight all

Doug and Hannah's Valentines Special

Something for all you old romantics

A Potter's Love Poem

A Potter's Love Poem

Our wholeness, our consciousness 

Proclaimed within a brown clay jug 

Our Earth, our clay, our harmony 

As integral as marl and grog 

Our slip, our glaze, our synthesis 

Layered, shining bright and bold 

Our kiln, our fire, our burning light 

Our tale of Love set in stone 

I Love You Hannah

Hannah's 10th Anniversary pots

Poorly poorly poorly today :(

Here's breaking news about some beautiful pots from my wonderful girlfriend, available this evening



Back to sleep for me, catch you later on

Jugging again

Hello big wide World

We're back in our Devon workshop, making pots under stormy skies. The weather's been really wild here, winds so strong that a section of workshop roof took off a few nights ago and flew off down the track. There's another crazy storm coming in as I write, so hopefully the rest of the roof will stay on.

Poor Hannah's been really under the weather, with a nasty lurgy, so she's been tucked up in bed, trying to sleep it off. Thankfully she's on the mend now, but I've a feeling I may have caught it from her.



I told myself that I was going to make no jugs for a while and that I was going to concentrate on making bowls. Unfortunately Alex showed a slide of a beautiful medieval jug during his talk last weekend and it's been stuck in my head, so I had to get on the wheel and make my own version.



So the rest of my time has been spent finishing them.



Yesterday Hannah was much better, so we got some proper time together, walking in the countryside before the next storm came in, then working until the early hours in a toasty workshop.

More potting fun to come today, after a trip to in to the big city to pick up Hannah's pots from the photographer's. I'll post some pictures of her special tenth anniversary pots later.

The wind's getting up, but the sun's shining, I think I'll pop out for a minute and look for a rainbow.

Happy Saturday everybody

Success!

We unpacked the kiln yesterday morning in torrential rain. There were a lot of beautiful pots, a bit of underfiring at the bottom as we expected, but it was a really successful firing.

We're on our way to Ruthin for today's talk, then back to Devon tonight, ready to make lots of pots in the forthcoming week. I feel like I have a new found energy, so I think the pots are going to flow - they certainly need to as my showroom is virtually empty at the moment. I'll let you know.

Happy Sunday everybody

Decorating

Evening all

Here's a little film of what we did today. Hannah is a fantastic decorator. It's rare that I would be brave enough to decorate one of her pieces, but the grasses on the centre of the large platter are by my hand, further embellished by Hannah's slip trailing. I'm a reluctant decorator, but Hannah encourages me and gives me confidence. I've always avoided flatware because of this, but I enjoyed my simplistic efforts on the big plate, a special moment captured in slip forever.

The little jug that I've been sgrafittoing is one of a number I was hoping to have available should anybody be looking for a Valentines Day gift for their loved one. The phrase on the front is appropriately by the Scottish Bard, Robert Burns. There are five of these little jugs, but as it's taken me all week to decorate just the one, maybe I'm being a bit ambitious to think that any more than this one will get completed in time. I expect I'll leave the other four here to scratch on, next time I visit in a couple of weeks time.

Tomorrow we open the wood kiln which will be exciting. I'll let you know how it goes. We know the bottom is a bit underfired in places, but otherwise we feel fairly optimistic that we did a good job - you never can tell though.

In the afternoon, we're heading off to Lancashire to visit Alex, before heading to Ruthin in Wales on Sunday, where Alex and I are presenting a talk at the Ruthin Craft Centre. After that, Hannah and I will continue on the long journey back to Devon where little Bernard the cat will be waiting to welcome us home no doubt.

Back tomorrow with firing news, be it good or bad

Goodnight all.

Fired, tired, bed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Stacked and packed

We finished the pack just as it went dark. There's no electricity in Hannah's kiln shed, so it was done just in time. It's going to be mighty chilly in the morning when we head off up the road at 6am to start the firing.

Here's a little film of the day's action



Off to bed to get some sleep in readiness for a busy day tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

Goodnight all

Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars

Evening all
Here's a little film from today. I made storage jars and lids which will stay under wraps until I get back from Scotland.

