shelve it.

I am a serious geek about shelving and display. A lovely gentleman named Leslie made these new units for me - they'll be perfect for markets and they sit beautifully in the studio window too. 

summer studio life.

We've been lucky this summer - we had sunshine and warmth! This wee island is renowned for raining all summer long. 

It's been a joy to work in the studio this season. With south-facing windows, it's always warm. The yard itself is a sun-trap. Swallows have been swooping over our little world. 

Sadly, summer is already slipping away, even before the end of August. 

[Maree's ever-wonderful styling skills in the Pinewood showroom]

[new stock for Manx National Heritage]

[time to invest in a new sable paintbrush - I used them for the double banding on my pots, so they have a hard life.] 

august.

swallows.

Swallows come to nest in our yard every summer. It is such a joy to stand at the studio door to watch them swooping over the yard and into the sheds back to their babies. 

home.

2013 was weird. 

I thought I would live in Australia forever, the bottom fell out of my world when I was told I had to leave.

I saw my career crumbling apart, friendships torn apart. Returning home seemed to me the worst failure. 

I felt the world had ended when I came home to the island. I genuinely felt hurt. I was bruised.

But it got better. Certainly not quickly, but life did get better. I rekindled friendships long neglected since I left home 6 years ago, I saw this beautiful island through different eyes, I stopped whining about the cold (well, kind of.) and we had a warm summer - and most importantly, I realised that I needed a drastic life change to allow me to prioritise my career. 

Through a strong and generous circle of friends, I met Spud and Maree. Within 2 months they had offered to clean out a tiny woodshed and turn it into my studio. Grateful, thankful, it doesn't cover it, it doesn't even come near. They gave me a sanctuary, they sent me a lifeboat. 

This is where I'm supposed to be, now. 

I'm happy to be home.

Thank you dear followers for cheering me on - happy 2014 to you! x

stoo-dee-oh

This was December...somehow I managed to squeeze some experiments into my Christmas production line - grown up sized dinner plates!

[snuggling next to the fire in the PineWood Studio showroom!]

[walks to shake off a bad mood]

cosy.

This huge wood burner is in the Pinewood Studio showroom. It's lit every Saturday in Winter and I LOVE it. I'll be in my studio all day tomorrow - if you come to visit and can't find me, I'll be curled up next to this beast.

open.

Come see me! Here's a MAP!

shoot.

Superstar photographer Phil Kneen spent a morning with me in the studio on Tuesday. He captured some beautiful shots - I'm stoked. 

See a few more photos over on Phil's blog and stay tuned for a few more here!

smitten.

Don't mind me, I'm just crushing on my studio. 

small pleasures.

MORE SHELVES!

partay.

shelves!

I have SHELVES! Maree's dad is a master joiner - a clever man indeed. He's done a LOT of work on the studio along with Spud and Warwick and Michael and even MORE people who's names I don't know. 

Leslie, you're a legend. 

As is your girl MAREE, she brought me a mug of homemade pumpkin soup with toast on Thursday night!!

studio / love.

Have I mentioned that I love the studio?

Spud pops in to see how I'm doing. Maree brought me a rug and an electric heater on Tuesday morning, bless her. I'm extra cosy now.
I feel warm and safe as the rain pelts and the wind blows. Autumn's sweetness has passed now I think. Gale force wind and heavy rain fills the forecast and winter will quickly follow. My instinct is to grumble, but when I think of the new studio, I stop. I can snuggle up in there and fill the winter with pots.

I travel from home to the studio, south to north, up the island. The drive is beautiful, valleys, hills, woods, rivers. I take my breakfast with me.

The yard is peaceful. There are occasional barks and whines from the dogs. Sometimes a whinny from the horse. A cockerel crow from the neighbouring farm. The bandsaw in the wood workshop.

[connected!]

new.

These photos are a week old now and I've done much more than throw in the last week (if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you'll be tired of my clay spam already!), but HERE they are on my blog now.

[happy potter]

[the first pot.]

I've been in the studio every day for the last week, be it for 30 minutes or 5 hours! It's the most darling place. My every thought is 'when can I get there again?'.

Let's go over to Mud Colony! The blog won't be around for much longer, but I want to be a good blogger (for once) and contribute for the last few weeks. Kudos to Adriana for initiating such a brilliant group of potters on the interwebs.

ta dah!

My wheel and kiln were delivered yesterday. Spud (studio landlord) called me after the courier drop and I immediately LEAPT into the car and whizzed up to unpack them. 

For some reason I was surprised to see them both in boxes? How else did I think they would arrive?!

What I thought would be a two hour job was more like four. Partly my own fault; I was so overexcited that I just couldn't focus on reading the instructions! I even forgot to eat lunch and I NEVER miss a meal. 

At first I thought the wheel was broken, but it is actually just SILENT! I mean, yes, it's called a Whisper T, but I didn't really believe that it would be this quiet...

The kiln needs to be wired in yet (single phase electricity), but hopefully that will be done within a week and I can begin test firings!

The unpacking process was so exciting yet nerve wrecking, I was exhausted and I didn't even do any of the heavy lifting!!

I'm itching to get MYSELF in there. Soon, soon...

Big thank yous to Spud, Alan and Leslie for their man help. 

[the wheel! (and fancy stool)]

[I was so tempted to jump inside the kiln box.]

[ "is it level?" ]

[250kg of clay. Yes, really.]

[TA DAH!]

[ooooh so shiny.]

[cuteness.]

cuteness.

The studio is looking SO CUTE! Give us a couple of weeks...it's getting there...

roof.

One of my many 'day jobs' on the island is at a gorgeous fair trade shop in the most northern town - Shakti Man in Ramsey. I'm helping to set up a website and online store - the project is snowballing on every level, but it's the best team to be working with. I live in the south of the island; on my way home from Shakti last night, I popped in to see the studio progress (useful fact: one of my Shakti colleagues, Maree, is co-owner of PineWood Studio) and found Spud perched at the top of a ladder, replacing some roof slates! 

There is also GLASS in the window and door - double glazed too! The studio is south facing, so hopefully I will get a good amount of natural light every day - assuming of course that it isn't too cloudy...which happens a lot on this wee island...hmm.

[Spud!]

Let's go to Mud Colony!

clear.

Darling Warwick (dear friend, meditation teacher and fellow crazy dancer) has been clearing out my wee studio space!

  

[the yard - my studio is the lean-to on the right hand side]

[view across the yard from the studio]

I'm stoked to announce that The Isle of Man Arts Council have approved a grant to assist with my first 12 months studio rent! YEW!

s t u d i o !

The studio search is over!

I am VERY excited to announce that the marvellous Maree and Spud Murphy of PineWood Studio at Lower Bishopscourt Farm have offered me a workspace in their yard! This cosy little room needs a lot of work over the summer, but fuelled with tea and cake it will surely become a magic studio! Maree and Spud have been based in this old farm yard for 28 years, creating beautiful hand built and entirely bespoke furniture. I am SO excited to join them in such a beautiful place. 

 Yes...it it currently the wood shed. BUT there is already water and electricty, so after a clean out, a new door and window, it will be perfect!

 And SO ADORABLE.