2011 May | Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

Featured Interview – Driftwood Boatbuilders

Meet: Andrea Brewster of Driftwood Boatbuilders

How long have you been making your work and how did it all begin?

I have been making my boats for 2 years now. It all started after I collected some driftwood pieces on a beach in Skiathos. I managed to bring them home in my suitcase with the intention of making a few boats for friends and family. Everybody seemed to like them and as I was only working part-time (2 days a week) I thought setting up a business and making some extra cash would be a good idea.

What processes & techniques do you use in your work?

The initial bit is laying out each piece of boat shaped wood and finding a mast to complement the piece. Then comes the drilling and glueing bit. The sails are all different depending on the shape of the boat and mast so each sail is drawn and cut out separately. Once the rigging is attached I then rummage through my box of buttons and other interesting bits and bobs looking for suitable decorations for the boat.

What are you inspired by?

Nature. I love being outside, garden, moors, seaside. It is amazing how I can pick up a piece of wood and see the boat that it could become. Last year I did a trek in Peru and while crossing a river picked up a piece of driftwood that I wanted to bring home and make a boat out of as a reminder of a wonderful trip. It now has pride of place in my bathroom.

Do you have a work space or studio? What is it like?

Since I started my work place has been the dining room table but only two weeks ago my 25 year old son left home to share a house with some friends. I don’t want to seem too eager, but give it a couple more weeks and I will be making his bedroom into my work room. Even though it is only a single room I am looking forward to having a proper work room. So still a work in progress.

Where can people buy your work?

I have three galleries that sell my boats. One is Number Four at St Abbs Nr. Eyemouth, Berwickshire. Another is Finestra Gallery in Kirby Lonsdale, Cumbria. I also sell on Folksy.

I organise a craft fair in Kelbrook, a village near me. This is in November each year and I always have a stall there. Since joining Folksy I have also been in touch with crafts people close enough to be able to exhibit at my fair.

above – a very small collection of Andrea’s driftwood.

How do you promote your work?

I haven’t been doing much promoting at the moment as in January I starting full time work covering maternity leave and won’t be back to my two day week until September so I am finding it very difficult making enough boats for the galleries I have.

What goals do you have for the future?

Mainly to carry on selling enough boats to keep my artistic temperament happy and justify my fettish for collecting driftwood off the beaches.

What advice would you offer to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?

Primarily you have to do it because you enjoy it. It is a long and sometimes demoralizing process trying to sell your art as not everybody appreciates the time and effort that goes in to handmade goods. But it can be very rewarding and it is a great feeling when people show that they like your work. Finding the right market is also important. I know that my boats sell better at holiday resorts near the coast and wouldn’t do very well in a city gallery.

A few of your favourites (just for fun)….

Colour: Any shade of purple (to the extent that my family call me purple Andrea!)

Animal: Holly, our pet Lurcher.

Season: Spring

Person: I shouldn’t say it as my daughter thinks it’s a bit weird as he is the same age as my son, but Robert Pattinson is the man of the moment.

Food: Vegetarian food

Website: Wallis

~

Thanks for sharing your boats with us Andrea. Your interview has inspired me to go beach combing!

DIY Tin Lanterns

Thank you for visiting my post about DIY Tin Lanterns… You may also be interested in my individually handmade ceramic homewares, accessories and gifts in my shop – take a look!

I’m in love with my new recycled tea light can holder! It was so easy to make, and the best part is anyone can make one – you don’t need any special tools or materials.

Here’s what you do: Peel the label off an old tin can, fill with water and freeze in the freezer. Once frozen, draw a design onto the tin, and then pierce holes around the lines of your design using a nail and hammer. I had to keep taking breaks and putting my tin back in the freezer as my arm was aching from holding the hammer!

Once happy with your design, leave the ice to thaw out and wash off the pen marks. Then sit back and admire the pretty reflections on the wall when you light a tea light candle inside it! I’m going to make a few more of these once we have some more empty tins, I think they would look great displayed in a group and would also be great for summer evenings in the garden.

I found this idea on Sophie’s blog – Trinket Box, who originally found the idea from Gem Fatale’s Style Blog. Why not have a go yourself, it’s fun!

