Festive robins!

It's that time of year again when we dust off the festive ornaments and bring them back out to shine. A few years ago I made a robin and he comes back out every Christmas, in fact he never really goes away but is relocated to somewhere less prime. I like to rotate my pieces for display and I have enough of them now! Here's my faithful robin. 

This lil guy is a few years old now and one of my very first pieces. I still love him. 

This year I made a series of robins for the Christmas tree. All but one have been sent as gifts but this one is my daughter's robin and he hangs on our tree. 

This year's new addition to the robins.

I had fun making these but did learn a valuable lesson about glaze interactions. The breast was meant to be red but it reacted with the brown to give a golden colour. I actually quite like it even if it was an accident. The main thing is that my daughter loves him.

I hope you are all getting in the festive spirit and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas with lots of robins. :-) 

Cathy xx

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Introducing Ty Siriol Crafts

I've wondered for some time now about having crafts other than ceramics in a shop called 'Ty Siriol Ceramics'. Finally this year, my mum, Chris has taken over the crafts side of Ty Siriol Ceramics & Crafts and we have opened a second shop, 'Ty Siriol Crafts'. 

Not only does this segregate our stock nicely but it also gives my mum an opportunity to learn to use a computer and run a shop. I have to say that I'm really proud of how well she is doing. I've set her up with a laptop and the basic software to start with and she's hit the ground running. She does the photography and watermarking herself as well as uploading the stock onto the shop. She even has a facebook page now! 

My next task is to teach her to use the teams on Etsy and introduce her to the lovely Golden Threads team. I'm sure she would fit in really well. In fact it could become hard to tear her away. :) 

To give you an idea of what Chris has in her Etsy shop here are a couple of photos. Firstly, Chris is an artist and does some fantastic paintings.

One of Chris' silhouette paintings

This is an original oil painting that Chris has done. I have several of her works in my house.

 Chris also turns her hand to paper crafts and combines them with crochet. I call it mixed media crochet art! 

A mixed media greetings card incorporating crochet art.

Chris is also very experienced at knitting and crochet. Sadly I don't have any of her work in my files but these, which are mine, are also in her shop to give you an idea. 

My rhubarb and custard scarf

A scarlet red scarf with tasseled ends

These lovely wrist warmers are also in stock

Chris is also talented with ceramics and a few pieces in my shop were made by her. Here is an example.

A holly and berry bowl by Chris

I would like to congratulate my mum on her hard work and talents. Mum, this blog is all about you and how proud of you I am. :-)

If you would like to have a nose at Chris' new shop then you can find it here.
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts 

Pop by and please tell your friends. You never know, you might spot a unique gift for someone who has everything! 

Thanks for reading and take care,
Cathy xx


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Inspiration is all around us

I'm always on the look out for inspiration and never know what can make the creative juices start to flow. Even on holiday I find myself looking carefully at the ceramics in the shops and the styles that different cultures adhere to. Recently while visiting Spain I was inspired by the vibrant colours and bold designs that they use. In fact, it seemed to be a theme in other places that we visited on this cruise, including Corsica and Pisa, Italy. 

I know it's not the most polite thing to do but I did have to photograph some things that I saw in the shops. At least I tried to do it discretely, I didn't want to be shouted at in a language I couldn't argue my point in!

Take a look and you'll see why I was drawn to them. 

Barcelona. Handmade pottery.

Handmade ceramic tiles in Barcelona

Handmade pottery in Barcelona

Mass produced (I think) ceramics in Corsica. They have great vibrant handpainted designs.

Hand painted ceramics in Corsica

Corsica

La Coruna, Spain. Quite a different style here compared with Catalonya but still very bold. 

I'll keep this blog handy for when I need a bit of motivation and inspiration. Strangely enough, during my water colour painting class on ship I was told by the tutor that I have a very bold style. I never would have thought that but when I looked at other class members work I had to agree with him. Maybe I'm working my way up to being as bold as the Spanish (and others) with my ceramics. 

Thank you for reading,
Cathy xx 

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Roman pottery

While I was on honeymoon I was, of course, drawn to anything pottery related that I saw. Just ask Mr Ty Siriol and he'll roll his eyes and smile. :-) While we were in Cartagena, Spain we went to visit the site of a Roman Theatre that had only recently been discovered and excavated. It had been buried a long time ago rather than demolished (as it was cheaper and easier) and the site had been built on. Over the years it was forgotten. 

The inhabitants of Cartagena were shocked when they discovered Roman remains (buildings and pottery) during a routine mini-excavation, which is required before building planning is granted. Archaeologists were called in and a full scale excavation took place. No one has any idea how a Roman theatre so big could have remained hidden for so many years. Houses and buildings were demolished so that they could uncover it and work is still going on today. 

