carousel.

A dear friend came to visit me last week - we had a glorious four days in the sunshine, a rare occurrence on this wee island! This photo was taken in my childhood home, Silverdale. This sweet water-driven carousel is one of the oldest examples of its type in the world! 

video.

Big thanks to Paul Moulton of MT TV for visiting the studio to film this cracking interview!

WOSAT!

The Western Open Studio Art Trail (WOSAT) was an amazing weekend - we saw 150 lovely visitors over the three-day weekend, we smiled, laughed, ate delish cakes and we were YARN BOMBED! 

Thank you Creative Network!

April.

wosat.

I'm thrilled to be included in this year's Creative Network Western Open Studio Art Trail!

My studio will be open for the 3 day weekend - it'll be packed full of new pots, cake and maybe some cider...!

ruth.

That pretty lady is my dear friend Ruth. She is a Manx Gaelic singer and is launching her debut solo album this month! I've watched Ruth work her way through the whole creation process over the last 8 months and I am SO proud of her. 

If you're on the island, get yourself a ticket to the launch gig, otherwise head to her website to find her tour dates and pre-order the album! I've been privileged to listen to an advanced copy and it is BEAUTIFUL. 

january.

January is never a kind month for the northern hemisphere. The media bombards us with messages of 'ugh, it's January', as IF we need reminding that it's a miserable month. After spending this time of year in Australia for 5 or 6 years, I'd happily forgotten the post-Christmas-pre-Spring inherent dreariness. 

I was pretty perky to begin; December was great, the new year is full of potential for my work, I was happy to be back in the studio and making stacks of new pots. But then on Thursday, January smacked me in the face - 'No you may NOT be chirpy this month!'.

So I got grumpy. The relatively mild winter temperatures suddenly seeped into my bones. I missed Australia. I missed my beach. I missed nights so hot that I couldn't sleep. 

But the sun came out again today. I walked around Silverdale Glen under clear blue skies, I had a productive day of throwing and glazing in the studio and I remembered how privileged I am to have this vocation, this passion and to have a gorgeous space in which to pursue my work.

So I got over it.

Problem is, the rain is coming back tomorrow...