Stuff, Pottery Stuff

Thank you all, it's good to know you're still there. Thank you to everybody that came to Rufford and bought our pots. I really enjoy Rufford, it's always great to catch up with potteryheads and to meet some new ones too.

This is what our stands looked like.

For me it felt like I'd found my feet again. This time last year, everything in my life was in turmoil and I'm sure that must have been evident in my work. This year I've taken a lot less on, as I completely burned out last year with all that was happening in my life and a heavy schedule to sustain in some pretty adverse circumstances. It's a gamble taking less on, because I run the risk of not having many places to sell my work, but it just seemed sensible when application time for shows came around, to take a step back and re-evaluate what I'm doing - my work needed it. So far I've survived and the next couple of months are about to become busy.

On 13th and 14th September, we will be selling a new range of domesticwares at the Wardlow Mires Pottery & Food Festival in Derbyshire. This is the only show of its kind that I'm aware of in the UK, where the only pottery for sale is functional wares.

On September 26th/27th, Hannah and I will be delivering a masterclass weekend at Kigbeare. There are still a few spaces left, so if you'd like to learn a bit more about what we do and how we do it, here's an opportunity.

There are one or two other things in the pipeline that I'll tell you about nearer the time. Hannah and I will be working long hours to fill wood kilns for these events. I hope you'll follow our progress via our youtube channel where we'll be adding little videos of the pots being made and fired.

Today we're about to jump in the van and drive to Hatfield House, to this year's >Art in Clay, where Hannah has a stand and I shall be her tea boy.

Here's today's little film of stuff we've been up to during the last few days in Devon. Happy weekends all, if you're at the Hatfield show, please come and say hello.

Is there anybody there?

I don't know whether anybody still follows my blog, it's been such a long time since I wrote it.

These are some really exciting times, traveling backwards and forwards between Devon and Scotland with my wife to be, Hannah. We spend our lives working the long hours that it takes to scrape a living as a potter, but we love every minute of it. We're making plans for our future together, which is going to be amazing.

Tomorrow morning we'll load the van and head off on the long journey to Nottinghamshire and the Earth & Fire show at Rufford. During the last few days we've fired the wood kiln twice, the firing that we unpacked yesterday, being the best ever. It's a lovely problem to have, that we both had too many good pots to take with us. Here are a couple of little films of the kiln being unpacked. If you can get to Rufford, pop by and say hello.

Catch up

I've got really behind with my blog once again. In fact since my last post, we've spent time in Devon, been up to Scotland and now we're back in Devon again.

Here is a series of little films that'll show you what we've been up to.

I'll try and get more organised and keep up with things, so hopefully I'll be back later.

Happy Thursday everybody.

Jars and lids

Good morning
The sun's shining again in beautiful Devon and the birds are singing their little hearts out, it's that time of year. Maybe I need to practice a little song for Hannah when she comes tomorrow? Maybe not! She'd be straight on the next train home. I am so excited about seeing her and I'm looking forward to enjoying a cup of tea together in the morning sunshine. It's a simple pleasure and one of the best. I know that I probably go on about it too much, but she's very cute and I love her a lot.

I worked another long day yesterday and managed to get the jars and lids made. They'll need decorating today. The dry weather speeds things up because I can dry pots in the sun between coats of slip.

Today if I get the decorating done, I might make some bowls. I keep meaning to, but then I get distracted and end up making jugs and jars instead.

Anyway, enough rambling, I'll get myself off to work. Have a lovely Sunday everybody, bye for now.

Friday blog

Good morning

It was a late night again last night, but at the moment I'm enjoying making pots so much that long hours are good fun and really not a chore.  I could have happily worked all night.

I'm counting down the days until Monday, when Hannah is coming to stay for a few days, I can't wait to see her. After that, we'll head back up to Scotland, via Nic's exhibition at the Goldmark Gallery. I love Hannah and I love sharing my life with her, every pot I make, I make for her - she's turned me soft in my old age!

Here's another talkie from yesterday. The sun is shining again and I'm off to work on some lidded jars.

Happy Saturday everybody

It's a talkie!

Morning all

The sun shone yesterday and Spring came to Hollyford, which inspired me to tell the world all about it!



It makes me feel good.

The big tapered jug with crazy decoration

Good evening
Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post. I'm back in Devon now and have just finished a very long day in the workshop. I'll not go on now as I'm tired out. I finished the big tapered jug today, here's a little film. Check out Bernard and his best friend Digger, they're so sweet together
Goodnight all

)

Monday waffle

Hello all
I'm away from the workshop for a few days at my parents' place. I'll probably be heading back to Devon tomorrow afternoon.

Fortunately I haven't got a very full calendar of events this year, which allows me to fit in these visits to see my folks. In some ways I should be worried not to be booked up, last year I pretty much knew my calendar a year in advance, but to be honest it's a relief.

Apart from anything else, it's wonderful to be able to take time develop my work, I just have to hope that I can sell it somewhere! I'm carrying on in the(possibly misguided!)belief that if I can make pots that are good enough, that somebody will want them.

Potting feels so much more enjoyable at the moment and I'm sure it must be visible in my work. Last year was crazy in so many ways, my personal life was a mess, I had to chase around the world and I only survived with the incredible support of good friends. I feel like I'm well and truly back on my feet again now and able to move forwards with strength and confidence.

Spring is coming and I've got through the winter, relatively unscathed! Of course my sweet girlfriend across the Border has a lot to do with it. She provides a constant source of inspiration and emotional support and makes me very, very, very happy.

One of my amazing friends is Andrew 'Frank' Grundon, artist, illustrator, poet, jug scratcher and signwriter extrordinaire. It was he that scratched the design on the beautiful Diamond Jubilee Jug. He has painted this fantastic sign for a pub in Somerset.

It's based on a photograph our photographer friend Claire took of us outside my workshop. It's brilliant, I hope to go and help him fit it and maybe sit beneath it to drink a pint of Westcountry cyder!

Here are three little films below that I made last week before I came to my folks'. One is a rambling talkie, the other two, just the standard quickies.










Back soon when I return to deepest Devon
Bye

Chubby jugs

I made fat bellied 8lb jugs yesterday. Off to Reading today to take Joe, my younger boy for a university interview, then to my parents'. Back soon

Big jug

Evening all

Well I made a big pot before I left this morning. It's a replacement for the one I messed up last week in Scotland. It'll stay under wraps until I can get back to it next week - hopefully I'll not knock the top of this one!

Back in Devon

I'm back in Devon now. Hannah had some commitments in Scotland and she's still up there, so I've been working alone and missing her of course. I love working with her, we make a great team.

These little jugs came out of her kiln earlier in the week. They take ages to decorate.

 The sunshine is grumpy on account of all the rain we've had lately!

Here's a little film of yesterday's workshop action.



I made some mugs before we went North and they were still wrapped in plastic, awaiting handles and sprigs when I got back here, so that was my first task.

My showroom is very sparce and I'm gradually working my way through a making list that contains every form that I produce. At the moment I'm still distracted by tapered jugs, which I want to make in several different sizes - today's are 3lb.

They'll be left under polythene for a few days, as I head to my parents' place later this morning. Sadly my sweet Dad is very poorly.

Bye for now

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.