Here we are, this week in the favourite space of McGilps pop-up shop on Kempock Street in Gourock. We love it here and get great support from locals and followers alike. Here’s what we’ve learnt when using this pop-up space and others.

1. Get a feel for the space before booking. Visit when another artist is there and see were the light is and what the space looks like.
2. Ask other artists who have used the space recently – any tips they have for you? We found out from the last five artists who used this space, that the beginning of the week was quiet, that the weather makes a difference, that you could promote in certain local Facebook groups.
3. How do you book the space and do you need to pay a deposit?
4. Find out what you need or don’t – for example, we need to take to this pop-up a teatowel, drinks, a couple of mugs..
5. Find out what can be used outside on the pavement – McGilps has space for a sandwich board, and a planter for windmills and bollards for ribbons – you need something outside to catch people’s eye.
6. Establish what is needed inside – for example, McGilps has internet, and we need to take a speaker for music, and also take loo rolls, milk, and a hand towel. Also, establish whether you can write on the windows (and remove it later) or whether you can put pins in the walls or use blu-tac.
7. Find out if there is storage – you need to know if there is space for boxes – or if you sell clothes, is there a changing space?
8. Explore where to advertise locally – both online and physically. Also speak to the artist in the week before and ask them to give you a shout out. We also ask locals that visit to spread the word.
9. What times and days can you open – can you do evenings? Are folks around on the Sunday?
10. Is this a space that you can use for workshops or demos and is this something the local community would be interested in?

Here are a few hundred hearts – words to see you through the week’ stacked in alphabetical order ready to be placed into their boxes in the shop shed. There, they’ll wait for website orders to come in, or in person sales here or at our next events.

They represent a lot of work. First of all there’s the stock taking – which words are running low?

Then there’s the actual making -rolling the clay thin and stamping out the heart shape, smoothing the edges and surfaces and then adding a word, one of eighty-one that we use.

Once dried, between two pieces of plasterboard, they are fired in the electric kiln. After a couple of days, we can empty the kiln, sand any rough spots and then they are glazed, with one of our eight stoneware glazes and fired again, each one laid out carefully on the shelves. The kiln is fired again and then comes the next stage..

Each heart is checked for quality – does the word stand out clearly enough? Is there any smudge on the surface? Are they flat and straight?

The ones that pass the test are then sorted and placed in their relevant box ready to be selected and the stock taking page is updated, as well as the website shop.

Pottery for a living is not just pottery!

We had a wonderful day this week, a day of art and creativity supported by a friend who has a lovely studio full of art materials and a patient and kind way of being. We wanted some time out of making with clay in order to think about developing some new work for an exhibition later this year, looking at the Argyll temperate rainforest, what treasures there are there and what is missing across the county too.

First of all, we wrote out what our work means just now and what our hopes are. Then, we got to play with some inks, papers and gelli plates. We then tore and cut up the work to create a collage of something new. At first our works seemed so different to one another but when we placed them together, we could see how they reflected each other – a little like our stoneware and raku work, brought together by the poetry across each piece.

When we have had a little more time to reflect, we are going to do the same again, cutting and tearing each page and creating something new together – we’ll post it on here and on our socials, so do check it out and stay tuned!

We took part in a call out last month, to participate in an exhibition called Still Edit at the Sage and Salt Studio in Hampshire. Do let us know if you’re in the Petersfield area and can visit for us!

It was an interesting call out as it wasn’t a word theme, like Forest or Justice or Summer Days, but rather a theme based on ‘vibes’. The gallery put out a vision board with soft, gentle colours and a cosy, easy feeling. I thought, yes, we can offer that. Some of our work is stronger vibes, looking at climate change or what is broken but still beautiful in the world – but some of it is also gentle, looking at love, community, friendship, connection with the earth and with each other.

It was good to look through our work in this way and to choose pieces to send through for the selection process. We then had to wait and were delighted to hear that we had been selected. An interesating process to be a part of.

We send work next week and the exhibition starts mid-January. We will really look forward to seeing images of our work with other people’s work, and to see and follow the other artists and makers who are taking part.

This is what we do here at seatree argyll – we use Chris’s words in the clay. We started with ceramic artworks with the very first piece we made with the poetry. This is a recent picture, with the swirls chosen as marks on the picture, as they symbolise the fingerprint but also the swirls of the seas.

It’s an interesting process, choosing how to make the words cross the clay – in straight lines or swirls or sweeping across – and how to bring the words to life. In this case, it was very satisfying to swirl around a sharp stick, creating the lines. The clay is then left to dry between two pieces of plasterboard, to help it dry evenly and flat. Once dry, the piece is fired on a light layer of clean sand, to help it expand and shrink in the heat and cooling of the kiln, so no unwelcome cracks appear.

The kiln is fired to 1000c then glaze is added. In this case, reds, oranges and blacks were used to highlight the lines and the words – we think it is very effective.

This is one of the few ceramic artworks we have left as 2025 draws to a close – give us a shout if the words appeal and you would like this to adorn your own wall. It retails at £160 and postage would be free.