Saturday 26 April 2014

I'm Loving Making My Pots

At the start of the year I said to myself that this year 
I would make more time to make Larger pots.
This conscious decision is paying off ,why?
Because I'm loving making the bigger pots alongside
the standard range.
I'm much happier with the quality of my pots now
something that must play on the minds of all potters all over the world.
One night this month I woke in the middle of the night
and my head was saying
" Your rims on your Pancheons are too thin"!
The very next morning I added an extra pound of clay to my
Pancheon size and made a thicker rim.
I'm much happier with them now, it's the small details
that make all the difference. 
 I also wanted a more rustic colour that would work well
with the rest of the collection
and I think we have found it with this Biscuit colour.
 Here is one of my larger dishes in Black
I just love the flow of the slip even the bits that didn't quite
flow all the way are there in the mind, it's all about
the confidence in which you approach the pot.
You just need to go for it and keep the flow.
 This one sold yesterday and it will be shipped to America next week
the lady just fell in love with it when she walked in the showroom.
I love it when that happens,
I love it when my pots speak to people, it's one of the joys
of selling your work direct to the public.
 It's very easy to get caught up in the bigger pots, but we know as a pottery
that not everyone can afford the bigger pieces, so I've started
making these Mini Pancheon serving dishes,
They measure just under 6" across and have a retail price of just £10 each
I love the simplicity of them.
 This 17" dish has been in the showroom for almost a week now
it's lovely to watch people running their hands over the rich honey glaze
and feeling the throwing ribs.
 Here is a selection of the colours
they really do work well together. The Jugs a cracker!
This is the new Biscuit colour on one of our locally made tear & share boards.
And this picture below taken at the end of the day
just as the sun caught the daffodils in the showroom
looks like they have been plugged in.
Have a great week.

Sunday 6 April 2014

A Blank Canvas to work on.

When you look back over a year
some weeks tend to stand out rather more than others
I think this is going to be one of those weeks.
I shall start with some of the pots we have made.
I love pots when they are at the leather hard stage
this 17" wide dish is a blank canvas
and I stand looking at it thinking of all of the designs I could add
I have so many Ideas I just have to pick the one that I feel
will make the most of the shape & size of the bowl.
I'm stood here thinking I should have made 20 so that I can slip them
all in different ways.
This is what it's like to stare at a blank canvas but have 10
ideas running through your head.
it's all very exciting and a moment in life that only you can
live, this is the best part of being a creative person, having the belief
to do what is right by the pot.
Other people can appreciate the finished pot but as a maker
you have a unique bond with each piece.
Here is the other end of the spectrum
60 balls of clay weighed out to make ramekins
and the 60 completed in just over two hours.
This in it's self is a great discipline and a moment that you can really 
get into the zone and loose yourself in your work. 
As a Potter I find the time adding handles to be a strange place
because sometimes I love to just get on with it
but at the same time I want to be making more pots
and this time feels like lost time, if that makes any sense?
Marion has been trying out a new slip
these three bowls by Marion all have the same slip
but with three different glazes. 
I took a few days out of the workshop on Monday & Tuesday
to paint the front windows of our little cottage.

 Then on the Friday night we had a chimney Fire
and we were lucky not to loose the lot.
it turned out to be not that bad, but it gave us a scare.
 I said on my facebook page that some days you go out of the door
looking for inspiration and some days there it is staring you in the face. 
This was the sun on the statue across the road.
I love the shadow on the wall.
 We had a day when the light was just great everywhere you turned.
 and I finally took the plunge and started making bigger pots
this bread crock is made of 14lbs of clay.
 It looked like spring was here last week.
 So I captured some of it and put it in a jug.
 We had a very quiet day at the court today
but the Morgan owners club were in town
and I took this shot that I really thought captured the event.
I hope this gives you a flavor of what's going on in the workshop
at the moment.
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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...