I brought two finished pieces home with me from the pottery studio this afternoon.
The two pieces are very different.
One was thrown on the wheel, turned to trim off and shape, then decorated using a technique that I’ve been developing, using layers of underglaze applied with small separate brush strokes.
The other is hand-built, in a freestyle form, using coils and creating texture with various implements and materials.
The former is, I think, a vase. The latter I’m going to use as a candlestick.
On the way home from the studio I stopped off to do some shopping for groceries.
The house was dark when I got back. Trev was out but Lydia was there to greet me.
She hadn’t been on her own for long and doesn’t get separation anxiety like a lot of dogs do.
Even so, she was pleased to see me and, after putting the shopping away, it was time for her tea.
Trev brought fish and chips back for ours which I thoroughly enjoyed, complete with curry sauce, of course!
I made one pot and started another at the pottery studio today.
I didn’t have a particular idea in mind when I arrived about what I wanted to do or what I wanted to make so I located a plaster press mould that I’ve used before, cut off a slab of clay, gathered a few tools and some canvas to work on, and made a start.
The pots are going to be candlesticks: a non-matching pair.
I used a construction technique that I haven’t used before, using the press mould to form a base and then alternating layers of rolled coils with rolled up, rounded lumps.
When the coils sank in places I accepted this as part of the process so the pieces are a bit wobbly and lop-sided, which I like.
Had a good experience at the Bootham & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre, and sold enough pots to be able to pay cash for a curry tonight, delivered of course.
Enjoying a bit of telly and a few glasses of Malbec now.
Lydia is quite relaxed. She’s had a dental stick and was eyeing up my wine but I do know where to draw the line.
Just finished watching Celebrity Traitors on demand. Don’t know what to watch next but I expect I’ll find something eventually.
Good to know that I don’t have to get up early tomorrow morning. A few more glasses of wine later . . .
Waking this morning at around 4.20am, I get up to make a cup of tea. While waiting for the kettle to boil I snack on a few liquorice allsorts and some gummy sweets that were in the cupboard.
Back to bed, I must have dozed off for a few more hours before getting up, making another cup of tea, meditating for a short while and then deciding to take Lydia for a walk.
As I opened my eyes from the meditation, glancing towards the window I saw snow coming down.
I quickly got myself and Lydia ready to go out for a walk, in case the snow started to settle and the roads became impassable.
This morning, I insisted that Lydia had her raincoat on over her harness. She made it clear she wasn’t keen but it was so cold and the raincoat is light, and an easy fit for her. She was fine after being tempted into with a few treats.
The snow didn’t last, turning to icy rain, and it was bitterly cold. Despite her thick fur and hardy nature, I think Lydia may have been glad of her extra layer. I know I was.
Even so, and despite gloves, my hands got so cold that I can still feel them tingling, even now, over eight hours later. Still, we had a decent walk, got home and warmed up.
Later I started to get organised for a craft fair that I’m taking some of my pots to on Saturday: Boothtown & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre, near Halifax.
It will be an early start but I’ve got it planned out so that I’ll take Lydia out early and, with the car pre-packed, set off in good time to get there in good time to be able to set up my table ready for the 11am start.
Some pot pourri that I’d ordered arrived today so I made up a couple of my bowls with some clear wrap and bows: one to donate to the church raffle and one to display and hopefully sell.
I’ve got a little bit more preparation to do before Saturday, but its mostly sorted and planned now so I can start to relax into this evening, with Trev making tea and then I’m going out to a meeting of the Buddhist group.
The theme is still ‘concentration’. I do think I am starting to be able to concentrate more. I’m hoping that more sleep as well as more meditation will help.
After dropping a collection of small pots off at the Dovecot Gallery near Doncaster this afternoon, I began to succumb to the symptoms of a cold. So it’s an early night for me. I’ll miss the Buddhist class but know that I made the right decision not to go.
The sawdust firing went well. All the pots now carry various shades of smoky grey. They are not fully vitrified but significantly less porous than when they were in the ‘bisque’ or ‘biscuit’ state. I’m not sure what temperature the sawdust kiln reaches and will have to do some tests in future firings to find out.
None of the results are what I would call ‘spectacular’; they are more subtle, although I will continue to experiment with different materials and I think the copper wire has a lot of potential for creating interest effects around the outside of pots.
All my pieces for the Show[1] are now packed in the car.
It’s an early start in the morning, so an early night for me.
I keep thinking that I can hear Lydia moving about the house but of course she is in kennels this weekend.
My partner is out with a friend so I have the house to myself.
