Happy New Year!

Hope everyone reading had a lovely time. I love this time of year - out with the old and in with the new! I'm not one for going on short-lived detoxes, diets or gym memberships, but I do love returning to normal, maneageable workloads after crazy busy October-December, and then Christmas and New Year celebrations. I have been flat out this week, as I am completely out of stock of some items, and wholesale orders are still coming in. If there's something you've seen before Christmas that you'd like, please get in touch, as most items can be made to order in approx 4 weeks, sometimes more quickly.
The draw for the pottery lottery is nearly here too - I'm hoping to anounce the results tomorrow! Watch this space!

Anyway, before I sign off, I thought I would share this image of an unusual hydrangea that I took last year.

It might seem unseasonal, but it I love the cool pastel green tones, and it makes me feel optimistic and look forward to Spring. Bring on longer warmer days - winter's half way through and summer days will be here before we know it!

Nature...

Makes far more beautiful things than I could ever dream of. The hydrangeas are in full bloom everywhere at the moment and they are absolutely stunning. I wish I'd had my camera today to capture these - apologies for the image quality, they were taken with my phone...

Hydrangea flower pendant

For a few years now I have been rolling plant matter into the surface of clay to create texture and surface pattern. It began with plant pots which were slab formed out of two or more slabs of crank clay. This gave good results, but more subtle details were lost. Flimsy flower petals for example were barely noticeable. Recently I began to experiment with looking at these subtle details on a smaller scale for jewellery. Today I got my first hydrangea flower piece out of the kiln. I used porcelain, as it shows the subtle details off far better, and applied oxide for emphasis. The sepia tones created give the piece an antique feel which is brought up to date by the clean, simple shape.There's something nostalgic about using an ephemeral object and capturing its imprint in a more permanent material. I am pleased that the colours here fit in with that feel. I felt that a vintage chain would be appropriate for this one, so I used the bronze one pictured. A matching brooch is coming soon. Each pendant or brooch uses one flower for each, and the flower is destroyed in the process.