Blogging Break

Just to say that I shall not be writing this blog for the foreseeable future.

I post weekly pottery updates on Facebook and daily on Instagram.

My work can be purchased direct from my Website or from my Etsy shop.

www.facebook.com/catherinedanielceramics      (Facebook)

@catherinedanielceramics    (Instagram)

www.catherinedanielceramics.com    (website)

www.etsy.com/shop/CatherineDanielPots   (Etsy Shop)

Thankyou so much for reading my blog over the years - it has been a pleasure to read all yours and I hope to continue to do so from time to time.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

x Cathy

Sunny September

After a lovely week walking in the South Downs 

in glorious sunny September weather, 

I came back to find that the Christmas puds 

were on the shelves in the supermarkets, 

which kind of shocked me into thinking about 

designs for Christmas decorations!

sketches for Santas and Angels

Trying to be original 

when designing Santas and Angels

is a bit like trying to re-invent the wheel,

but I did a few sketches and eventually

came up with some ideas, 

which I then transferred into clay.

Detailed patterning on Christmas Decs

As ever, they will be incredibly detailed

and super-faffy to glaze, but hopefully

that will make them a bit special when finished.

Sneek peek at finished samples

A couple of samples

have made it out of the kiln so far,

which I will learn from when making the full batch.

Hexie patchwork patterns 

Other pieces in the making 

are these tiny hexagon dishes, 

to replace those sold out of my Etsy shop,

and some messing around with Autumn themed pieces

- all bare trees and leaves.

Autumn leaves, bare trees - wet clay slab

And speaking of my Etsy shop,

I have now introduced overseas shipping,

which is improving my pathetic knowledge of Geography no end.

Every time I post a parcel, I look it up on a map.

I now know where Durham is - it's in North Carolina!

And I also know where Bradford is - it's in Rhode Island!

Which is where this little lot headed off to today.

Safe journey across the pond, little pots!

So that's me for this month.

Apologies for not getting round to visiting your blogs

- which I am looking forward to catching up on this weekend!

x Cathy

August - hot or what?

August was true summery weather

and much of it was spent outdoors,

rather than slaving over a hot kiln!

That said, the Summer Gift Fair went reasonably well, 

considering that we had an outside pitch 

and had to battle against torrential downpours 

and a poor turnout of people!

Here are the action highlights from August ....

star bowls, hexie bowls and nine-patch plates in the making...

Some things are continually in demand 

and I'm trying to never run out of stock for my Etsy shop.

more hen ornaments, plus lots of tiny decorative tiles

My new favourite thing

to make with left over scraps of clay

is tiny ceramic tiles.

fired once and glazed - ready to be fired a second time

Dreaming up the design

and how it's all going to fit together is quite satisfying.

finished tiled pot-stands or trivets.

Once completed, I fixed them to cork mats

and made some lovely pot-stands.

Some have sold, a few are still available

in my Etsy shop - link in side bar.

Seeing stars!

Some more star dishes came through, 

in all sorts of colour combos.  

Again, some have sold already, 

but there are a few in the shop.

lots of driftwood and ceramic signs for summer-living!

Really pleased with this one - now in my shop

Oh, and a lovely commission to make

 a wall-hanging starfish, 

which was great fun to do!

'Making a difference'

And now I'm off for another little holiday 

while the summer lasts!  

Have a happy September everyone!

x Cathy

July - Hi and Goodbye!

So, nearly through the sunny, summery month of July - 

yes, it was worth waiting for wasn't it? 

We had a wonderful break in the Dordogne and

I got back to the pottery raring to go.  

So this is some of what emerged ...

Glazed pieces going into their second firing

Opening the kiln - the magic has happened again!!

Loved the response on Instagram

to this little patchwork plate.

I was so pleased with the way it turned out.

Sold within a few days

I am keenly aware that not everyone

has the spare cash to spend

on luxuries like ceramics, 

so I always try to make smaller pieces

that are more affordable. 

Only four left in my Etsy shop now

 These tiny one-hexie-patch dishes

 are only £10 each in my Etsy shop.

www.etsy.com/shop/CatherineDanielPots

Star-shaped lace-imprint bowl   -  Sold

I made another star-shaped bowl 

with a vintage lace pattern

to replace the last one which sold straight away,

and then this one did too! 

Note to self - Make Lots of These Next Time!  

This one turned out unintentionally Christmassy

(there - said the word - in July!).

Flower power buttons - small, medium and large - on my Etsy

 Attempted a more grungy, vintage look

 with my hanging pieces - think it worked.

Mucky Hens!

And lots lots more of the same

so that hopefully when it comes to selling 

at the Creake Abbey Summer Gift Fair

on Saturday 27th August, 

I shall still have some stock to sell!

If you're in the area around that time,

do come and say hello.  

You'll find me hiding under the table, 

to avoid the vague discomfort 

of people looking at my stuff in front of me! 

I hope to get over that one day!

x Cathy

Jolly June Update

.....except that it really hasn't been as jolly as it should have,

what with the awful British weather 

combined with the awful British politics -

nothing for it but to bury myself in my studio and make stuff!!!

I pretended it was Summer

by making loads of coastal-themed things!

Hanging fish and driftwood - available from CatherineDanielPots on Etsy

On the few sunny days we had,

I was out in the yard

cleaning up and sanding down my driftwood stash

ready for assembling with the ceramic pieces.

Driftwood and ceramic sailing boat - on Etsy

I love the way the grain of this piece of wood above

looks like choppy waves!

Made these little cones ages ago,

so it was good to finally assemble them 

on to driftwood to make wall vases.  

The green one sold within five minutes of listing in my Etsy shop!