Birdseye view showing just how big the site is.

The Roman Theatre at Cartagena, Spain

In the museum they had displayed some of the pottery that they found and it seems that this site was in use for hundreds of years. When it was no longer used as a theatre parts of it were converted into shops, like a marketplace. Much of the pottery was here and came from countries all over the Mediterranean as shown on this map.

Map showing the origins of some of the pottery found at Cartagena Roman Theatre.

I tried my best to photograph some examples to show you but the light was poor. Here's some of what I got. 

The platter on the right appeared to have been made by being pressed into shape. The two jars look to have been made on a wheel. There was no obvious decoration on these pieces and they were more functional. 

These amphorae are oriental (if my translation is right) and look to have been decorated with a layer of clay slip, some of which is still present.  

This pitcher looks like is was made from coils of clay and dipped in clay slip so that it could be more asthetically pleasing.

Here we can see 2 plates that have been beautifully decoration in the Catalan style using oxide stains. The lower right jar is much older and shows decoration made from finger indentations. 

These are from the Paterna-Manises region and show a more decorative finish. 

I love these pieces. They show the scrafitto (scratched) decoration beautifully. They were made to be asthetically pleasing as well as functional. 

I have looked through all the photos from no less that 3 cameras and it seems that there isn't a photo of me in Cartagena. I'm usually the one with a camera in my hand meaning of course that I'm rarely in the shot. I need to do more selfies! Anyway, this is a photo of me on the ship not long after we set sail again from Cartagena. 

Me on the ship leaving Cartagena

I hope you enjoyed, or at least indulged me by reading through my blog on the pottery found in Cartagena Roman theatre. 

All the best,
Cathy xx

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The Ty Siriol Honeymoon

Wow! What a summer! Throughout being really ill and back and forth hospitals this year I have also knocked through our kitchen and dining room, created a workshop in the garage to contain my clay mess, planned a wedding and of course got married, been a full time mum especially over the summer holidays and am responsible for around 90% of the Ty Siriol business. Thank you to my parents who are picking up the slack for me while I've been unwell. So as you can imagine I was ready for a holiday in the form of a honeymoon this autumn. 

As it was a really special holiday we splashed out (pardon the pun) and went on a cruise of the Western Med. Lil Miss came with us because Mr Ty Siriol married us both. Also, I don't think she would have forgiven me for going without her! 

We left from Southampton and stopped at Gibraltar, Cartagena (Spain), Barcelona, Ajaccio (Corsica), Pisa (Italy), Monte Carlo (Monacco) and La Coruna (Spain) before arriving back at Southampton. We were really lucky with the weather considering it was the end of September with temperatures in the 20s and 30s (degrees C). We had a fantastic time and I've come back feeling so much more relaxed. 

As usual, I don't do blogs without at least one pic, so here are a couple. :)

Our ship 'Oceana' is in the background

In the Little Spanish Village, Barcelona

I have a thing about palm trees. I really miss them after living in California.

Ready for Black Tie night

In the atrium on the ship

Thank you for reading and sharing with me. 
Cathy xx

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What to do when you can't do!

I know that is a really odd title, I must be in an odd mood or maybe I've been reading too many Ever After High books with L'il Miss! I do like Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter! 

Back onto track. I haven't blogged much in the last few months as my health has taken a rather swift downturn and I'm pretty sure no one wants to read all about that so I haven't typed much. As many of my followers know I have chronic illnesses, several in fact, they seem to like me! Recently though everyone in this household has been shouting at Arthur a lot. That's arthritis to most. You see, Arthur is systematically attacking me and has landed me housebound and in a wheelchair. Fun huh! Anyway, I'm not here to whinge, I do plenty of that at home! Rather, I'm trying to figure what to do when I can't do. Hence the rather odd blog title. 

Today I'm quite comfortable, the pain in manageable but boy, am I bored! I'm really having trouble with this sitting (as I can't walk very far at all) and resting thing. Surprisingly, I'm realising how active I usually am. Normally the day flies by and school is over before I know it. I really have learnt how to fill my time. Now I'm having to learn to fill it with other things, mainly things I can do sat down such as on my laptop. 

I'm rather proud of myself today as I've kept fairly good spirits and have invested my time into revamping my Etsy shop. I'm not making much in the way of ceramics at the moment as there's too much moving around and I can't get the wheelchair into my garage anyway. I do however, have quite a bit of stock so the obvious use of my time is to try and improve my shop and my customers' experience. 

Etsy are trialling a new layout on me, again! I seem to be picked each time, maybe because I always give feedback. It's taken a bit of getting used to but I actually quite like this layout. There are a few things I want back, such as my banner with my branding on (which I've told them) but overall I think it's a good change. The photographs are much bigger and seem to pop off the page more, and the organisation of the sections is more obvious. I would however like to be able to choose which item is my cover item for each section but again I've fed that back to Etsy. 

