After nearly 6 weeks in hospital after several mini-strokes, my Dad came home the day before yesterday. It's hard work nursing someone getting over a stroke - I never knew there was so much to it! All his food has to be pureed, there's a whole list of things he can't eat, all his drinks have to be thickened with starch until they're like wallpaper paste (until his swallow function returns properly). He's very weak compared to how he was before so he needs a lot of help. But he's walking with the help of a stick and can wash and dress himself, so I guess he's a lot better off than many others. In time, I'm sure he'll get almost back to normal.
Work has of course suffered over the last few weeks, but that's a sacrifice worth making for such a brilliant dad.
Here's one of my latest pots - I decided to try something a bit different after being inspired at the Royal College of Art exhibition in June. This vase is 10.5 inches tall; I also made a large cylindrical one about 12 inches tall and a small cylindrical one about 3.5 inches tall - they're all on the Shop page of this website - until someone buys them of course!
Last week I travelled down to London to see my old friend Ashraf Hanna. When I first met Ashraf, he was just beginning to work with clay, and frequently came to my studio with his girlfriend Sue (now his wife) to use the facilities. They later set up their own studio in Hackney, where I acquired one of his early pieces (which I still have).
They now live in Wales, but Ashraf has been studying at the Royal College of Art for the last 2 years and this exhibition was the end of course show.
Ashraf's pots can be seen behind us in this picture. As you can see, he's a brilliant potter. He handbuilds and does a lot of raku.
When I got home my dad Bernard collapsed with a stroke and life's been very hectic since then. I'm gradually managing to get back to potting after having to drop everything the first couple of days. My routine is now to work in the mornings and to visit Dad in hospital in the afternoons.
It's a very worrying time at the moment. I very much want Dad to get better and come home but I guess these things take time.
So if you're waiting for an order, hopefully it will still arrive on time but if there is a slight delay, please bear with me - I'll get to it!
My dad and I just got home from our holiday to the Highlands. This is the cottage we rented in Tomich - I used to live directly opposite this cottage and I looked after it for the owners at that time.
We had a fabulous time at the Loch Ness Film Festival, and the souvenir mugs I made for the event were snapped up. The films we saw were of outstanding quality. Next year we hope to be able to arrive a couple of days earlier to catch the whole festival instead of just part of it.
It was also lovely to catch up on the craic with old friends - thanks to everyone who stuffed us full of lovely food and drink!
This is my naughty Maine Coon cat, Mac. We are packing some things to post up to Scotland for our trip and I think he's trying to stow away!
Rather than pay the extortionate baggage fees demanded by airlines, we pack all we need into a parcel and mail it to a friend who lives near to the cottage we're renting. Sometimes, if we're going to a hotel, we phone them to ask if they'll let us send our luggage in advance.
It saves such a lot of time - we don't have to wait at the luggage carousel; we can just stroll straight out of the airport.
Last week my old faithful kiln stopped working - it's the one on the right of the picture. I started making arrangements for getting it repaired, however as I had a deadline for the Loch Ness Film Festival mugs I decided to invest in another kiln. I found a reconditioned one of the same model as the old one on Essex Kilns' website and reserved it. I drove down and colected it yesterday and here it is on the left, looking nice and shiny.
Meanwhile I also managed to get the old kiln repaired by a local electrician, so now I won't get caught out again and hopefully will always have at least one kiln that's working!
This is a shop owned by my friends Roger and Christine Silver, who are Cobholm Miniatures. They just opened here for business this week and invited me to display some of my work! I went along a couple of days ago and we put some of my pieces on the shelf inside and in the front window too. It all looks lovely! The shop is in Broad Row in Great Yarmouth, in an area called The Rows, a very old pedestrian shopping area. Their shop's foundations and cellar go back to the 14th century!
They tell me that there has been a lot of interest in my pottery, and that lots of people have been popping into the shop for a look around. Roger and Christine hand make dolls' houses and furniture, it's so lovely and done in such detail! I always love looking at it all. They don't have a website yet, but if you're in Great Yarmouth I'd recommend you go and have a look in their shop
After I made the bunny and chicken dishes recently, someone suggested I should make a duck dish. So I did and here he is. It's strange how these animal soap dishes take on a character of their own. As soon as I stuck his bill on, he looked like a really daft character! I've already had a request from someone who wants one in white, so there'll soon be more daft ducks coming along to join this one.
Just out of the kiln is this Spring Chicken. I was asked by a friend to make a chicken dish, so I made two while I was at it. The Easter Bunny in my last post was sold yesterday, so I guess I'll have to get busy and make more of those!
Both dishes are food safe, and are also oven, microwave and dishwasher proof.
On the run-up to Easter this year, I'm offering to gift-wrap any item as shown, including a chocolate egg, for just £1.50 on top of the item price. It doesn't have to be a mug, I can do this with most of the items in my shop. An Easter gift with a difference!
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