Working with a new gallery

a tall ceramic pot with poetry

Today we delivered to a lovely new gallery in Aberfeldy called Artisanand. We were there on holiday in October and visited the gallery. It was very spacious and full of good quality work. The owner, Angela, was very friendly and chatty and we talked to her about the possibility of contacting her in the near future to show her our work. She said to email anytime. Life/business got busy after that so it was only this month that we actually got in touch.

Angela had a look at our ‘blurb’ and images, our social media and our website and decided that our work was a good fot for the gallery. She then sent us options for upcoming exhibitions, to see which ones we could submit to. We chose the first one, which was called ‘Whimsical Imaginings’. At first, I wasn’t sure if our work fitted, but when we had a good look at the shapes, glazes and some of the words, we easily chose a selection.

Each gallery has their own way of working, so this has to be read through carefully. Angela needed information from us, images of each piece, and a consignment sheet. We worked out some time ago that it’s better for us and for your connection with the gallery and therefore with their customers, if we meet the gallery owner in person. Of course, this is not always possible, but Aberfeldy was  a beautiful two and half hour trip and we tied it in with a picnic together by the River Tay and then to meet friends near Stirling.

All in all, not a bad way to earn a living..

PS, we managed to go without the large picture we had promised so that now needs to be posted! Oops!

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January studio tour!

We’re going to try and do a more regular post about what we’re up to in the pottery. We sometimes get so caught up in what we’re doing that it’s easy to forget to keep everyone informed. Here’s Michaela (also me typing) – I don’t like being on camera or hearing my voice, so I’m being brave!

The studio looks a bit untidy – we haven’t yet done our usual January clear out and tidy up so that should happen next week while we wait for work to dry enough to go in the kiln.

We’ve got a few fairs that we are working towards just now, a few Bute Yard events and then Toasted in Derby. Also, we’re delighted to have been selected for an exhibition at Aberfeldy next month and one in Greengallery in May, which is exciting! We’re trying to branch out into new shops and galleries with the bigger pieces of work.

The reason some of the clay is on plasterboard is that once rolled out, it can still be too wet for working with, so plasterboard dried out the clay evenly, which means it will stay in shape better once made into a finished piece.

Plastic, we try to avoid as much as possible, but these bags get years of use out of them. Once the clay has reached it’s ultimate level of dry-enough-but-not-too-dry, it goes into plastic bags so it can be used as soon as we’re ready to use it. Or it might be that Chris has created a piece but I’m not in the pottery for adding in the poetry, so it gets wrapped in plastic to save it for when I can get that done.

Do ask any questions about anything else.

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Seatree’s protest…

Today we added a small piece to an exibition marking the second coming of Donald Trump as president of the United States. An enterprising and thoughtful local couple had gathered a whole bunch of A4 artistic responses to this new moment of uncertainty for our Western civilisation, stringing them up in lines in their gallery. We were grateful to be part of it, as it seemed like a much saner way to mark our new normal…
In a room full of good people today, I found myself feeling strangely detatched. As I reflected on this feeling (which to be honest is not an unusual state for me) I realised that in part this was because I had been here before, in 2016, at Trumps first coming. Back then, I declared myself part of the resistance and began writing protest poetry, much of which is gathered in the first part of my book After The Apocalypse. The thing is, this book has two more parts. Firstly, the great silence of the pandemic, our national and international pause to ponder, which I still think will be seen in hindsight as a pivot point in human history, no matter how irrelevant it seems to us at the moment – even in the light of backwards movement that Trump seems determined to bring about.Then the last part concerned itself with a determination to look for goodness, meaning and even that most fickle of human emotions, hope. This is not the same thing as blind optimism. Nor does it arise from world wearyness with all the oppositional anger, which I certainly feel. Rather it is because I feel deep in my bones a sense that we are a civilisation whose time has come. Trump is a symptom not a cause. A symptom of a bitter process of coming apart driven by the logic of unsustainable consumption and rampant inequality.The thing is, whatever we emerge into will require us to ask the same questions about what truth and beauty we want to carry forward. It will require enough of us to still value love and friendship above hate and vengence. It will need those who love the earth and want to plant trees.It is not 2016 after all, it is 2025. Trump does not seem to be able to learn, but we can, surely?This was the picture that Michaela made, using one of my poems for the exhibition.
Even this does not quite capture what I am trying to describe above. Yes, we need to unite and make conspiracies of kindness towards others and the world – more than ever we need this, but we also need to develop a different narrative for 2025, one that allows us to move beyond division and opposition and to seek instead those places where, despite all that we know and all that we fear, we choose to love.
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Taking part in craft fairs

Taking part in craft fairs for us, with ceramics, is a decision to take seriously. We have taken part in some that are not selected, so some work is brought in and not handmade, and at those we do not do well. When I say ‘do well’, it is not just financial. It is about who we connect with – fellow makers, visitors and potential customers, and our work, the way we see it as a whole.

We ‘do better’ when we take part in well organised and selected fairs. It allows us to see our work in context – with other work and what is being created. It allows us to mix with fellow artists and makers – share stories of life as a creative and as a small business owner and it means that we find more people who would possibly like to engage with our work, as they come along expecting quality and handmade work. It’s the connection that matters above all else. Of course, the income from these events also helps us to sustain our creative lifestyle and keep on making what you love.

Having said all that, we are taking part in the Bute Yard craft fair, on the isle of Bute. We love it there. It has a great feeling (vibe?), fabulous food, spaces to relax with friends and great makers and crafts. We’ll be there for the first Sunday of February, March and April – and you can see where else we’ll be at here. 

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Why buy seatree?

We’ve had some beautiful emails and messages this week, from people who have bought from us or received a seatree treasure over the festive season, or even way back. It means a lot when people reach out, and reminds us why we do what we do. We pour our hearts into what we do. It all starts with the words, with Chris’s poetry – that’s a whole other blog post needed there – and with our connection to the land and water around us, The clay in our hands takes shape, reflecting the hills, the shorelines, the birds taking flight. Words are added. Sometimes the words lead to the shape, sometimes the shape leads to the words. Words are powerful. They bring hope, meaning, connection.

As we had the words, they flow across the clay in a way that we hope adds to the meaning and textures, lines, marks are added – sometimes a sketch, to bring the words to life. Once fired, the next level, colour, is added.

So much love goes into each piece and we watch as each piece goes through the furnace, as it were. So, to send the work out to you, to its new home, sometimes with a beautiful story attached as to why it is being purchased, is a joyous thing. Thank you!

If you like the bowl in the picture, you can find them here..

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