The writings on the wall ( or pot)

I recently bought a copy of Ceramic Review. I hadn't meant to buy it any more but I saw the heading on the front Narrative and Text and of course I didn't resist.
Although not all my pots have text on them most of them do. It is a very slow process but I think it is a very important element in my work. I know the main reason I use it is because I find it very decorative. It's an element that adds rhythm and texture to the pot. I have always liked hand writing and the way different pens create totally different results. (But that's a whole different subject)
I also enjoy thinking about what words will go around the pots. Sometimes they are just decorative but mostly they relate to the pictures I draw.
The bowl with the birds was one a series that came out of the kiln last week. One interesting aspect of writing on the pots is that at fairs people will stand and read all the pots. People may not always buy the pots but they seem to enjoy reading them.
One of the articles in Ceramics Review was about Carys Davies' work. You can read more about her work on her blog. Interestingly she too is Welsh. I am wondering what sort of response I would get if I put some writing in Welsh on my work!

New colour

 The weather has been blissful today and we've spent most of the day relaxing in the garden. Althought the garden has been neglected this year and the slugs have feasted relentlessly the garden still looked pleasant.

 I've been thinking of making a range of work that is quicker to produce and would work well for everyday use. The shallow bowls above are the result so far. The bowl at the bottom of this post was a test piece I fired first to see what I thought would work. The rim is cobalt oxide and the peas are copper oxide. Having got that far I decide they needed more colour and splashed a dash of blue underglaze across. I was pleased with the dash of colour and then proceed to glaze the next eight bowls.
However, I was so keen to get the glazing done I completely forgot the splash of blue! Mark says he prefers them without the blue ( is he just being polite?)
I was prompted to do something a bit different for the next pottery festival as it's all about domestic ware and food. You can check it out here. It's in beautiful Derbyshire and I'm all ready looking forward to the food part.
The two bowls below are commissions for weddings. These are just quick shots I took to send to the people who commissioned them. The pots generally get sent straight to the couple they are for. I hope they liked them!