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! ;-)  ]

Peace and Quiet

My good blog-friend Clare has had an incredibly tough time recently. 

One of her ways of trying to cope with her grief 
was to focus on her summerhouse,

fitting it out, tidying it up, making things for it, etc.  

She liked the driftwood and ceramic signs I make and so,

as a gesture (however inadequate!) of my empathy and support,

I insisted that she take it as a gift.

Attaching 'D rings' to the back of the sign

I find the non-pottery aspects of making these signs very satisfactory. 

Using different tools for different tasks. 

Neatly coiling the wire round and round with the little pliers,

and adding beads, or, in this case, acorns.  

Then, I make the clay letters,

fire them once, glaze them and fire again, 

before attaching to the driftwood. 

Clare's summerhouse is called 'Peace and Quiet'. 

I think we can all relate to that idea!

So, the sign was sent off.  

She loved it. We kept in touch. 

Then, some months later, out of the blue,

the postman brought me this beautiful

quilted wall-hanging, handmade by Clare!

My rubbish photo doesn't do it justice,

but take it from me, it is really lovely. 

The accent colour in my kitchen

is the exact deep red she's used in the border,

so it hangs in there as a daily reminder

of just how nice people are!!

She knows me well! How fabulous to incorporate that fabric on the right!

"I MAKE STUFF" 

 Oh Yes!

These are for my own Summerhouse (ok ... garden shed!)

They've been hanging around the studio for months,

 waiting to be made into a sign. 

I can't make stuff for me

 when others are waiting for their orders

 ..... but it will happen!

I've met some really special people through this blog,

and Clare is definitely one of them!

x Cathy

New things and old things

Had a bit of a post-Christmas, yucky weather, can't-be-bothered, kind of slump.  So I've been experimenting with some new shapes, as a way of getting me back into my pottery.

I decided to try a more rounded shape - maybe influenced by my own more rounded post-Christmas shape - who knows.......

Bisque fired on top, finished below

At any rate, I was pleased with the results.  The bottom left was meant as a flower vase, with holes in the side through which to poke extra stems.  But my clever friend, Claire, suggested that it would make the perfect yarn bowl. Not being a knitter, I didn't really think of that, but I see it now!

Tiny ceramic houses - bisque on top, finished below.

Then, instead of making the usual buttons and beads with the left over clay scraps at the end of a making session, I found myself making these tiny things instead.  They're about two inches by one inch in size and, again, I am pleased with the results.   A whole village is in the making!

Top - awaiting glaze firing.  Bottom - finished items.

I think I know what these are going to be used for, but am not sure if it'll work yet ....  I still have to follow this idea through to its end - watch this space.

Happy Valentine's Day!

But, fear not, I did make a few of the old favourites.  Hearts as they're continually in demand - and rightly so!  

It feels good to go off in a few new directions now and then as a way of re-igniting the enthusiasm.  I even lost sleep the other night thinking about new ideas, and that hasn't happened for a while.  So, slump over!  How about you - does your creativity dip now and again?  What's your remedy?

x Cathy

p.s.  I used the 'down-time' to set up an Etsy Shop and get completely addicted to Instagram, which I never would have predicted!

On Etsy look for 'Catherine Daniel Pots'
And my Instagram is 'Catherine Daniel Ceramics'

" Noooo! Christmas is dying! "

. . . uttered by 20 year old son

as the halls here get well and truly un-decked.

The mantle above the old brick fireplace

has swapped a garland of Christmas roses

for its garland of seashells.

Ancient beams, once adorned with

boughs of fir and twinkle lights

now stand stark and bare.

The nativity crib on the dresser

is packed away once more,

and other treasures find their way back.

The solitary sitting man 

has replaced a vase of evergreen

in the arch window.

It all has a comforting rhythm

which displaces any sadness.

Those lazy, hazy post Christmas days

of muddled, befuddled festive fug

already belong to last year.

Normal service is resumed

and Mother Christmas once more

becomes Mrs Potter!!

 Happy New Year everyone !

x Cathy

(p.s.  pottery and ceramics update next time!)

And then it was Christmas ... again.

So, that's me, pretty much done, 

except for a few last minute bits and bobs.

Turkey ordered.

Food bought.

Presents wrapped. 

House decorated.

Baking done. 

Gingerbread Christmas Tree bought from Ikea

just because I liked the name .... Pepparkaka Julgran.  

A few very unholy words muttered

 whilst untangling the fairy lights ... 

who put them away like that last year??

And of course, the annual trying on of the giant Christmas stockings. 

What can I say ... it's a tradition!

All that remains is to thank you all

for your support and your friendship over the last year.  

Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!  

See you all in 2016!

x Cathy

Creating and Hibernating

The dark days of Autumn 

(or is it now Winter now that December is nearly upon us?)

always bring out the creative urge in me. 

And they don't feel gloomy at all. 

They feel productive and happy.