Inspiring words

Some inspiring words for the weekend

Work in progress

This board is full of flat pieces ready to be glazed ~ mostly coasters, and also a few clocks and magnets. See the square coasters laid out with impressed pine leaves? This is a custom order for a set of 8. But there are only 7! The 8th coaster keeps breaking and I’ve had to keep making another one… fingers crossed for third time lucky!

a few new things…

Here are a few new bits and pieces that I can finally get around to showing you! I made the ‘home’ hanging above as a bit of fun for something different. I really enjoyed making it and was pleased when it sold the same day as it was up for sale on my website! The bunting flags going across the door are raised from the surface, as is the door. I might make a few more of these to start a collection of quirky little houses.

Natural Heart Plaque

I finally have a natural heart back in stock. It’s been a while since I made one of these and a few people have asked about them, so here you are

This one is hung with black ribbon.

Rustic Tea Light Bowl with green centre

And finally a tea light bowl with a rustic feel to it. I’ve got some more of these in the kiln at the moment waiting to be fired with teal coloured glass in the bases, can’t wait to see them finished.

Featured Interview – Red Brick Glass

Meet: Wendy Jeavons of Red Brick Glass

How long have you been making your work and how did it all begin?

I gained a 1st class honours degree in Glass and Architectural Glass from Edinburgh College of Art in 2000. I then set up my studio with support from the Crafts Council’s Setting Up Scheme. I returned to glass last year after taking a few year of to have my 3 children.

What processes & techniques do you use in your work?

I use kiln formed glass techniques to create my work. Elements such as sheet glass, granules, rods and enamel transfers are fused together in the glass kiln. . I use beautiful glass colours, petal pinks, sage greens, duck egg blue and cherry red and incorporate screen-printed designs in pretty florals, fun polka dots and stripes.

What are you inspired by?

I am inspired by things that make me smile. That can be natural things like blossom, rainbows, weeping willow trees, butterflies and the sea or lovely objects like vintage cake stands, deckchairs, disco balls and beach huts. I love light, colour and pattern.

Do you have a work space or studio? What is it like?

I work from my lovely studio, a converted barn and outbuildings at home in the little village of Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset.

Where can people buy your work?

At the moment I sell online and at local craft and design events.

I have online shops on Folksy, and also Etsy.

How do you promote your work?

I have a new website and have a page on From Britain With Love. Facebook and twitter are also great for spreading the Red Brick Glass name.

What goals do you have for the future?

I am just designing a new product range which I will sell through shops. I will have my fairy lights in Radiance soon.

What advice would you offer to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?

Making and selling work is fantastic and very rewarding. My advice would be to go for it, but go for it slowly. Take time and care to create the right image for your business, then build your business slowly and enjoy the process. Spare Room Start Up by Emma Jones it a good read.

A few of your favourites (just for fun)….

Colour: Pink

Animal: Butterfly

Season: Spring

Person: My husband Richard and my 3 children, Rosie, Jack and Matilda

Food: Fish finger sandwhiches

Website: Etsy

~

Thank you for sharing your beautiful glass work with us Wendy, I am in love with your bunting!

Workshop tour

I’ve been having fun in the workshop this weekend. Music blasting, singing along, and making a mess

I took these photos yesterday morning before I started making, so it’s not usually this neat and tidy! Here’s a tour around my work space…

The shelves are now full of vases, bowls, coasters, clocks, pots and buttons all at different stages. There are sheets of newspaper everywhere and blobs of glaze on the work surfaces. Wooden boards are propped up on top of the kiln with pieces that are drying.

I’ve set up this mini showcase area at the back, to display some work for when people come and visit.

I could do with some more storage space but I’m happy with the way things are at the moment, it’s cosy!

I like having inspirational images in front of me whilst making. Each time I look up at these images I’ve collected on the wall, I see something different and a new idea for a surface design pops into my head.

I’ve just had a tea & cake break, and I’m heading back out to the workshop now! I’ve got some dandelion vases to decorate, and glazed pieces to load into the kiln.

Hope you enjoyed my workshop tour!

The Garden in bloom

The sun is shining in the bright blue sky and I’m feeling bright and cheery today! The garden is too, showing off some of it’s vibrant colours and the plants growing from bulbs & seeds are getting taller and taller. You might remember the dahlia seeds that we planted in a small pot on the kitchen window sill in March. We moved them outside into a bigger pot a few weeks ago, look at them now!! (You can see what they looked like in March here)

These carnations smell gorgeous!

This photo below was taken only a few weeks ago of some gladioli bulbs that were planted at the beginning of April. They seemed to take their time peering up through the soil one by one…

and now with all the sunshine they have sprouted up so fast! I can’t wait to see them in flower.

