Potfest in the Park 2010

Potfest in the Park, Hutton-in-the-Forest near Penrith. What a beautiful place, what a grand setting for a show full of grand pots and my were there some grand pots. Some of them took your breath away at first glance and some slowly sneaked their way into your heart. I've been thinking about one that is still sneaking now, hmmm, I might have to make a phone call to a potter to see if it's still there.

It was the first time I'd been exhibiting at this show. I was nervous anyway without the worry about not having been able to be making right up to the deadline as I would usually have been. Then I had my usual stand trauma but in the end went for a simple set up and tried hard not to put too many pots out at once. Looking at the picture now it still looks a bit cluttered but for me I think I managed not to put anywhere near as much as I have been known to.

It was a big blogger meet up and we added a newbie to our ranks, not new to the blogging world but new to us. Left to right Christine Smith, me, Dan Finnegan, Novie Trump from the USA and Margaret Brampton. Check all their blogs for more pictures and news from the weekend, especially Christine's. I won't tell you her news as it's hers to tell but suffice to say that I would have been up in arms if it hadn't come out like it did, no one was more deserving.

I took ridiculously few pictures, so very unlike me. I did however take this one of a beautiful gate newly installed in the walled garden at the house by a certain Adam Booth Artist Blacksmith with whom I am acquainted.

I spent the whole weekend talking to people. Lots of people that I know from Potfest in the Pens and who I had told I would be at this show this year and who had come to find me, lots of people from this area who had travelled down for a day out, lots of great potter friends old and new and lots of new people who were very interested in what I was making. I was so in need of a boost about my work, it was great to here all the positive comments. To all those who bought my pots, I hope you have many happy years of enjoyment with them and thank you for buying. It was lovely speaking to you all. Also isn't it great watching someone making their choice from a line of pots? I love that, when they have decided that they definitely are having one but can't make their mind up which and they are examining them all to make their final decision. I like the choosing bit when I'm buying someone elses too, weighing up each one and deciding which one will come home with me. I didn't buy any pots this weekend!! Shock horror! However I do have three new ones in my collection now, one from the mug swap - always such good fun, one from an iron spangles swap and one just being given me from another potter. They'll come in a post tomorrow, they probably couldn't be three more different drinking vessels!

As always there was one person who seemed to be unable to be even tactful and wait until they'd gotten out of earshot before commenting about how they didn't like "brown dull pots". Mind you compared to the comment a friend of mine got from a visitor to his stand I got off very lightly.

Ducks were a dabbling outside the workshop today. It's been a slow and gentle day today at the workshop, I've spent it easing the place back to normal and clearing all the pots onto shelves, bubble into boxes and boxes into storage. Everything is back to super slow again. The show did my body no good at all, I feel I've gone back a few weeks in the recovery, hopefully it's only temporary though and a few good nights rest will sort it out again. I tried to let Paul do all the heavy lifting but if course sometimes I just did it without thinking. The worst though was just standing, makes you realise just how heavy your arms actually are when they are just hanging from slightly not right shoulders. It was hard a couple of times to keep smiling rather than grimacing, the grimace sort of scares the punters off I think, not something I wanted to be doing really. Anyway it's feeling a lot less painful today, so another easy week here I think.