2010 September | Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

Home Sweet Home!

We did it… we’re just about moved in and settled already. I can’t believe how quickly everything has happened. This time last week I was itching to get into the new house to start unpacking, and now everything is unpacked and its in place!

Home Sweet Home plaque

We’ve still got a few bits and bobs to sort out but the majority is sorted. It’s so homely, I love it! We’ve mowed the front and back lawns (white flip flops were not ideal!), put all the new furniture together, cleaned, and even had people over for dinner already. Molly was a bit unhappy being moved (she hates going in her box – I think shes still expecting to see the vet pop out from behind the sofa), but she is slowly getting used to the noises and smells.

I’ve got the garage to sort out this week – it’s going to be transformed into my new workshop, can’t wait. Will take some photos to show you later in the week.

Look out for my first featured crafter interview tomorrow!

Today is the day!!!

I’m moving house today! After living with my mum for 23 years I’m moving out to live with my boyfriend Dave. We are soooooo excited!!

Bless Our Home plaque

We get the keys at 4pm so a few hours to wait yet, although theres not much to do – everything has been packed for weeks!

I’m looking forward to sorting out my new workshop, it will be in a garage rather than a shed

Have a great weekend everyone!

Flickr Gallery

I’ve had an account on Flickr for a while now, but only just found out about the galleries you can create. What a great idea – I can now save images into different galleries when I find the ones I like, a bit like storing them in folders.

I had a practice and created a gallery full of my favourite ceramic bowls on Flickr. Now I’m going to create galleries for other topics such as nature, inspiration, and other interesting things I find.

Are you on Flickr? Feel free to add me as a contact, then I can find you too.

Weekly Crafter Interviews

Every Tuesday starting from next week I’ll be posting an interview with a different crafter/designer/maker/artist.

There are interviews already lined up for the next 6 weeks, so make sure you visit each week to read what the different crafters have to say while we delve into their making processes, inspiration, work space, advice, goals, favourite food, and more.

above: Love Heart Bowl

Want to have your interview featured?

Contact me or leave a comment here with your e-mail address so I can forward you the questions.

Featured in Popular Crafts Magazine

My blog has been featured in the latest issue of the Popular Crafts magazine…

It’s on page 8 in the News & Reviews section

How to make Sloe Gin

While at my uncles farm house in Shropshire last weekend, I tried his home made sloe gin and it was delicious so I’m going to make some of my own.

With autumn approaching, the sloes will start to appear in the countryside. The hedgerows will show a colourful harvest just waiting to be picked and made into sloe gin ready for the Christmas festivities. Sloes are a type of wild plum – the flavour of the fruit is bitter, so the small plums are not suitable for eating. However the bitter flavour is lost when making liqueurs.

Here’s what you need for the sloe gin recipe…

500g sloes

1 ltr Gin

4 drops of vanilla essence

250g caster sugar

1. Place washed sloes in freezer and then transfer to wide necked bottle, add sugar, vanilla essence and gin.

2. Shake well twice a day until sugar is dissolved and put in cool dark place. Shake every other day for one week and then once a week for three months.

3. Strain through muslin cloth/coffee filter and transfer to bottle.

4. It should now be plum coloured and ready for consumption.

The longer it is kept the more it improves!

Bubbles & Craters

I ♥ silicon carbide!

The form of silicon carbide I use is a fine dark grey powder which I often mix into glazes for different surface texture effects. Silicon carbide is quite an abrasive material, and it ‘erupts’ when fired in the kiln, forming decorative bubbles and craters on the clay.

Lines and Clouds Vase

I use it in many of my glaze recipes, and still enjoy experimenting with new ways of combining the material to create different effects.

Rustic Crater Vase

I even sometimes surprise myself when a piece comes out of the kiln with a patch of silicon carbide on it – it reacts differently when combined with different materials. Thats what I love about firing ceramics – There are always lots of exciting surprises!

Wavy Rim Natural Elegant Vase

Did you know?

Silicon Carbide was originally produced by a high-temperature electro-chemical reaction of sand and carbon. Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together by sintering to form very hard ceramics which are widely used in applications requiring high endurance, such as car brakes and ceramic plates in bulletproof vests.

Interesting what you can find out if you research the materials you use!

Art Walk Exhibition

My application was accepted to exhibit my work at The Rowans Gallery in Brackley this month, in an exhibition called ‘Art Walk‘.

The exhibition consists of an arts trail around Brackley town centre (Northamptonshire), where artists/designers work will be exhibited in businesses, retail shops and eating houses. The exhibition is open 4th – 19th September, 10am – 4pm.

You will find a large selection of my work for sale in the window display of The Rowans Gallery during the exhibition. If you are in the area during the next couple of weeks, pop in and have a look – there will be lots of amazing work on show.

A Walk in the Woods

Today I am pleased to announce that I have a guest post featured on the ArtMind blog.

I’ve been a huge fan of Mitsy’s blog for a long time and it is a privilege to have a whole post featured there. My post is titled “A Walk in the Woods”… head over there to read more!