February... UFOs, and some activity in the studio!

In the studio there can be two varieties of chaos - the happy mess of a busy place of creativity, or the sad clutter of a workplace neglected. Over recent months my studio has lurched a little uncomfortably between both those states, but I am pleased to report that the current jumble of stuff in that hallowed room is mostly due to new pots being made.... and there never being quite enough space to store them as they are being worked on!

 

I gather from the international news that the USA are making something of an art of shooting down UFOs at the moment, odd cylindrical objects and balloons that stray into their airspace! The shelves in my studio seem to be populated with a growing collection of odd cylindrical objects too, my ones are allegedly drying, rather than spying, and I hope that they will safely complete their mission... challenging as it is about to be!

 

Some of my more curious looking UFOs are destined for testing crystalline glazes, which are probably some of the most runny of all glazes that a potter can ever play with, so these test pieces have their own built in glaze catching saucer that is there to deal with the drips and puddles! They are still not quite ready to go in the kiln and could currently be called "drying saucers"!

 

I have also made vases and little clay rings for them to stand on when they are being fired, and glaze catching bowls to protect the kiln shelves. 

Yes, it would appear that I am embarking on a series of crystalline glazed pots, and hopefully some sculptural pieces as well!

 

Christmas was a little quiet for us, as both of us were not in the best of health, so the family celebration came early this month when my father celebrated his 89th birthday. I did spend much of the day before this special occasion, looking back at photos from my childhood and thinking about some good times spent with dad as I was growing up. I still remember sitting on a child's seat behind dad as he peddled up a hill on a bicycle, I was probably only 3 or 4 at the time! We also had an enjoyable few hours making a mast for a little sailing dingy dad built when I was in my early teens. We borrowed the school wood work room and hand planes and worked the mast as a team, transforming it from square to oval, and it was a lovely thing to do. 

 

Dad and Mum

 

Memories are strange things, my mind seems full of short fragments, like a movie that has been chopped up. Sometimes whole seconds of image and sound can be replayed, but more often it is a fleeting glimpse, or a few words snatched from a conversation. 

It can be sad, sometimes desperately so, trying to recall what a loved person looked or sounded like, and finding almost nothing tangible, but the truth is that the friends and family that we have known are woven through us, they are part of our fabric, because our life has been shaped in part by them. They are like a potter's thumb print on a pot, and we may not have to look so hard after all!

We are having a drought, whilst other parts of the country have been devastated by floods, with some losing nearly everything. Early this morning I emptied a couple of buckets of water from my studio on some rhubarb plants that are becoming more like bonsai every day. In spite of the ground being like rock, there are some bright and summery flowers out though in the flower garden.

It is the time of year when our little gallery is a bit busier than usual, and I am so thankful for the people who have supported us over the years, it is often in this season that we catch up with people who get down this way once or twice a year, or even after a decade or two, and your visits do give life and vibrancy to this place and more moments for us to treasure.