Potfest

I was delighted to be accepted to Potfest in the Park , a three day international ceramics fair in the Lake District of England.  It takes place at Hutton-in-the-Forest, a 15th century English estate. It was absolutely lovely. Over 100 ceramic artists from Europe, Australia, the UK and America ( that would be me!)  set up in massive white tents on the rolling green lawns in front of the castle.

Below are some pictures of setting up:

Will, holding down the fort

Unloading in the rain

David and Wendy plotting out the wall installation

Most artists camp at a nearby campground

Dave setting up the tents

Dinner at the campground kitchen yurt

My booth

Wendy's booth

Margaret Frith 

One of the things I loved about this fair was the sense of community. Courtesy umbrellas- at a fair that draws thousands! And all were returned.

There was also a remarkable sense of community amongst the artists. Chris and Geoff Cox, the organizers of the show, go to great lengths to foster this sense of community. One of the greatly anticipated events every year is the cup exchange amongst the makers. The third one from the left is mine. The first cup that I ever made. We all stood in a circle and passed around the cups in a giant game of hot potato, except you get to keep the potato!  This was followed by a catered dinner for the artists with awards given out to the best in several categories.

The work by the other artists at the fair was a visual treat. Below are some of my favorites. To see more you can visit the official Potfest 2010 photo album HERE

Boat by Mark Smith

Mark Smith

Each ceramic piece by Mark Smith draws its inspiration from the sea, and each piece has its own unique appearance and individual story to tell.

As he makes each piece its own narrative develops often revealing the tale of a journey or maritime adventure.

Objects discovered on the shoreline are incorporated and find themselves becoming part of the rich story.

Mark uses a variety of decorative techniques as his ideas continue to flow, moving on to create different avenues and new approaches.

Ships, boats, and wrecks are the main focus of the work which is made from clay that has the texture of metal and wood from objects that have been salvaged by Mark. The clay is press moulded and patched together to produce a variety of forms that look as though they have been weathered from long voyages and amazing adventures on the high seas.

Gayle Cherry, his lovely partner

Mark Smith

The Work of Craig Underhill. I loved his dreamy landscapes. 

They were so softly detailed and evocative of a distant place.

My favorite. Love the flock of birds taking flight.

Craig Underhill

Dave Binns on left chatting with Wayne Clark. I bought one of Wayne's lidded jars to hold tea.  

Sally and Alasdair Neil MacDonnel. One of the loveliest and most gifted couples you will ever meet. I am in love with their work and have long admired Sally's figures. When she wanted to do a trade I nearly did a cartwheel right then and there!

Below on the right is my figure. On the left is Wendy's.

Kathrin Najorka and Christophe Zange from Germany, 

and their gorgeous woodfired functional ware below

Chris Cox

Meri Wells figure

Life Size figures on the lawn, by Meri Wells

The Work of Paul Young

Paul Young was brought up in Clowne, Derbyshire.
His interest in slipware, particularly the large medieval jugs, early pew figures and the Eighteenth-century baking dishes, emerged from a series of lectures at College, and later was enchanted by the French rigid tile figures, epi des faitages. These influences can all be seen in his recent pieces alongside some Persian and Japanese inspiration.
He set up a workshop in Leicestershire producing electric and wood-fired earthenware. He was short-listed for the UK Trade Export Award at Origin, 2007.

Paul Young

Every year, the festival has a themed contest on the lawn. This year was "Shrines, Altars and Markers" Below are some of my favorite entries.

Shrine by Meri Wells

This garden bench by Jan Lewis-Eccleston was the first place winner, deservedly so. The procession of tiny flightless penguins bearing gifts to the giant, looming winged bird made everyone who saw it laugh out loud in delight.

My entry

The food tents. Best brie and chutney sandwiches EVER.

This artist collected kiln mistakes from many of the artists exhibiting at the fair and created this shrine to kiln disasters. Something all of us can relate to as ceramic artists!

Mickerloo Gallery

Mickerloo Gallery, in Chester, England is owned by the very talented Raven sisters, Emma and Sally. They have carried my work since last year and it was so lovely to finally meet them and see the gorgeous gallery.  Mickerloo is a contemporary craft gallery on  Cheshire plain that also features a tea room and cafe.

Sally Raven, who is an incredibly gifted potter, manages the gallery while her sister, Emma, runs the tea room and cafe. And you haven't lived until you have tasted one of Emma's regionally acclaimed pastries!

