Kitchen dressers.

This post is really a special for Hannah. Sorry if it's becoming a bit Homes and Gardens!
The dresser above is in my neighbour's house. Made by Allan who is now totally indispensable. This one has a base cupboard and a different top. I kept my top simple as mine is really for getting in and out of the van. My friend has lots of my very old pots from when I started back when all the children were safely in school full time.

More bowls

This is the large bowl I played about with when the rim got dented! I enjoyed playing around with the slips. The green colour has only come through quite faintly whereas the turquoise and yellows are stronger. I will definately try working with this again with some slightly different colours.


These bowls were all taken out of the kiln this morning. They are nearly 8 inches across. The sun was so strong that it was difficult to get a clear picture. These were enjoyable to make so I may well make some more. I'm off on a youth camp ( just as cook and bottle washer you understand) on Saturday so I am switching my attention to that for a couple of weeks!!
I am already missing potting but with three boys I need to do some 'mum' type of activities.

West Wales Break

Not getting any pottery done this week. I went to West Wales for the week-end. It is a beautiful part of the country. Above is a picture of St. Anthony's shrine. The hedgerows were full of cowparsley which I think will look good on some large jugs.
I've brought my parents back for the week to give them a break.
Below are some pictures of Simon Griffith's stand at Aylesford.I liked the way he had captured the character and feel of the birds. I love the owls- great surfaces as well.

Imagine Gallery

I've got some work in an exhibition at Imagine Gallery for the next couple of weeks. You can just see one of my bowls in the top right hand corner with some pots by Maureen Minchin and a jug by Amanda Popham. I haven't seen it myself but I think it should be good as John's gallery is a real treat.

Experimenting

Some bowls ready for biscuit firing. These are thrown from 1 kilo of clay.


On Friday as I was just about to start decorating this bowl when a large section fell off the angle poise lamp onto the bowl and badly damaged it. I was going to recycle it but thought I might use it to do a bit of experimenting. I intended to spend a short amount of time brushing on some slips to see what result I would get. I usually use oxides and some undergaze colours to decorate. However, I got carried away and four hours later this was the result!! There is no indication of the finished coluurs as the slips don't work in that way so I will have to wait to see how it turns out.
I planted up the bowl with succulents for my stall at Aylesford and could have sold it many times over. I wonder if I should actually make some for sale. The plants have the most soft and beautiful colouring.

Wedding bowl

I've hardly done any gardening this year but at the moment the garden is looking good, if somewhat disorganised. All I want is the weather to sit out and enjoy my lunch in the garden.




The top two pictures are of things made by the children in my children's class. I quite like the way one of them has used a stamp around the edge of her press moulded bowl. Not something I would have done but maybe worth trying!
The bowl is a wedding commission. I think I've got it through from throwing to firing in just over a week which must be a record for me.

Aylesford

The weather was kind to us at Aylesford and it was a good time to make new friends. Michael and Andrew were next to me and kept me entertained for the week-end. They had some beautiful copper red bowls. There were very few people out and about but I managed to do quite well. At first I was horrified at how little work I have left but I have recovered very quickly and got straight back into the studio and onto the wheel!! Pots were drying amazingly fast yesterday as the weather was so warm. It's good to be back into the making cycle.



Aylesford Priory is a very attractive setting for the potter's market. There are numerous ceramic murals and plaques in the buildings and gardens. They are by a Polish artist, Adam Kossowski, who came to this country in 1942 when he was released from a Russian labour camp.