Five things we’ve learnt during lockdown…

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1. Websites

Chris has been busy working on the website and as most of you will appreciate, that’s a steep learning curve. Check it out here – we’d love to hear your thoughts. We now have a shop online! How exciting! Michaela is also doing a brilliant course with the Design Trust – an accountable group learning more about the business side of things. We have a few plans – to add on vouchers, a photo of us, some better product descriptions… watch this space!


2. Zoom

We’ve learnt so much about zoom! We’ve been doing kids pottery classes over the spring, taking a break now for the summer – and Chris has started some poetry classes with the lovely Blairmore Gallery. If you’d like to know more about the next class (poetry appreciation) let us know – or to book in for a six week course on writing your own poetry. Zoom is the place to be!


3. Sculpture

Michaela is thrilled to have received funding from Craft Scotland to do a sculpture course. This has been postponed, obviously, but will hopefully still run at some point at the beautiful Caol Rudh Sculpture Park. Meanwhile, practice, practice… Here’s a finished piece that was submitted to Tighnabruaich Gallery for their online Secret Regatta exhibition – check it out as it finishes this week. Our pieces will also be showing in the gallery when they reopen mid-July. And there’s also a picture of a new sculpture, made yesterday and drying nicely ready for firing soon…


4. We need you

We kind of knew that already really – but Michaela has missed seeing your own creativity – taking other people’s pieces out of the kiln, sharing the joy of creating and learning. So, we’ve hatched a plan. It involves tins and cardboard packaging… To know more, sign up to our newsletter.


5. Don’t panic

We had to learn this quickly. Trust that all will be well. We’ve been so thankful for support from the government, from Creative Scotland – and from you – every like, share and purchase has kept us going. We are very grateful. We decided that being grateful and sharing what we have was a better way forward. So we signed up to the #artistspledge. Every sale we make using this hashtag up to £1000 means we then commit to buying another artist’s work for £200. Every sale we make this week from our website, or on vouchers, will go towards that fund.


Meanwhile, we’ll keep learning and growing and sharing with you as we go.

Thanks for your company!

Here are a few ideas for gifts for teachers as we draw to the end of term here in Scotland (although English teachers deserve thanks too!)


I have had a few conversations in the last week about buying a gift to say thank you to the teacher, and it set me thinking. When I was little, a bunch of bluebells or catkins was what our teachers use to get – we received some hedgerow flowers recently following the death of Chris’s sister and they were beautiful, but perhaps there is ony so much room for flowers in your teachers house…


If, you want to gift something longer-lasting, perhaps we can help.

These jars of love contain tiny-weeny ceramic hearts, a little treasure. See the wee jars here…

Some people have already ordered these ‘words to see you through the week.’ We have set this up so you can choose words for your teacher – or we can choose them for you. In fact, we have just recieved this from a satisfied customer;
“I was just looking over my “words to see you through the week before sending them on to my son’s teacher – a perfect selection of words, thank you!”

Our poetry plaques are very popular too – each one is unique so perhaps can might see one here that would be meaningful to your teacher?

We have a range of prices so do have a browse at the website shop and the other thing we can offeris a voucher – that way your teacher can choose their own gift or book themselves in for a potterysession once we are up and running again!


We can post out orders for free or arrange collection if you are local.
Enjoy browsing – and a big thank you to all the teachers out there!

We’ve had a very up and down time during the lock down, probably like most people. One of the definite ‘ups’ has been being a part of the Secret Regatta exhibition at Tighnabruaich Gallery. Please do check it out.

There’s a link here with an introduction to the exhibition, and a video tour of the gallery with a lot of the artists work on show, including ours. It all looks so beautiful. Ros does such a good job of showing work to its very best and we feel so humbled to be a part of it.

You can also get involved yourself, which is really exciting – your memories, stories and even an art challenge!

We were among a group of artists invited to chat with the local primary school children about the work we were creating for the exhibition. They were lovely, engaged and attentive. The idea was to help them with the challenge to create something for the exhibition themselves. A couple of children cited us as inspiration and it’s wonderful. It reminds me of entering an art competitions as a child after visiting a museum. I remember the joy of that. Check out the children’s work here

You can see all the artists work here 
and see our own work here –  we really loved making for this exhibition and hope you like what we created.  

This piece was a commission earlier this year for one of our tiled pictures to be sent to Australia but unframed due to customs. The customer wanted something for a gift for a family member who loves the sea and sailing – a perfect opportunity to use one of my favourite of Chris’s poems – If hope raises up these tattered sails will you send for me a fair and steady wind?
The customer had seen a framed tile with those words and on when at a Christmas fair we were exhibiting at in Glasgow and contacted us in the new year. We made two and that allowed her to choose the design she liked the best, or in case one broke in the kiln firing. It was sent to the customer and she put it in a parcel being sent by all the family for a birthday treat, for someone who loves sailing.
We love to make something that is specially commissioned – so much thought has already gone into it by the person making the request and we can add to the thinking and designing. It makes it a very special thing to do.
Recently, we’ve had requests for ‘words’ to see you through the week’ for people in different circumstances that needed cheering along, requests to make certain items with pieces of Chris’s poetry on, when the words have resonated with them, lovely gift messages to be added to items ordered from the website. It’s so lovely to make those connections with you all. Keep them coming!

Coirsdan, from the lovely Blairmore Gallery, is running a number of on-line art workshops over the next period, and we are delighted to announce that Chris will be running one on poetry. This will be on the 16th of June, from 2PM.

We called the workshop ‘poetry appreciation’, because our aim is not to write our own words (this time) but rather to take a journey through some other wonderful poems. In doing so, we we hope to gather some insights into what poetry is for, how it connects with us and what makes some words so much more powerful than others.

Here is the blurb;

Immerse yourself in words, by taking part in this new and exciting live-online workshop. Poetry has never been more important in our lives, because it is the way we say things that matter. If you have an interest in poetry and want to learn more, this workshop is for you. Led by Chris Goan, a local poet, we will talk about poetry & explore a wide variety of poems that are moving & meaningful, in a small group. You will discover the tricks & techniques that give words power. It will be £30 per person.

Book your place now by emailing Ciorsdan at blairmoregallery@gmail.com

The strage thing about our new reality is that even though this workshop is local (to me) participants might be from anywhere, so if you fancy an afternoon sharing poetry with a small group, then it would be lovely to see you, if only on a screen.

Time for some poetry…