Below are gorgeous wood fired porcelain pieces by Sally Raven. I traded a reliquary for several of her pieces and my husband and I absolutely love them and use them every single day. 

 

Wendy and I visited on a day that they were catering an event. They have a modern deck with sweeping views of the Cheshire Plain. This coupled with the elegant gallery full of art and scrumptious treats by Emma make for a popular venue.

I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the food, as a former caterer and restaurant manager. Yummm!

And last but oh, not least, the gorgeous artwork. They carry a very enticing array of jewelry, glass and ceramics by well-known makers as well as emerging artists.

Janice Parker is one of their resident artists. I loved her whimsical, fun works!

Based in Chester, Janice is a contemporary artist/maker
who combines various materials and techniques to produce
three-dimensional imaginary worlds. She is drawn to the
kitsch and quirky - things which make her smile such as
automata, robots and flying plaster ducks.

In the past she has used resin, fabric, felt, wood and
copper to realise her ideas.However, her most recent work is

constructed from slip cast and hand built porcelain to
which she has applied her own illustrations in the form of
transfers. These porcelain pieces are then further enhanced
by the addition of patinated copper and wooden elements.
The design of the individual pieces harks back to the
tradition of 17th Century Staffordshire flat-back figurines.

Entitled 'The Thieves of Time, the Magpies and the Star
Machine, this piece is a scene from a tale from my imagination.
The Thieves of Time control the movement of the stars and the

production of 'time' - they make the world go around.
Having trapped and trained magpies (rewarding them with
peanuts!) to steal items concerned with timekeeping - watches,
clocks, egg-timers, etc - they then extract the tiny bits
of time still contained in the mechanisms by putting them
into their star machine. These stars shoot out into the
universe and thus replace the time we humans are frittering
away.

Yes, yes, I know this is very late! I had so many deadlines this fall that time has been in short supply but I am determined to return to the blog!

To catch you up:
As many of you know, I spent July and part of August in Wales, doing an artist residency at the studio of my friend, Wendy Lawrence. I had irregular internet connection so I couldn't post from there but I did want to share a bit so you can get a taste of gorgeous Wales and the amazing ceramics community there!

July 5, 2010
After a 23 hour journey I finally arrived at Wendy's lovely home and studio in Denbigh, Wales. I always forget just how gorgeous Wales is until I return.

For six weeks I worked at Wendy's house and studio, creating a body of work for a three day outdoor ceramics show in August. Thanks to Wendy's amazing generosity, I got to escape the blinding heat of DC in July ( 100 degrees and climbing) to the cool misty summer days of northern Wales and her fairy tale stone house and lovely light filled studio.

Below are pictures of the village and Wendy's gorgeous house and studio.

The Ever Loyal Will, who kept me grand company during the day

Work drying outside in a rare ( and fleeting!) patch of sunlight

in Wendy's courtyard

Wendy in the studio we shared, working on one of her large disks

One of my pieces, mid process

Plotting out the interior pieces

Wendy's disk piece, just as she finished carving it

A new direction for me- a large scale house with a niche

A street in Denbigh, the town where I stayed

David and Margaret Frith, well-known traditional potters, are Wendy's neighbors. They give amazing workshops to which participants  come from all over. We popped by one Saturday morning to see the results of the current workshop participants' wood firing.

Cords of wood for the firing

A pleased student!

Margaret dissecting a glaze with a student

Wendy and Will admire a pot

The Frith's home and gallery

The Koi Garden by which the class celebrated with champagne and sweets!

 I was lucky enough to be living with Will, as I missed my two dogs terribly. This is some of what we saw on our daily walks together.

The now endangered phone booth, beloved by all of us Dr. Who fans

One of the meadows by Denbigh Castle, a five minute jaunt up the hill

Denbigh Castle

And lucky me, it was strawberry season while I was there. Delicate, old-fashioned explode-on-your- tongue in tart sweetness heaven.

Wendy and I worked 14-16 hour days for weeks, getting ready for Potfest, a huge international ceramics fair in the Lake District in England in which we were both participating. See her above, glazing like mad. We did take one day off to go to Chester, England, a shopping boutique heaven. Below are pics of the coolest antique import store EVER.

Next post will be Mickerloo Gallery and Potfest!