found clay – Page 7 – Bridget Macklin

I spent a very happy day at Klaylondon this week enjoying the space and chatting to the lovely people who dropped in to admire the work in the gallery. I think the gallery is looking amazing and it seems as if people are now beginning to talk about it and seek it out. I have it on good authority that we sold a remarkable amount yesterday, but I digress.

The point of this blog is to dwell for a moment on where one thinks one is going as an artist and whether you ever actually get there.

12802780_589962844503429_4591393063765265220_n[1] — The Gallery is looking great.

Whilst I was enjoying the gallery a number of people came in specifically because they had spotted one of my pieces in the window and wanted a closer look. In conversation with one of my fellow artists she told me that she thought it was clear that I had arrived; I knew what I was making; I had a great USP and all was going extremely well for me. I was flattered! I puffed myself up and preened my feathers and sat there for a moment basking in the compliment of a fellow artist.

On reflection though I realised how wrong she was. It may be true that I have found a way of working which is new and exciting. I may be making work which really pleases me and which gains a few compliments now and then. But arrived? I don’t think that ever happens does it? In the March/April issue of Ceramic Review There is an interview with David Westcott. He talks about how every firing includes some new tests and describes the opening of the kiln as ‘still like Christmas Day’ because of that feeling of the unknown and the frisson of excitement. Hail David!

I know what my friend meant. She was talking about the fact that I seem to know where I am going and here she does have a point. I do seem to have found an exciting way of expressing my interest in the landscape which is new and different and which I am thoroughly enjoying. On top of which, people appear to like my work, which is always a good thing!

bottom of tailing dam — First finished piece from my Cornish Mining project.

Indeed, when I opened the kiln last night and discovered the first finished piece for my mining project had fired even better than I could have hoped, I did get that lovely sense of having ‘got there’. But it is not so much that I have arrived, more that I now thing I know where I am going. This way of making works for me. However, as the interview with David concludes, ‘If you think you have made the perfect pop, you may as well give up.’

I haven’t! I am not about to! And I am delighted to report that every time I open the kiln is going to feel like Christmas for a very long time to come!

I have been walking in Portugal for the past week. The sun was warm, the sky was blue and my mood lifted daily as the cares of the world

fell off me one by one. Well they would, wouldn’t they, in scenery such as this!

Whilst I was there I tried to find some local ceramics to buy but was frankly disappointed by the rather sad touristy things on offer.

I did, however, find one or two bits of interest. The fishermen of the Algarve still catch octopus in ceramic pots which are rather beautiful, especially once they have become encrusted with barnacles

Apparently the octopus like the cool, dark interior of the pots and take up residence, only to be hoiked out of the water after a couple of days before they can take evasive action. I am rather attached to octopus – they have always struck me as intriguing and with good intelligence. However, as the fisherman I was discussing this with pointed out, they can’t be as clever as all that as they fall for the same trick repeatedly!

The other thing that caught my eye was the interior of a bread oven. Over the past winter I have actually felt inclined to stick my head into an oven from time to time; it has not been an easy winter!

However, when I finally decided to do so what I found was really rather lovely: The roof of the oven had been domed by using simple terra cotta bricks and tiles. If it had not been for the discomfort of the angle to which I had to contort myself in order to photograph it I could have lain in this oven gazing upwards for some time!

So now it is back to work. I have one more week of holiday from teaching during which I have a huge list of things to do in the studio. This list includes preparations for the Open Studios, making additional work for Klaylondon and preparing for a visit to the Design Factory for a mentoring session. I also want to start trying out some of the treasures

The colours on these cliffs hold the promise of vessels yet to come!

that I have brought back from the amazing cliffs of the Algarve: I can hardly wait to be back in the studio on Monday morning.

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Happy Holidays!