Driftwood and ceramic wall vases available from Etsy

These little boats with heart-shaped sails

no longer linger in a corner of the studio!. 

Now they've been mounted onto driftwood

with a hanger on the back.

 Restocked things that sold from my Etsy shop,

 like these little Paisley tealight holders.

And still trying to catch up - 

have got lots of work in progress 

which will come through in the weeks ahead.

Work in progress - waiting to be fired

 It wasn't all work and no play though.  

We went off to Wembley to see this bloke again,

and he was brilliant, as usual!

Bruce Springsteen 'The River Tour' Wembley Stadium

and we went to see our youngest's

Illustration end of Degree show - 

for which he got a First! Well done Joe!

That's the last of the three through Uni 

and out the other side!  Phew!

End of Degree Exhibition work

And now, I think it might be time 

for a little holiday in the Dordogne,

where it has been known to be warm

and sunny in the Summer months!

x Cathy

Made in May

The problem with doing one blog post at the end of each month

is that it really brings home how fast time races by!

So in the merry month of May,

the glorious emergence of colour outside

was certainly reflected in the studio inside.....

This hexie bowl was slightly experimental

in that I am now using a black underglaze pen

to pick out the stitching detail around the motifs,

and I have to say, I am beyond pleased with the results!

I bought lots of vintage lace

from Portobello market a few weeks ago

and put it to good use by pressing it

into the wet clay to create wonderful patterns.

I had to replace the psychedelic piece that sold last time,

so here we have another version.  Am I on drugs? 

Well yes actually - three different kinds

to manage severe back pain - but that's another story...

I love this little Star dish!  Again, a lacey one. 

There's the doily in the picture.

I did it in blue for the night sky,

with red and orange highlights to make it twinkle!

These hexie bowls keep selling on my Etsy shop,

so more of these coming all the time. 

Always different, never two the same.

Another lacey piece in pretty pinks and blues,

with rows of hearts and flowers. 

So delicate - so Summery!

My personal favourite of the month, (of the year!!),

is this large piece, based on an applique quilt pattern,

with ragged edges, lace-imprinted border,

and even areas showing worn out holes.

The mixed media element is there,

with the thread, and a little blue button separately attached.

And just to show that I do get out from time to time,

here is my shed/beach-hut/summerhouse -

another work of art, hand-painted by me!

Now all we need is SUMMER to go with it!

ALL THE ABOVE ARE IN MY ETSY SHOP NOW

  ...... with the exception of the shed!!

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend in the sunshine. 

xxx Cathy xxx

April's Offerings

I suddenly realised it's nearly May.  My disbelief is understandable given that we're now having January's weather again!  Anyway, time to take stock of what's emerged from the pottery this month.  This new format I've imposed on you all is actually quite good for me and acts like a LOG in the true sense of bLOG - a personal log of what I have made and what I plan for next month.  

These are just a few highlights.

As usual, there were little things,like these tiny cup-shaped flowers. 
I impressed the shape into clay, cut round each one individually and shaped them into cups.
To paraphrase William Morris - I don't know that they are useful, but I do believe them to be beautiful!

Then, to some big pieces - this was a commission I got via Etsy, which so far is working well for me.  
This was made to the specifications of the client, and I really love making these extra special, meaningful things.

A few more wraparound vases to replenish those sold last month. 

And my favourite pieces from this month -

four little plates, each bearing a vintage 1930s applique quilt block design.

These are the kind of patterns used in the making of Baltimore Album quilts -
(google it if you don't know and are interested - there are some fabulous examples out there!). Clockwise from top left, they are: 'Meadow Daisy', 'Combination Rose', 'Mexican Rose',  and 'Cherry'.  
Here's one of the patterns from my book.

And last but not least, I made a few Paisley patterned tea-light holders. 
I think these are really sweet, and although it's no longer winter and candle-time, (no, really, it isn't!!), I made these in pastels so that they can be used on all those many long summer evenings when we're all dining alfresco.  

All these are now in my Etsy shop.

Hope you all have a warm, spring-sunshiny, bank-holiday weekend. 

I'll now get round to all your blogs and catch up with your news.

x Cathy

Mad March Round-up

Two websites, a Facebook page, 

an Instagram account, an Etsy shop and a Blog

 ......  oh, and a pottery, I nearly forgot!

Have been mulling over how best to serve all these masters and, as far as this blog is concerned, I think I'm going to just do a monthly round-up of some of the ceramics I've been producing.  For anyone really interested in the day to day workings of the pottery, I post on IG daily, and on FB weekly.  

So March was a busy time.

Made a commissioned piece for a birthday. 

You've seen lots of these here before. 

Each one reflects the recipient's life - hobbies, interests, etc.

Had a mad psychedelic phase (well, I did grow up in the Sixties!).

This one's in my Etsy shop now. 

Made a few little wrap-around vases - 

this one sold within minutes, so there are more in the pipeline....

I varied it all as usual with some smaller bits and pieces.

Some sold, some still up on Etsy.

Had fun with a new, deeper bowl shape. 

Pleased with how it turned out.

And decided to make more tiny tiles, 

and put these into the Etsy shop, in packs of four.  

And I finally finished my own driftwood and ceramic sign

for my garden shed/summerhouse. 

Mulling over whether to paint it bright beach-hutty colours,

or leave it drab brown.

Looking at the above, what do you think I'll decide to do?!

Hope you all had a lovely Easter and are looking forward to some gorgeous Spring sunshine this weekend!

x Cathy

 
[  Apologies to those who've already seen some of this on other social media platforms - and a huge thanks to those stalwarts who follow my work in several different places!  I am no longer the billy-no-mates of Instagram!!  Phew! ;-)  ]