Welcome home

These little ladies were out waiting to welcome me home from London yesterday (except I took the picture this morning as it was dark when I came home but I'm sure they were there in spirit.

Kindrogan was good, as always. All the demonstrators were great, each in very different ways. We had an unusual balance this year in that all of them were throwers though they didn't all focus on that part of their practise. Bridget Drakeford in the picture above threw elegant bowls and jars in porcelain and stunned everyone by lifting even very wide bowls off the wheel with 4 fingers. She rarely throws on bats apparently. Very beautiful shapes, I don't think my clay would stand a chance at holding itself up in those shapes and that thin even if I had the skill to throw them in the first place. Makes me want to get a hold of the fremington clay again, that was much more plastic than my current one is, it did some horrible things too but it was strong and lovely.

Nick Marsh threw and altered shapes and explained and demonstrated his use of texture across the surface of his work and the importance to him of the definition between different areas on the surface. He fired some work in an oil drum with sawdust and hard wood logs having sprinkled oxides onto the work first. I missed the firings but the results were very varied as you would expect, great colours from very minimal equipment.

Paul Young demonstrated his sculptures and slip trailing throughout the weekend and was interrogated about his eating habits and his dog which made for a very bizarre afternoon. There was me thinking we'd paid him to show us his work and they wanted to make sure he ate proper food.

Camilla in the picture above was pretty thrilled to have won one of the pots that Doug made at Kindrogan last year, in the raffle.

The view from half way up the hill at the Kindrogan field study centre that we stay at.

The competition this year was on the theme "Eastern Promise", my entry a handled bowl with a compass trailed inside and the text "East West Home's Best" on the outside.

Then I popped home for a night before heading out down to London to the launch of the Heritage Crafts Association at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was a fascinating day, met some people that I already knew and some new ones and learnt lots and about what the organisation plans to do. Visit their website for more information and to sign up as a friend of the association. Do you recognise the potter in the poster there?

This is the ceiling in the cafe at the V&A, quite spectacular.

Demonstrating at the launch in the afternoon was a friend of ours Owen Jones, he makes traditional oak swills, particular to the southern Lake District area of Britain. That wood he's working with is oak and the rim is hazel, all from copiced wood. They are fab, tough as anything and beautiful to boot. It was good to see him there.

I had to say hello to my wee sweet favourite pots in the V&A while I was there, my two cutey pie bestest most favourite slipware mugs, they've been featured on here many times before and this jug above which is from London made between 1300 and 1350. Tis a cracker don't you think. I think I left smudges on the glass where I'd had my nose pressed against it.

In a shop opposite the entrance to the British Museum are all these ancient Greek pots, the chap switched the sign on the door round to "closed" as I was stood looking in the window, charming! I have more pictures from both trips but I won't inflict any more on you for the time being, maybe you'll get some later in the week. I popped into the Percival David Collection at the British Museum, it's a collection of ancient Chinese pots. There are hundreds! Some for me were just too clean and beautiful and precise for me, so precise that they could have been machine made. I did like the carving in the celadon pots, I was interested in that at uni but never really did any in the end. They were probably my favourites in there.

Hazel's garden is looking a treat with the snowdrops and crocus at the moment. Great colours, what a carpet.