Thursday 30 June 2011

Pancheon Finds Good Home.

Here I am in Somerset Making good old fashioned pots
and in my line of work I had today
the equivalent of a Royal Visit.
Mick Aston came in to visit me along with his lovely partner
Teresa Hall and their friend Adrian Bastin.
They work on the TV programme
Time Team.
It is Micks Birthday this week and he fell in love with this Pancheon
which Teresa bought him as a Birthday present.
It's the one in the new leaflet
so I'm very happy that it has gone to a good home.
On Wednesday I delivered the last of my Royal Wedding coffee cups.
This is Me waving good bye to them.
and once again a stunning sun set at the workshop.
Living the Dream ?
I think so.

Monday 27 June 2011

Two Blogs in one Day.

John Foley from the image gallery should like this one
two posts in one day.
John runs the Image Gallery in Long Melford Suffolk.
Long Melford is a Beautiful place.
and we met up again at Rufford, where he told me he felt I was
 getting slack on the blogging front.
on Sunday Marion started making this moulded dish.
today she decorated the rim and painted slip.
I then did a decorative design.
we have tried making these before and they always crack
so this time we propped up the out sides.
Watch this space!.

Rufford Trip More Enlightening than Ever.

On Friday Marion and I took a trip to the Earth & Fire show at Rufford
we were able to catch up briefly with our friends, Doug Fitch,
Paul Young, Hannah McAndrew and Tim Hurn.
unfortunately we didn't take many pictures.
We are pleased to report that all of them were very busy,
so we tried not to take up too much of their time and space.
We also met up with Margaret Brampton,
I recognised her pots first and she recognised me from the blog,
this was the first time we had met,
I must say that I don't tend to visit too many of these shows
because I usually come away feeling demoralised.
But this was the first time I have ever come away feeling
full of confidence and happy with my own work.
There were over 100 potters on display
but not one was making what I make in the way I make it.
I may even apply to have a stall next year.

The journey home was full of discussion instead of my usual
silence.
It was during these discussion that Marion mentioned she used to
be good at art as a kid, but didn't take it further as the teacher
was more interested in her than her work.
So we decided to let her have a go at Sgraffito.
Marion's passion is for horses.
she sat down quietly at the table and began to scratch while I threw pots
I could see she had a very confident manner
and that her movements were minimal but defined.
when she finished she just said
 "there what do you think "?

I said some words that I won't repeat her on the blog
but it was along the lines of Blimey that's really good
what a dark horse.
She tells me she's told me before but I took no notice
it just goes to show. You should always
listen to your better half.
I'm going to make her some flat dishes to decorate and
we will see how it works out.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Kiln Electrical Engineer

Both Kilns packed up last week so I've been 10 days without a firing
apologies to anyone waiting for pots.
I tried fixing one of the kilns myself but with no luck.
I have a fair understanding of how they work,
because me and my Dad built two 17 cu ft electric top loading kilns
when I was about 18 years old.
I called in John Shepley of
St Helens Networks.
I could have Knocked him over with a feather
when he stood in front of this kiln and said
" I take it this is the offending article"
and I said
" No this is the good one"!
This one still works, but as you can see the Elements
look like they've been having a party in there.
So John set to work on the other one, as you can see the elements in this one
are in perfect condition.
It turned out to be the Contactor, John replaced it and now all is well.
Biscuit firing last night seems to have gone OK.
Should you have a Kiln problem in the South West
John is Based in Torquay

I'll be ordering some new elements for the other kiln over the next week
I'm just going to do a bit of digging around to find the best possible price.
it's a Pottery crafts P5959.

Monday 20 June 2011

River Cottage, Wales & the Black Swan.

