New ideas

It has been ages since my last post. We have been busy trying to dry out after our last show (at Woburn abbey where we got a bit wet!!) and feeling generally a bit disheartened (rain will do that to you).
Anyway today it is sunny and long may it last as we are at a garden show next weekend at Abbots Ripton http://www.abbotsriptonhall.co.uk/ Fingers crossed for some good weather, we will be there whatever but it does boost the moral slightly when you are not soggy!

Some of the plants I have been growing for the occasion are looking fabulous, and hopefully someone will love them at the weekend.

The potter hasn't been moping about the weather (well maybe a little) but has been busy experimenting with new things, I am going to give you a sneak preview of one of them. It isn't even fully dry yet......

 

So its a frog.... actually I think it might be a toad..... sitting on a lily pad. (My photo was photobombed by Gladys who sneaked into shot when I wasn't looking!)
This is the side shot....

 

 

So the toad could be decorational for the garden (next to a pond maybe) but he does have a hole in the top which the potter thought could be used for this.......

 



.... a solar light. I will update you with some pictures of it once it has been fired and glazed, and we shall see how he comes out. He is looking like a sentry in the last picture so maybe you need to have 2, one on either side of your front door!

Updating

I thought I would use today's post to update you on a couple of  things I have been talking about over the last few weeks.

Firstly fairy doors. It turns out that it isn't just the Embar Pottery imagination that loved the fairy door idea! After the Penshurst show we had sold out of our show stock, so we raided our Dedham unit and sold out of those during our the Hatfield show! So the potter has been very busy preparing more fairy doors for our next show which is next weekend at the Woburn Abbey Country Fair http://www.livingheritagecountryshows.co.uk/show/the-woburn-abbey-country-fair/55.php

These doors are all mid way through the glazing phase. It is always a bit difficult to tell what they are going to look like when finished as the glaze is nothing like the colour it is when fired. The edges will be green (not brown) the Mushrooms red (not brown) the cute little deer will be fawn (not dark brown) and the backgrounds are all different speckly colours (not white!!) You often just have to trust what the pot says and run with it. Occasionally you get a surprise when you open the kiln!

A few weeks ago I suggested in this post that the Potter should make a new Green Lady plaque at the one of the shows. The Potter did this, and the green lady is now out of the kiln and looking lovely.

 

The potter also made a hairy male companion to the Green lady! who is quite a cheeky chappy!!