I feel like I'm emerging from a debilitating episode of maker's block. My recent trip to Hannah's did the world of good for my confidence and made me realise that I can still make boards full of pots. For a while I just didn't want to make pots any more. Last year I was burned out, this year, I've found a new energy.

So an early start tomorrow and a long train journey to Hannah's, then a few busy days packing and firing her kiln.

I'll report back from across the border. I'd better go and pack my bag

Goodnight all

Another loooooooooooooooooooooooooong day

I'm putting the hours in at the moment while the creative juices are flowing - maybe I'm just trying to avoid the dreaded tax return? Whatever it is, it's working and I'm enjoying making pots again. There was a time when I felt like I didn't want to do it any more and I couldn't see my way forward.

Tomorrow I'm heading off to Scotland to see my love and inspiration Ms McAndrew, for her firing. It's good to know I'll be coming home to a whole lot of pots in the workshop.Better still to know she'll be coming with me.

It's pouring with rain again today, yesterday was wild and windy, you can hear the tin roof banging in the wind on this little film.

Oh well, this won't do, off to work I go, jars today I think. Back later, Happy Sunday y'all

looooooooong day

My goodness, that was a long day's work

Hannah's and back

I'm back in Devon for a few days and getting back in to the swing of potting in my own workshop. I've been making tankards and beakers today. I haven't any photos yet, but here are a few more from last week at Hannah's.

We had such a wonderful time, making pots by day and watching pottery films on youtube by night. It sounds dull to most people I'm sure, but to us it was a really, really, lovely.

We had a most enjoyable day out, visiting our friends at the Castlegate House Gallery.  

We delivered a collection of new work. Here are a couple of examples, I pinched the picture from their web site, photo credit Steve Swallow

Costrel made by Hannah, fired in the wood kiln here at Hollyford, it's a beautiful pot this one, lots of flashed up naked clay and really well executed fingerwiping.

One of my moneyboxes, inspired by the crows in the winter trees.

This is a dribbly slip pot I made at Hannah's. The challenge with these is to get the timing right with the comb and slip, so that the runs don't go too far - this is just how I wanted it.

These little ones will be sgrafittoed. A couple of them collapsed as they probably a bit too damp when the slip went on .

The pots we made are going into a wood firing next week, which is to celebrate Hannah's ten years in business. She's made a special seal with an X on it which her pots are marked with.

I'm so proud of her and what she's done. She's worked extrememly hard and invested so much energy in to her work during the last ten years, she makes beautiful things.

I'm looking forward to next week as I'm heading back up on the train on Monday to help glaze and pack, then fire the kiln. Hopefully we'll have time to watch some more pottery films on youtube, woohoo!!! I can't wait.

Here's a pottery film below - ah, you watch them too!

Have a great Friday everybody

Tuesday at Hannah's

 Hello all

 Well I'm still here in Scotland and having a really wonderful time making pots with Hannah.

We worked a long day today. I have to head back to Devon on Wednesday, so there are a lot of pots that will need finishing before I go.



I love making pots with Hannah, we've always been able to work alongside each other, which is a good job as we plan on spending a lot more time together!

Funny and lovely :)

My girl, funny and lovely :)

Happy New Year!

Hello everybody. Happy New Year to you all.

I'm in Scotland at the moment making pots with Hannah which has been just lovely. Here's a little video of today's throwing - it's my turn to ball up for her tomorrow! These are happy days indeed.

Peace and Love

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Home and not quite dry

I'm back in my own workshop today in rainy England after my whistle-stop trip to Scotland. I didn't get in the workshop until this afternoon, but it is Sunday after all. It was good get some wet clay on the shelves so that I can start the week with positive momentum. It's difficult getting going again after time away. My dear friend Frank came over, which took the edge off the emptiness of coming home to a cold shed with a leaking roof.

Frank shot the little video of a jug being made. I'd intended to make a few of them, but in the end blasted this one with the gas burner and worked on just this one, while we chatted and he read me the sweetest children's story that he's just written.

. 
You might notice my shameless advert at the end of the video. I have some new pots for sale on my website. Here are a few pictures of some of them. They're mostly big pots, I hoped to get a few smaller ones on there and some other forms, but I just ran out of time, so I'll be adding to it in the next few weeks. Here's a link to the site

Happy Monday everybody