There appears to be new options now on the 'About' page and I've been adding some photographs of my shop members for you all to see. I think I'll have to get the camera out and take some more shots of my shop members doing their bit. I like that we can show everyone who we are and that we are real people who do actually work from their garages! I think I need to tidy mine before photographing it though! It's so hard to get a good workshop shot when you work with messy things like clay! 

I'd love your feedback on the new Etsy layout. My page is here. 
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I don't like to blog without a photo so here's one of the ones that I have added to my shop page. It's me in front with my parents, Chris (above) and Christina (right) and a friend of the family (left joining us for a leisurely coffee.

The Ty Siriol clan at Abergavenny Market

As always, thank you for following behind the scenes at Ty Siriol HQ. I'll try not to leave it so long until next time.

Cathy x

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Love is in the air

Wow, the last few weeks have just flown by and my feet have hardly touched the ground. It was 2 weeks ago today that I married the wonderful Mr Ty Siriol and it's taken this long for it to truly sink in... he said 'I do'! He really did. I was so worried that he would flee because of my illnesses but he can thankfully see deeper than that, he can see me. Also, I managed to walk down the aisle after lots of worrying that I'd need my crutches, or worse, my chair.

We had a fantastic day and the weather was amazing. We were so lucky as all the days around our wedding day were wet and overcast. We however, had glorious sunshine and were able to have our reception drinks out in the gardens. Surrounded by friends and family it was a truly emotional day. L'il Miss Ty Siriol walked me down the aisle to Winter from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. She was more nervous than I was but did an amazing job. 

L'il Miss got overwhelmed by the time we walked back out again and broke down in tears. It meant so much to her that Mr TS is now really her step-dad. She's loved him for years but now it's official. 

At the reception we had a little surprise for L'il Miss, we had her very own wedding ring made for her (as well as Mr TS's) from one of Mr TS' rings that he no longer wore. He presented it to her during the speeches and she proudly showed it off to everyone. We always said that me and her were a package deal, if he was marrying me then he was also marrying her, so it is fitting that she has her own wedding ring. 

I know many of you are dying to see photographs but we haven't had many official ones back yet. We do however have a few that friends have taken and been kind enough to send to us, so here are a few of my favourites. 

You may now kiss the bride

With L'il Miss who walked me down the aisle

Cutting the cake

Making sure he knows who's boss!

With my wonderful husband

Thank you for sharing in my happiness. Many of you have also helped out for the preparations and sent lovely cards to us. I have to thank Mandy for making my shawl, which I wore in the evening as it cooled off. Thank you to Vicki for the 'something borrowed, something blue', shawl pin that she made. I also have to thank Georgia who made the wedding invites and thank you cards for me as well as saving my naked feet at the last minute by sending me some barefoot sandals to wear. Those can be seen on my facebook page.

Love to you all, Cathy xx 
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6 more sleeps...

I think it's finally hit me... I'm getting married in 6 days time! The excitement is building again and I have a fixed smile on my face. Maybe I'm practising ready for the photographs! 

I think most things are done now. We have a few last minute things to do next week, like collecting my bouquet and L'il Miss' corsage, cleaning the car and adding the ribbons etc. I'm also thinking about getting a henna tattoo on my feet as I can't get shoes on thanks to Arthur (itis). I'm not sure yet so I'll see if we have time. At the very least I will have bright red nail polish on! 

I now have my dress and L'il Miss' dress. They are steamed and hanging ready for the day. I suppose I'd better iron Mr Ty Siriol's shirt as he doesn't do a great job!! 

It's also going to be fantastic to catch up with a few friends who I haven't seen in person for some time. A very special friend of mine (kind of like a modern pen friend I suppose) who has seen me through everything for years will be coming down on Wednesday and I have loads of hugs waiting for her. I can't wait! 

There is a bit of a downside as well, we lost our best man due to a friend showing her true colours. Mr TS simply said that he doesn't need a best man anyway, but I know that he's hurt by it, as am I. But we can't let it get us down. Afterall, there are three kinds of friends, friends for a season, friends for a reason and friends for life. So onwards we move. 

I'm looking forward to being able to share some photos with you afterwards but for now here's a pic of my wonderful man with me. 

Me and my wonderful man.

I really couldn't ask for anything more in a man, except maybe that I'd prefer a model that didn't snore! I'll find out if he reads this now! ;-) He certainly completes our family. L'il Miss is happy to remind him as well that we are a package deal and he's also marrying her! We are both going to walk down the aisle, hand in hand, towards him to symbolise that. 

