Pottery Throw Away..... (never)

I sort of lost my creative mojo, it just waned for quite a long time - but it didn't stop me going to pottery. for almost a year.. I've currently stopped classes for now but I will return once I'm back from the big adventure and potentially solvent again!

I will never be a potter - this much is true - I really enjoy the process but it takes a lot of practice and patience neither of which I have... - I love Loveheart Workshops where I have been taught the basics of producing ceramics - first I made a mug (which someone asked if my 11year old grand daughter had made!!) then a rather messy coil pot - a slab jug - all these could gladly go to the charity shop except - of course I MADE THEM - so they are reprieved and will languish somewhere in out general mish mish of eclectic junk - I made a storage jar and this I quite like.

a mug in the making

While I enjoy the fashioning of the clay - I like the tactile nature of building something - and I love how something so dull and earthy i.e. clay can be transformed into (by some people - even me!!) something beautiful and/or functional - what really interests me are the glazes - they intrigue me - but I know they would take a life time to understand and experiment with and I do not have that time (or money) so I played as much as I can but wish I had not been lazy and that I had recorded my progress like we were taught to at college!!! then I would know how to repeat my few triumphs and avoid the disasters.

practicing glazes on tiles which fill a corner in my 'grown up' kitchen

The fascinating thing about ceramic glazes is that only time and practise will teach you how each individual pot works and what each colour will do with different clays different mixes - different firings - there are infinite combinations and my lack of experience means I have no idea what might happen!!! The actual finished glazed look just isn't evident when you first apply the colour and I find this difficult!!! Yes in one way its exciting but also once fired that is it - finito! The end result is how it is and nothing can change. I find this frustrating as I just don't know enough to have realistic expectations. and yes I can be disappointed as there is considerable effort goes into making a pot - I'm not a natural and its time consuming so its hard when the glaze doesn't work and the colours aren't right and my creative ego is dinted!!!

very chunky hand thrown bowls They
look so much better here than in real life but i still love them

Slowly over time and with practice I improved, and some of my pottery is better than others - my attempts at throwing on the wheel were fairly hilarious - once ending up with more in my hair than on the wheel - but I persevered and made 6 'matching' 😂😂😂 small peanut dishes. They are clunky - thick - misshaped but nicely painted and glazed and I love them and bring them out every opportunity I have. My mugs have become our standard breakfast mugs and my piece de resistance is the foxy toast rack I made to match the butter dish I actually bought in Anthropology (when I was rich and frivolous).

foxy toast

I had a bad shoulder for some time and this meant working the clay wasn't always easy so I concentrated on painting a set of dinner plates - the plates wee premade and bisque fired and I just decorated them in true slamitinrubystarrs style - completely un matching and unique!!

hand painted plates

I miss this class a lot and will definitely return, its such good therapy and a reminder that all art is subjective and creative at so many levels. The teacher is really good and encouraging - and there is no level of competitiveness which you sometimes find in creative environments - just a friendly atmosphere with interesting banter and chance to make glorious tactile messes and sometimes - mostly - depending on point of view, you end up with an object of great beauty! If my attempts have inspired you check out Loveheart Workshops https://www.facebook.com/loveheartworkshops/

Scotland part 2

The second half of the week continued in much the same vein. We had one rainy afternoon which was actually quite nice to be holed up in the house with the rain lashing the windows. It probably wasn't quite so nice for the two visitors that came on their bikes but they're tough cookies - and its only water- but I did feel sorry for them having to cycle six miles back down the track in the wind and rain, but given Scotland, it wasn't as bad as it could be. The big quest for the 2nd half of the week was to find some deer antiers! The chap that owned the house dropped in to visit - he was a very friendly fella and was chatting about how this was the time of year when all the Stags lost their antlers (he collected them and sold them) so after that we were on the serious lookout. It's always been Fred's mission to find some dropped antlers.... The Monro baggers continued with the mission to bag the remaining three Monros... there is discussion as whet...

Vigo

We left the ship to explore Vigo. Its a much larger place then we expected... although tbh I hadn't given ut a lot of thought. Its a real mish mash of old and new and having got a map from tourist info we decided to follow the walking trail to the Monte Castro... the highest point of the town. Most of the town was pretty much as everywhere else... lots of traffic... lots of people... one or two interesting buildings and a lot of shopping. We headed to the art gallery - this has been a year of gallery visits so we we seen o reason to change now. The Museo de Marco is housed in the towns ex prison building and its very grand. In fact, I think that on this occaision the building might have been more interesting than the art.... Although the visiting exhibition by Susanne S D Themlitz was strangely compelling. It was a huge varied collection of eclectic items... found, salavaged, manipulated and arranged in lots of ways - weirdly inspiring - and mostly enjoyable to look at...

Funchal

So after three days at sea we finally hit Funchal in Madeira. An escape from the ship, and I have to say it was very pleasant indeed. First of all the weather is really splendid. Especially when you know that everybody else in the UK is suffering grim storms and vile winds.. Over here it is between 22 and 25 degrees is really quite warm. Funchal is a pretty city. It's built on a hill it with lots of lovely white houses with stunning red roofs. In order to get the best of it we walked along the sea front until we got to the cable car and we took it up the hill. It was a really good ride much longer than we imagined and it's quite weird because it goes right through the town - completely over everybody's house... So not only do you get a lovely vista of the bay but you can view the beautiful rooftops and get to look in everybody's gardens and to look at their picnic sets.. clean washing nice plants... scratty b...

Planet Ruby Starrs

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