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.

Make Time for a Cup of Tea.

This Year i have decided to make some things I had shy ed

away from in the past.

One of which was Cups & Saucers.

I know they are not a great seller, as Hollis said,

"they don't sell in the USA either". 

But I have decided to make these for myself in the workshop

Something else I've decided is to give myself

a proper Tea break in the day, Half the cups I make

end up going cold and not getting drunk.

These Pie Dishes also came out of today's Kiln. 

These are going to be Garlic pots. 

I also slipped this tall jug this morning, it's 14" tall. 

and this picture was me trying to dry pots on the kiln

as it cooled down yesterday.

It's milder today but still freezing cold in the workshop. 

This was a lipped bowl that I noticed was cracked just after I glazed it. 

I was able to pull it apart and was pretty chuffed at the cross section.

Hope you are enjoying your tea break

I am.

Coffee with the Gods.

Today I was able to open the first Glaze firing in the Kiln

I bought off eBay last year.

I have fitted my new thermocouple and it works a treat.

This was all the pots in it 56 in total

all the tankards and soup bowls are for orders,

so are the 6 pasta bowls.

 I managed to fit in some lipped bowls and some small bowls

as some new stock for the showroom.

This lipped bowl picture was taken using my new photo booth. 

This morning I also managed to finish off these salt pigs.

Because they are called salt Pigs I give them

a curly tail when I turn them. 

Last Tuesday I collected a few small pieces that Johnny Leach

 had asked me to biscuit fire in my kiln

because I only fire to 885 oc.

They were firing up the big kiln at the time.

This morning I took the pieces back to Johnny and

I was invited to join them for coffee.

I sat in Johnny's throwing room with Nick Rees, Mark Melbourne,

Johnny Leach, his son Ben Leach and Rachel.

We had a good chat and I felt very humbled to be sat chatting with

these guys who for many years had been hero's of mine.

They do say

"don't meet your hero's",

as they usually disappoint in real life.

But not these Guys, a more down to earth

group of very nice people you couldn't wish to meet.

And here I am sat drinking and chatting to them as a Potter.

I felt as though I should pinch myself.

Invisible pots ?

As You can see I've taken to throwing

Invisible Pots.

In fact I was just setting up my camera. 

I have been making some Salt Pigs for stock. 

For some reason I enjoy making them. 

I Have found that I prefer to pull lips on jugs

a number of hours after I have thrown them, in some cases over night.

I'm also having a go at making some cups and saucers. 

These fresh slipped pie dishes are drying out on the Kiln

which is on at the moment with a glaze firing.

The weather has gone cold again over the past few days and I'm struggling

to get my bones warm. I feel so cold, 

The workshop made it up to 8 oc today.

This new sign I have up in the workshop

will mean something to some of you,

but I'm sure nothing to most of you.

Google: The Hokey Cokey.