A pottery interlude (II)

Following on from my first post click here, here's the photograph of my glazed pots. I'm really pleased with them and have already booked another taster day with Upland Clay, at Crofton, near Wigton. I just loved the way the clay moved when on the wheel - there's plenty of room for improvement, but hopefully I shall remember something for next time! A short post for a change ..so here's the picture...oh and I've booked another session - no suprise there then! 

A pottery interlude...

Although I absolutely love pottery, I have always avoided learning to throw a pot, as I knew where it would lead! There just isn't enough time ...well I'll find more!  A great day with Alicja of Upland Clay. I was amazed by how 'easy' it was to control the clay (mainly) and to form different shapes  - a thoroughly therapeutic experience. We limited what we kept, so the 'bucket of doom' was in action. I came away having kept 2 mugs, 2 bowls and 2 vases that will be fired and glazed for me. A lovely lunch completed the experience and I fear I shall be back! 

My pieces of which I kept six. 

The group's work...

Lakeland Baubles

Last year I began, far to late in the year to sell for Christmas, to play around with some ceramic Christmas baubles. They give a lovely surface to paint on and given they are a Christmas product I actually enjoy doing them. Yes, I would love to do a whole series of different fells, like I have for my mini paintings, but I am scaling back what Christmas events I do, so they are generic Lakeland Fells. Then again ..never say never! 

The specific baubles ..one day!

Art or crafting...

Some of you may be asking 'Have you been doing any artwork?' .....Well not as much as I would like, but I've been out and about enjoying myself....

I have also though been doing some of my own artwork ....and the necessary evil of crafting! Workshops have been going well too....

A quick exploratory collagraph of Greenland pack ice ...done in a hurry while having coffee with a friend - the plan is to scale it up and plan it a bit more ...

Blencathra oil ...repeating best sellers ...

..and a big oil ...for me - atmospheric - the Gables and Base Brown from Borrowdale. 

Product development - skiing gnomes which will be morphing into skiing Gandalfs.

Cleaning and painting and glittering cones ...a best seller....

Painting mini pics .....

...mini pics which can be turned into fridge magnets on demand ...

Hesket Show 2023 : Handicrafts

 An absolutely classic weekend and show! ..and the culmination of weeks of work and planning. I'm dividing the blogs into the sections of classes in the show - so we begin with the Handicrafts ...and my entries  ...

I don't do traditional beadwork - but enjoyed creating the felt pomegranite - with some hand embroidery on the back for the skin ....the beads were sewn on with difficulty with invisible thread! 

A mixture of hand - dyed fabrics, paint and machine embroidery. 

For a felt item - a box of labelled pebble specimens. 

A scarf using up the old hanks of spun wool from previous show entries - no placing for this year's hank of wool. 

A patchwork of cyanotype dyed fabric using plants from our lane that was then quilted. 

...and finally a greetings card inspired by poppies. 

Mini Lakeland views

One of the things I really like to do, if I have enough time, is to paint mini Lakeland views. Each canvas is 7cm x 7cm and is painted using a palette knife. I was kindly given a box and the compartments were just the right size to store my paintings in, so the challenge was obviously to fill the box! I have done and it's jsut a case now of identifying which views don't sell and replacing them with more popular ones. 

Generally I tend to do four at a time to try and use up the paint, but rarely do more then four as I lose focus! 

Great Gable; Jaws of Borrowdale; Bannerdale Crags; Skiddaw over the Moss and Buttermere - with a random Solway view

Ullock Pike; Carrock Fell and Bannerdale Crags. 

Ullswater from Sheffield Pike; Causey Pike; Ennerdale and Catbells. 

Crafts of the North - Keswick

The final of my two days in Keswick trying to sell paintings - I need the space at home! I really do! Anyway as I left home I heard a Lapwing - saw a Jay at the end of the road and heard Chiffchaffs and three drumming Woodpeckers as I walked down to the lake. The first Wood Anemones, some Celandines and Primroses were out too ... spring is on the way! 

Looking down Derwentwater towards Castle Crag. 

Clearing mist. 

The launches are running and gearing up for the Easter influx. 

Snake's-head fritillaries in Crow Park. 

...and some lovely hellebores - below. 

Let's hope the crowds flock in! 

Crafts of the North - Keswick

Well that's me all set up in Keswick for the next four days (10 - 4:30). I am part of a group who hire the Congregational Hall every week  - we choose which weeks we wish to work ...so I shall be working painting, making cards and sewing while I am there...I just wish it wasn't such a glorious day with snow on the tops!

Preparing to paint...

...and there are plenty of other stalls ...

Gelli printing with leaves

Although I was supposed to be working on gelli printing Christmas tags, I got rather more enjoyment out of printing with leaves ...somehow it is too early to be thinking of Christmas! I know it isn't given the number of events I have got lined up, so guess it will be another last minute chaotic season of Christmas art and crafts!  

I did do some Christmas ones but I'm not happy with them ...

I think I may well just stick with textile tags which I can then photograph and stick onto tags with a tiny bit of hand embellishment by sticking fabric berries on. 

Parcel tags

While we were away in Norfolk, rather than do a traditional diary I decided to do a series of parcel tags - just quickly each night to record an image summing up the day ....

I took a limited number of fabrics, threads and paints and the subject matter had to relate to that day - I wrote on the reverse of each tag what we had done ...I found it both very enjoyable and challenging - mainly from the point of view of getting it done on the day and staying on course...ie not having a glass of wine and falking out infront of the TV.

Apologies for the blue tint - the weather isn't good for photography! 

Stubble fields in Lincolnshire as we drove down.

Cabbages and stubble.

Saltmarsh colours.

Flint off the path.

Cone detail.

Earth Star - rotate it left and the half earth star is on the right.

Oyster shell fragments.

Pebble detail.

Mussel.

Piddock.

Saltmarsh colours. (Rotate left) 

Muddy fens.

Reeds.

Creek with the tide out.