Highlights from the weekend

Last weekend was a busy one. I was taking part in a show with Caversham Artists over the weekend so spent some time there with so much lovely art work. Here is a snippet of the weekend, you can see more here.

I'm second from the left, you should be able to tell from the vase I'm holding!

I also managed to make a few new moulds, this one should be dry this week so I can start casting from it. I've also take photos of it at various stages so I'll post them soon as people are always asking how the moulds are made. This is a textured beaker, vase and matching coasters to follow.

I was very chuffed as I sold the first large jelly mould dish last weekend too. I've got a few more to glaze so once they are finished they will be listed in my shops.

Midweek Making

It's been a busy day today. I made this! It's a ring shaped vase, some will have more holes and others will have just one. It's a miracle it came out of the mould but I'm glad I persevered with it. I'm quite excited about finishing it.
The vase above came out of the mould below that I made about a year ago and hadn't had much success with getting a whole piece out of it. By the laws of mould making it shouldn't really work as the clay shrinks around the centre of the mould and sticks to it often resulting in cracking. When I've tried it before it's always broken, i think it was because i was too hasty trying to get it out, this time i left it to dry for 3 days and it worked. Hope i can get a few more out over the next week and fire and glaze them to add to my shops.

I also found some time to make some raspberry vodka. I've been meaning to make some for ages and have only just got around to it. Just the look of all that sugar makes me want to clean my teeth. I've got to let it mature for 3 months, might try and make it longer as we still have 4 litres of sloe vodka from a few years ago that we should drink first.

When i was searching for a recipe i came across a really informative blog called The Cottage Smallholder, it's written by a lady called Fiona Nevile and is about her journey towards being partially self sufficiency. Check it out for some great recipes and food ideas, it's a really interesting read.