OK I'm going to try and catch up a bit.
the weekend before last Marion did a stand at
River Cottage HQ event
"Spring into Summer"
The Saturday was great and a good day was had by all.
This was our hastily put together table.
all sorts going on.
including herding geese with a sheep dog.
as you can see it was a nice sunny day.
But it was a different story on the Sunday
Marion braved it out while I stayed at the workshop.
as you can see it was a dull wet day.
This weekend we went to West Wales
for a party thrown by one of Marion's old school friends Mandy.
the forecast wasn't good, but we were very lucky
the youngsters played on the Rodeo ride.
While I realised I was getting to old for such things
 and wasn't even tempted to get on. Maybe I should start wearing Beige!
This was our accommodation for the night
Hence the bottle of wine in Marion's pocket.


We were sort of prepared, we thought that glasses might be an issue
so we took a couple of Tea Bowls made by Hollis.
and we put them to good use.

In the morning this was a better site than ourselves.
and on the way back home we stopped off at a nearby river
to have a look at a pair of Black Swans we had spotted the previous day.
So that was last week.
and boy did we sleep last night.
when you've spent a night in a tent don't you just love your bed again.
This weekend we are looking forward to going to see all the fellow potters
at Rufford, we should be there on the Friday
all being well that Marion is able to get the day off work.
Can't wait.

Friday 10 June 2011

What a Week, and it's not over yet!

I have had a busy week and it's not over Yet.
On Monday I made a now rare trip back up to London.
To check out a few things for myself.
But felt progressively worse as the day went on, so I didn't
talk to the people I should have spoken to.
But like a May fly I
 "spent the day Looking around."
I'm hoping Laura will be able to post a comment of the film that line is from.
Tuesday morning started with Five Nurses
on a taster session, and they paid me!
Tuesday night saw the start of my new set of Evening classes.
and the loading of a bisc firing.
and this magnificent sunset was a real bonus.
Wednesday saw me chilling out at home trying to shake of
a virus I seem to have picked up.
and Thursday was back in the workshop finishing off pots
and this morning I have loaded the Glaze firing.
Later I will be putting some stock together for a show at
River Cottage HQ on Saturday & Sunday.
Marion is doing the Saturday for me while I stay here and make pots
but the weather forecast for Sunday is heavy rain
So I'm going to offer to do the Sunday.
These two pictures were taken last weekend, by a visitor who
kindly sent them through to me.
they were titled " at the wheel"
and " Potters Dog".
What is great is that I'm feeling better and not worn out.

Friday 3 June 2011

Soul to Souls.

This week I have been lucky enough to be the benefactor
of a Potter
who sadly died towards the end of last year.
Felicity Miller
made tiles and pots from her studio at Home
here in Somerset.
I had been contacted by Felicity's son to see if I would be interested
in using any of her equipment.
Felicity had an excellent selection of Pottery books
which I have now arranged on a shelf called
" The Felicity Miller Student Library"
These will be great inspiration for me as well as 
my students both young and old.
The small Kiln will be great for students work.
and the introduction of a slab roller to the workshop
has brought great excitement.
I would like to thank Felicity's family for allowing us to use her equipment
so that others can gain benefit from her work.
and for stating that following a donation to the British Heart Foundation
the equipment would come with her blessing.
Thank You
Felicity.
I hope there is plenty of clay in Heaven.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Topsy Turvey Kind of Bank Holiday Weekend

It was a typical Bank Holiday weekend here in Somerset
On a good note The National Trust have provided us
with new signs, So This is my New A Board.
Also on a good note I had some bigger jugs out of the Kiln
on Saturday Morning.
This is made with 6lbs of clay and is 10" Tall
It has a fatter Belly that I like.
And I like this one complete with dribbles
again 6lbs of clay and 10" Tall.
For the first time the workshops at Barrington Court
did a stand at the Sherborne Castle Country Fair
on the Bank Holiday Monday.
We haven't had rain here for weeks, but it poured with rain on the day
and sales were very poor for the other two
But We didn't sell a pot. not one thing.
I did get to have a look at this chap.
So at the end of the day we packed the stand away
and headed to the pub
Where we were able to drown our sorrows with our friends.

Harvest on the Farm TV appearance

It’s great to be back on the Blog! The most exciting thing that’s happening right now, is that I’ve been asked to appear on Channel 5’s TV s...