Leather hard stage - drying before first firing

Staying in and playing with clay 

whilst listening to my favourite podcasts

is bliss.

Detail - birdies, houses, hearts, autumn leaves

On days when I haven't been for a run,

I'll take a break and go for a walk round the country lanes.

Fired once, glaze applied and ready for second firing

Then back to work, sitting in the warm, 

glazing pots and daydreaming, and drinking tea.

Opening kiln. Three layers, sometimes four, packed to the hilt.

Excitement comes on those days when I open the kiln.

Oooh!  Wonderful.  Just what I hoped for!

Detail.  The colours just sing out!

Let's have a closer look .....

Some favourite motifs

A beautiful Autumny piece with all my favourite things on it,

from apple trees to sailing boats.

Yep.  Pleased with this one.  www.catherinedanielceramics.com

No ... I don't mind a few months of dark days,

when I can hibernate and create.

What about you?

x Cathy

Orange-ness

There's so much Orange everywhere at the moment. 

 Orangeness shouts out from every corner, 

and orange is already a very shouty colour!

Autumn leaves right outside my door

Halloween orangeness is screaming from every direction.

Halloween gets more horrifying each year, on so many levels.

But we won't go into all that!

My very un-scary pumpkin.

Been doing a bit of sculpting today, 

and came up with my own antidote to the horror!

I love Orange as a colour in its own right,

 but I can honestly say that I have never

 worn anything orange in my life.  

www.catherinedanielceramics.com

Yet, I love using orange glaze on my ceramics

 - it has a zesty zinginess about it.

Ceramic patchwork panel - in orange hues.

I really want you to appreciate the sacrifices I made

 in bringing you my friendly pumpkin today,

 so please keep your eyes 'peeled' (sorry!),

as you look at the next picture!

One broken potato peeler!

Lots of pottery in the making but nothing finished as yet. 

 Just got back from a week in Cyprus, 

so yet another interruption to routine. 

 This little fella was wandering around the grounds of our hotel

 - he was about as big as my hand! 

Perhaps the least scary picture ever! 

He looks terrified!  

Maybe he knew Halloween was round the corner!

  Too much orange!

Cathy x

Back where we started ... the best laid plans!

The reason for the deafening silence on the blogging front is that having moved to Scotland a year ago, as some of you know, we have now moved back to Norfolk! 

We had the best time in Edinburgh but our family is here and the distance proved too unmanageable in practice.

It will remain in my heart as a very special time when I made some very special new friends, one of which was through this blog. 
Thank you Penny for your company in and out of all those galleries and charity shops! 

Work in progress - looking forward to glazing this one!

So, with no regrets whatsoever about our little mid-life gap year, I am now making pots in yet another workspace and feeling just a little disoriented!

Have pottery - will travel....

The experience has made me wonder what the word 'home' really means. Is it different for everyone.  Is it 'where the heart is'?  Is it in a landscape which inspires you?  Is it something you feel inside, no matter where you are?

Kicking through fallen acorns on my runs this week ... and so the oak leaves.

Life is a journey and it's not always linear.  

As one Scotsman once wrote:

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley"

Robert Burns, 1785.  

To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough.

Drying out before first firing....

I have had the chance to explore a beautiful part of the country and a fantastic city and it has been a joy.  But, as another chap wrote:

"We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time"

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets.

Thing is though ...... I'm not sure this is the end of my exploration .....  but one thing's for sure, life's never dull!!

What does 'home' mean for you?  

x Cathy

What I did in the Holidays

Just a few pics of bits and bobs to emerge from the kiln 

during this very sunless Scottish summer ....

Experimenting with different shapes for bowls.

Ceramic bowl with windmill pattern and wheels.  www.catherinedanielceramics.com

Beach-combing. 

Collecting driftwood, green glass, and just about anything else. 

That's twenty year old Joe 
getting over-enthusiastic with the size of the driftwood!

Small hanging sail-boats.   www.catherinedanielceramics.com

And a little tribute to my love of Scotland,

its mountains, its lochs, its beaches, its cities, its people.

More of all that in my next post.

Ceramic hanging heart with Scottish thistle emblem

Apologies for the very short and sweet post this week.

Too much non-pottery related stuff going on at the moment!

x Cathy

Wedding Favours - part two

Just a few pictures to give a flavour of the wedding 

and the finished ceramic wedding favours . . .

Cotswolds country church wedding and the sun shone!

Home-made confetti - real dried flower petals

The flowers were the palest blues, peach and ivory.

The finished ceramic wedding favours glazed to tone in with the flowers

 

Gorgeous colours - so delicate and so pretty.

Pale blue, pale peach and ivory - all set off with a blue ribbon

The little ivory satin bags contained sugared almonds,

and they were nice too!.  

A lot of work had gone into making it a fabulous day

- my efforts were but a tiny part. 

But it all paid off and everything was stunningly beautiful, 

especially the bride!

x Cathy