jug.

This little gem is now available in my etsy store!

The jug holds just under 1 pint of liquid and is 10 cm high x 7.5 cm wide, plus a 4 cm handle.

The watermill is inspired by my childhood home, Silverdale. Cregg Mill was owned by my grandfather back in the 1930's!

cafe.

In the 1950s, my grandparents owned and ran a wee cafe in Silverdale Glen. My Dad still has some memorabilia floating about the house and I happily stumbled across THIS gem last month. 

vases!

I'm trying reeeeeeally hard to make larger pieces. These vases are 18 or 19 cm tall - big for me! 

YAY!

I like that they tell a story together - a happy accident!

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! 

morning.

I took this photo 2 and a half weeks ago. I haven't been out for a walk since, but I know that the snow drops are out and the daffodil buds are growing - Spring is coming, soon, I hope. 

[silverdale]

plate up.

Dear kiln gods,

Please take care of these dinner plates. I'm quite proud of myself for making them and I so loved painting them - there is so much SPACE for me to paint on! I feel like a child with a whole piece of paper to draw on.

Thank you muchly.

made in man.

Painting has always been my favourite part of the making process. I've been painting pots for ten years, way before I learnt to throw. I have a penchant for ridiculously small details. (I think that comes from years of painting fairy eyelashes.) 

The first collection in the new studio; an extension of Silverdale Dreams. I designed a stoneware collection in December of last year (!) with the intention of making it from March 2013, but I had to leave Australia! I've been thinking about this new work every day since then and as much as I've been impatient to make, this waiting period has been perfect - the designs have evolved, moving much closer to what I really want them to represent.

It surprises me to say this, but I am genuinely proud to be making at home on the island. I couldn't escape this rock fast enough when I first moved to Australia as an 18 year old. Six years later, after an initial resistance to returning home, I am HAPPY to be here and especially thrilled to bring my skills and experience back with me. With this in mind, I ordered a stamp to print the shape of the island on the bottom of my pots. I rather love it.

silverdale mist.

This place is so dreamy.

throw > paint.

Holding my own pots after a 7 month hiatus = best feeling EVER. 

There was much happy dancing. 

I've been sketching and designing for months - it's BRILLIANT to finally make those drawings a reality! I've had an extension of the Silverdale Dreams collection planned since December last year, and since my return I've been considering the local language - Manx gaellic. This is the starting point for the first work to be made in my new studio.

[moghrey mie // good morning]

[notions of home]

[gura mie eu // thank you]

[it was getting pretty messy on Thursday night.]

s p r i n g .

This was May. It was pretty. (And cold.)

9.

I spent my childhood years here, in Silverdale Glen.

[swings + carousel]

[monks bridge]

[monks well]

I've been home for 9 weeks. Last week I was convinced that it had only been 6 weeks, completely in denial of how many days have passed since I left Australia.
Most mornings I walk through Silverdale Glen. It comforts me, but with every step I remember walking along Australian beaches and my heart aches.

shelter.

Two weeks ago, when I landed back here on the island, the first place I visited was Craftworks Studio. I worked there from 14 - 18 years old, spending countless happy weekends and school holidays working as a studio assistant, cleaning up, writing bills, working the till, showing our customers how to paint ceramics and helping the children to finish their pieces.

The family that own the studio welcomed me as an extra daughter, teaching, supporting and inspiring me. I can certainly attribute my creative path to them.
The owners (and 'parents') Martin and June, knew I would visit that Thursday morning. I didn't tell them so, I didn't plan it, but they knew I would come. They welcomed me and have encouraged me to use the studio as my creative outlet until I re-establish a workspace on the island.
In these 2 weeks of re-adjustment, grief and disorientation, Craftworks has been my lighthouse. Many aspects of life here have changed in my absence, but this studio has not. I have gravitated down to Silverdale so often over the last fortnight, chatting with Martin, June and the current assistants, Emma and Henny; they are my creative family, we have been reunited.
It occurred to me last week that it is a place of comfort for me, and in that same thought, working with ceramics is a comforting practice to me. I feel calm and happy when I make. I become anxious when I'm unable to throw or paint. Somehow in those years of teenage angst, working with clay and glaze and kilns became my emotional comforter and without realising, it has spilled over into my life as a young adult. It abates my sadness.

[photos from the Craftworks Facebook Page]

Thursday :: Mud Colony.

home (?)

Here I am. I'm home. The home where I grew up and where my parents live, at least. It does feel like a home. I feel comforted by familiar sights from my childhood and I can view my surroundings with a greater appreciation as an adult. 

I lived in Australia for 5 and a half years. It grew to feel like my home too. I came back to the Isle of Man 3 times since I left in 2007, 2 holidays and 1 short work contract. Each time I returned, I knew it was temporary. I was thinking about leaving as soon as I arrived. By habit, my subconscious did the same thing when I landed last week. The realisation that this is not a visit, that this is real life, that I cannot return to Australia to carry on my life, stung.

I find solace in the special places of my childhood. I've posted about Silverdale Glen here before. I grew up in a house that overlooked a watermill, boating lake, children's playground and woodlands. As a child I would be lost here for hours, seeing fairies at every step.

[silverdale]

[silverdale]

[silverdale]

[our snow covered hills]

[signs of Spring]

[my new neighbours.]

[there has been much, much tea drinking]

[here's to new directions.]

udessi

One of the many, many sad aspects of leaving Australia is that I must say bye bye to some of my stockists. Every gallery and store that I have worked with in the last 3 years has been wonderful and I am very grateful to them for stocking my work, encouraging me to grow and supporting my arts practice. 

Before I pack up my work to ship home, Udessi are offering a special discount on my Silverdale Dreams porcelain cups. This is your last chance to buy these pieces in Australia...

Thank you to sweet Kim, the owner of Udessi and a practising ceramicist too. She approached me last year with an invitation to join Udessi, which I leapt upon having followed Kim's work and the gallery for years! She took my work to the Brisbane Finders Keeper Markets in November and also to the inaugural Big Design Market Melbourne in December - great exposure for a little potter like me. I'm gutted to end our working relationship, but I'll be following her progress avidly from afar (thank GOODNESS for Instagram!).

silverdale / sydney

I am very proud to announce my first Sydney stockist: Follow Store in Surry Hills! 

Follow is a new design concept store nestled away in a beautiful heritage listed shop, founded by the clever duo behind the Finders Keepers Markets!

Oh look, there's some Silverdale Dreams porcelain cups on their blog and online store! Ooh!

Thanks to Brooke of Follow Store for welcoming me and thanks to Kim of Udessi for exposing my work to new people at Finders Keepers!

udessi.

I am very proud to announce my newest stockist ~ Udessi. Founded by ceramicist Kim Wallace, Udessi is an online gallery store showcasing a selection of Australian artists. I feel so privileged to be represented amongst such talented creatives; I owe a heartfelt thank you to Kim for welcoming me as a new artist and photographing my work SO beautifully...

You can find my Udessi profile here!

silverdale dreams

A collection of wheel thrown Southern Ice porcelain cups, individually hand painted with patterns inspired by my childhood home, Silverdale.

Silverdale Dreams - 2012, Wheel thrown + hand painted, Southern Ice Porcelain, 1280C electric fired, various sizes, photos: Kylie Cox

Remember all those cups from months ago? My wonderful friend Kylie took some photos of them :)

Dear Dad, I hope you recognise our home place x
(my darling Father is a dedicated reader of my blog!)