The 2011 Cenus has arrived

The 2011 Government Census form has arrived.

I have been looking through the questions,

and they all seem a bit dull.

If it had asked the following questions, I might have been able

to give some interesting answers.

1. Occupation ?- Potter

2. have you in the past 24 hours worked in the Buff ?- Yes

3. did you get two photogrophers mixed up? - Yes

4.did Marion save your blushes.? - Yes

5. have you spent the last 12 hours saying " Oh My God" ?- Yes

6. Do you have any Idea why you did it. ?- Yes

Last year the Duke of York Pub did an auction to raise money

for the Help the Hero's charity

In one evening they raised over £8,400. this included two

of my tankards raising £75.

For 2011 they have decided to do a calender girls style calender for 2012

and I agreed to pose for it sat naked at the wheel.

This is the help for hero's logo

If for some strange reason you want to see these pics.

 I will give details of  how to buy the calender later in the year.

I'm not a war munger in any way shape or form.

But if I can help raise money for injured soldiers then I am happy to do that.

 

These are just some random pics.

This car pulled up outside the workshop earlier this week.

and these are pots made this week.

These are three big casseroles made with 6lbs of clay.

Not that i'm trying to gloss over the first part of this blog

But !!!.

or should that be Butt!

 

Pots in the Making

I thought I would show you some pictures of pots in the making

and then the finished pots.

This is a close up detail of a pancheon handle. 

and the lip of the same pot. 

freshly slipped Pancheon

this one was slightly to wet to slip and luckily the kiln was

cooling down at the time and I was able to save it from collapsing

by sitting it on the kiln to dry quicker.

This is my stamp and the workshop stamp. 

and this is the finished pot. 

This jug came out of the kiln yesterday as well. 

and this one 

A group shot.

The Casserole

and I do like these dark moody window shots.

Looking Back at February's Past.

Those of you that have been following me

from the start will know that this was my workshop

in the back garden in February 2008

Pottery was still only a hobby then and it was all done

in a 10 x 10 ft summer house. 

Then in Feb 2009 I got a small workshop at Barrington Court.

and in February 2010 I moved to this workshop.

This time last year the workshop was looking like this.

and I can tell you it was a daunting task turning it into a

workshop and showroom.

But we did it.

Marion designed the showroom

and I had complete freedom to design the workshop.

This year I have finally had January & February free to make

some stock for the showroom.

This week sees the end of my Financial Year,

and the start of a new season at Barrington Court

and I'm happy to report that I'm 25% Up

on this time last year.

I've never worked so hard in my life before

It's only the end of  February  and I'm feeling wacked out.

I think I just need to see some more sunshine

and some warmer weather.

Thanks for all of your help and support

over the past few years, the blog has been a great help

and I hope it's inspired a few more of you

to Go For It !.

It's the best move I ever made.

Photo Session in Barrington Court

What better place to take Pictures of my new pots

than Barrington Court.

Today I was able to use the house as a backdrop to

take pictures intended for my revised leaflet

that I have planned for 2011.

The combination of mature timbers and the beautiful local hamstone

seem to suit my pots perfectly. 

This is the magnificent walking gallery on the top floor.

Hundreds of years ago, Ladies would have taken a turn around the room

in their magnificent gowns during the winter months

so as to not get them dirty outside.

You can almost hear the rustling of the crinoline fabric. 

and these pancheons look right at home

on the Kitchen window sill. 

I also had to take some of me on the wheel. 

I'll have to do something about that hair. 

I've got some great shots for the leaflet and it was really exciting

having the court house to play with.

Thanks to the National Trust Team for letting me loose.

Pots for Stock.

I have just unloaded the Glaze Firing this morning.

and I'm happy with the results, because most of the pots

are for Stock in the showroom.

This Pancheon is 15" wide.

This green bowl although Ok the Idea needs working on. 

These are my small bowls that sell for only £5 each.

I now have around 40 in the showroom. 

This tall jug is 14" Tall. 

and these are the pots I had on previous post

as they were being made. 

Inspired by the Michael Cardew Jug. 

I like this one. 

and I now have garlic pots back in stock.

New pots.

These are the slipped pots I decorated

this morning.

The one on the left was a trial, the middle one

my attempt that I was not happy with

It only goes to show that some designs only lend themselves

to a certain size.

That's what decoration is all about,

That instinctive feel of knowing what looks right.

and the one on the right is me crawling back

under my stone and saying that's all it needs.

To me this one feels and looks much better.

This bowl was not as good as I would have liked

but the only way forward is more practice. 

My Kiln had cooled down very quickly in this cold weather

so I was able to open it this morning. 

This is the entire kiln load on the table. 

the lids are for pots already made. 

This is one of the new pancheons, made with a mix of local clay. 

one of the finished salt pigs. 

and my larger baking or serving dish. 

and this large bread crock which has been made to order

with an old fashioned style wooden lid.

Stages of a pots development.

These lidded pots were all going to be

Garlic Pots.

But I had seen a picture of a Michael Cardew Jug

That made me want to decorate them

in a different way. 

So these two are not having the holes drilled in them

which I do with a normal drill bit. 

As I need the stock these three get the hole treatment. 

But these two get dipped in black slip. 

I want to try this decoration on them

There is something about Cardew's work

that I feel deep down inside, but I can't explain it

I only know it gives me a warm glow inside. 

Practising slip trailing on a piece of board before

I tackle this large bowl. 

I haven't plucked up the courage to do it yet

maybe tomorrow.