We’ve also got various lilies growing in pots, which started like this…

and have grown into this…

My hanging basket of pansies is doing well, but the lining of the basket is looking a bit worse for wear! I think the birds like to unravel parts of it to use in making their nests.

I love the different shades of colour on the leaves of this Acer tree…

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour around the garden! Have a great weekend!

My work in Ceramic Review!

The other night I was flicking through some of my old Ceramic Review magazines and came across a page featuring my degree show pieces from university. I had forgotten all about the feature and it was nice seeing my name in print. Can you spot the two sculptural vessels below?

These pieces don’t look it from the photograph, but they were large pieces about 90cm tall, level with my waist! There were three vessels altogether – I still have one, one is currently on display in a gallery and the other one sold in a garden sculpture exhibition in 2009.

I am bursting with inspiration now that I have read some interesting stories, browsed lots of lovely shapes, forms and colours of ceramics, and looked at interesting step-by-step processes.

So it will be off to the workshop for me again, working on some new pieces and continuing to develop others!

Below ~ Kate Malone (my idol)

With all this magazine talk….. I can’t hold back from sharing it any longer……

I am going to be in VOGUE magazine!!!

It will be the next issue which is out early June, and one of my products will be featured on the ‘Summer Hues’ page. I’m so excited! Let me know if you spot it

Featured Interview – Caroline Green Pottery

Meet: Caroline Green Pottery

How long have you been making your work and how did it all begin?

I have always been a ‘maker’ and always want to learn another craft. I started making pots in 2000 when I moved house and enrolled on a fine art course at my local college. After a visit to the pottery studio I changed courses and have never regretted it. I was totally hooked then and still am, it is the only discipline to hold my attention.

What processes and techniques do you use in your work?

I throw on the wheel and roll out thin slabs of clay to make my pots. Sometimes I draw freehand directly onto the leather hard clay or I roll leaves and flowers into the clay that burn away in the firing. I work with porcelain that can be a nightmare at times but I like the challenge.

What are you inspired by?

I am inspired by food! So I make pots according to what I want to eat. My straight sided oven to table bowls were inspired by a winning lancashire hotpot on The Great British Menu. Plates for cakes and mugs for cappucino.

Do you have a work space or studio? What is it like?

I work in a shed in my garden. It is a complete shambles but that is how I like to work. My college tutor, who is now a very good friend and colleague asked how I managed to get my work so clean and smooth as he knows how I work in utter chaos.

Where can people buy your work?

People can purchase my work in several galleries, websites, folksy and every month at the Art Market in Winchester.

How do you promote your work?

I am absolutely hopeless at promoting my work and don’t understand Facebook, twitter or blogging!

What advice would you give to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?

I don’t think it is easy to turn your craft into a business but you have to give it time and chat to other makers, they are a wealth of information.

A few of your favourites (just for fun)…

Colour: Cerise pink without a doubt.

Animal: Has to be a cat as I have two, but would really like some chickens.

Season: Spring, so fresh and full of life.

Person: Really cheesy I know but has to be my long suffering husband.

Food: Wine gums, I think I am addicted.

Website: www.carolinegreenpottery.com

~

Thank you for sharing your pottery with us Caroline. Your studio looks amazing, I would love to come and visit!

Rustic Dandelion Designs

Dandelions are fast becoming my new favourite thing, I even picked some from one of the fields last weekend and have put them in a vase on the kitchen window sill (pictured above on the garden table). I was quite pleased with the photo I took of one of the dandelion floret seeds with my new camera…

Following on from my dandelion inspiration post from last week, I’m excited to be sharing these new *limited edition* dandelion bowls with you, brand new to my range!

Round rustic dandelion bowl

I really enjoyed drawing free-hand onto the surface of the clay, a bit like the design technique used for my bonsai bowls. I used a volcanic textured glaze which has worked well to show the impression of the floret seeds being blown in the breeze.

The overall look and ‘feel’ to these bowls is very rustic, with the natural element making them fit in with almost any home decor. I intend to develop these dandelion designs further, onto other items such as vases and coasters, and would like to try using a different lighter coloured clay body so that the designs could look more elegant and bold.

Elongated dandelion bowl

These bowls would make ideal soap dishes or fruit bowls, but I personally would display them on their own, perhaps in the centre of a coffee table, to admire the designs