A friend from the Buddhist group I belong to circulated a list of ways that we can help our nervous systems to rest and recuperate. I’ll use this list to help me with the work I’m doing with my own dysregulated nervous system as well as Lydia’s:
Slow down
Allow imperfection
Do one thing at a time
Sense our breath and our body
Create daily rituals and rhythms
Offer ourselves compassion
Lengthen our exhales
Express our emotions
Honour our needs
Nourish our senses
Ask for help
Let ourselves be held
[source: Nicola Jane Hobbs, c/o Jilly]
[1] Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show, Newby Hall, Yorkshire, UK
I’m steadily getting ready to put some of my ceramic work up for sale at the Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show on Sunday. It’s taking place at Newby Hall near Ripon, so a fabulous venue, and should be a good day.
This morning, I had a lovely time outside, planting up some pots to enhance my display.
I’ve bought a few embellishments – hearts, butterflies, dragonflies – to add further interest.
I enjoy setting up a stand for a day. It’s good to meet different people: talk about pots; talk about the weather. It’s good to get sales too, of course!
After planting up my pots, I did some weeding in the garden. Lydia helped me, just by being there. I told her she was helping me and she went on to prove it even further, by doing some digging. Lydia does her digging and I do my weeding. I’m hoping we’ll have more garden time together over the summer, just doing what we feel like doing.
Eight more pots in the making; it’s a slow process but a good one
I took Lydia for an appointment at the grooming studio this morning. She continues to be more relaxed each time we go. As always, Vicky the groomer gives her lots of reassurance, encouragement and treats. Lydia is quite rightly proud of herself at the end of the session. She is doing so well, and I’m proud of her too.
Later I collected the 28 small pots that I made back in May. These have now been through their first firing which means they are at the ‘bisque’ or ‘biscuit’ stage.
My plan is to give them a second firing in a sawdust kiln.
A sawdust kiln is basically a heatproof container into which pots are placed, with lots of fine sawdust packed around them.
My sawdust kiln is made out of old bricks that I acquired from a neighbour.
I don’t have the space or scope for any other type of kiln at home but I do like to experiment with a sawdust firing now and then.
I’ll be doing the firing soon as these pots will be part of my display at the Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show, on 27 July.
After collecting my bisque-fired pots I had an afternoon at the pottery studio, finishing some work I threw a few weeks ago on the potter’s wheel. I love the process of turning the pots when they are leather hard, trimming away excess clay until I’m satisfied with the shapes.
This evening I am tired and more than a little despondent. I’m sure the latter low mood is at least in part influenced by the former state. Bringing myself back into wellness has been and still is a long haul. I have better support and good things going on in my life than I’ve ever had, but tonight I just feel ‘washed out’.
Lydia helps to lift me though. Just seeing her lovely face looking at me as I feed her, and hearing her make soft gutteral sounds of pleasure and anticipated pleasure is all I need to reboot.
The Buddhist teaching at last night’s meeting was led by a nun from the local Centre.
She introduced the idea that the children’s story of Polyanna could be likened to the teachings of Buddha, with reference to Polyanna’s ‘glad game’. I’m not familiar with the story of Polyanna but I was surprised and pleased to hear about the glad game, bearing in mind the name of this blog site – gladabout.life – and the name of my ceramics business – Glad About Ceramics.
I came up with these names because I wanted to be glad, to move away from sad.
I think, finally, that I have. I can’t say I’m deliriously happy, but I don’t need to be. I can just let myself be.
I have no doubt that I will have blips down and bump backwards but I am now feeling a lot lighter in myself.
It was also helpful when the nun suggested, during meditation, that as we breathe in white light we think of peace and as we breathe out black smoke we think of anger.
The dog field that I took Lydia to this morning was covered in clover flowers. We’re expecting a high of 27o here today; not as hot as it will be in a lot of places around the world but a good temperature for me, here. I can cope with hotter but that will do for today.
Later this morning I’ll be heading out to drop off the 28 small pots that I made a few weeks ago, for their first firing. I have a few glazed pots to be fired as well. I’m not in a big making phase just now, preferring to take things at a steady pace and work with what I’ve got. I’ve got a few pots, of various shapes and sizes, that I’m going to plant up as jardinière, ready for the Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show on 27th July. Aldborough & Boroughbridge Agricultural Show
I am, however, going to the Potterman Studio this afternoon – www.thepotterman.co.uk – to do a bit of work on the wheel. I’m going to concentrate on one particular shape, and discard any that I’m not happy with. I’ll then use these pots to further develop a decorating technique that I’ve been working on. It’s a technique that I haven’t seen anywhere else – yet – and one that I think has much potential. It’s something that’s good to work on in the winter, so any pots I make this summer will help to keep me happily occupied later in the year.
Glad About 
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