Enough of the soppy stuff now as I know I'll end up crying. I'm a real wimp when it comes to the mushy stuff! Don't forget to check back to see the photos. I'll see you on the other side! 

Love to you all,
Cathy xx 

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Fibromyalgia Awareness

I haven't blogged for months now and I really should try to get back into the swing of things again. My last blog was nearly 3 months ago and a lot has happened in those 3 months. Mainly I've been very ill and had a spell in hospital. I've also had a wall knocked down between my kitchen and dining room and all the mess and upheaval that comes with it. And of course, I've had my wedding to prepare for. So all in all blogging hasn't really made my list. 

The biggest problem has been my health. I have various autoimmune conditions, including psoriatic arthritis (not the wear and tear type that your granny might have but an autoimmune type that destroys my joints, tendons, skin and internal organs) and I also have severe fibromyalgia. My illness used to be what was called an invisible illness but in the last year has become painfully visible with me having to use a wheelchair outside the house. That was the biggest pill to swallow and let me tell you, I have some pretty big pills (and pain patches and injections). 

I have been so ill recently that I've had a week in hospital when I couldn't walk and had joints syringed out and flushed. I am mobile again but not hugely. It has been a big worry the last few months as to whether I will be walking down the aisle next week or wheeling down the aisle. At this point I think I will be walking but don't expect it to be elegant. I have no idea if I will be able to do the most basic of first dances. I'll have to wait and see what happens on the day as this disease is hugely variable. Thankfully, the wedding isn't that important to either me or Mr Ty Siriol. We are both mature enough to see that the marriage is the important thing. Also, if I get down the aisle in this state and he says, 'I do', then I'm holding him to it! Even so, I can't count how many times we've said that we should have eloped. I guess you'll find out how it goes after the event when I have some pics to share with you. 

It was rather ironic that I was really ill this year and completely wiped on Fibromyalgia Awareness Day (12th May). I turned my FB page purple for the month of May in its honor and to try to raise awareness. In addition, I put a purple ring dish up for auction for Fibroduck Foundation (UK based charity researching into Fibromyalgia). Here's the dish that when for a nice sum.  

Donated by Ty Siriol to an auction for Fibromyalgia research.

I also bid on several items and won two of them. Ty Siriol also made a donation to Fibroduck. 

Here's my profile and some of my awareness pics that I used. 

If you or someone you know is a fibro-warrior, then please feel free to share this so they can find lots of useful information and support.

www.fibroduckfoundation.com/

I feel like I should have posted this weeks ago but then again, those who are affected by this awful disease live it each and every day so it doesn't really matter when I post it. 

Thank you for reading,
Cath xx

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New beginnings

As my regular followers will know, I got engaged last year. Well now things are getting going again with organising the wedding as it is, oh my goodness, 3 MONTHS TODAY!! It really has crept up on us as we've had so much going on. 

So we have sent out the invites and booked venues etc. I pretty much have wedding on the brain at the moment. As a result it became my inspiration in my pottery workshop this week. Let me explain. 

I was making a terracotta tile and I've been struggling for inspiration recently with the ongoing battle against my illness. I sat there completely blank and clueless as to what my tile would become. A fellow classmate asked me how the wedding plans were coming along and that's when it hit me. I am about to embark on a new life and new beginning with Mr Ty Siriol so that was what my tile was going to represent. 

Let me back up a little. I met Mr Ty Siriol online. I know, it's a cliché and I'd really rather not admit it but one drunken night I signed up and made a profile. I went with the alias Benu, which is the ancient Egyptian Benu Bird. It symbolises rebirth and new beginnings. It is in fact the predecessor of the Greek Phoenix. So the Benu Bird means something to me and Mr Ty Siriol as that's how we met and started our new beginning together.

I looked at my terracotta tile and drew the Benu Bird onto it. I then made the image into a deep groove. Here it is. 

Next I used a slip trailer to add white liquid clay (slip) to the grooves. Once this is dried I will then scrape it back to a flush surface to clean up the detail and bisque fire it. 

The beauty of terracotta and white clay is the stark contrast between the two colours so I will simply clear glaze it afterwards and fire again to intensify the colours. 

I can't show you the finished product yet as I haven't finished it! I did add two holes to the tile as I intend to hang this in my kitchen once it's finished as a reminder of my second chance at love.

I need to sort out the kiln now so that I can get firing again soon. Hopefully then I'll have some lovely pics to share with you. 

Thank you for reading.

Cathy x
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A new addiction and form of therapy

I'm like a kid in a sweet shop at the moment. I've found a new addiction...wheel thrown pottery!

I've been going to a class again for my ceramics primarily as a way to meet others who share my passions. Of course, I am also there to stretch myself and experiment outside of my comfort zone, I've still got a lot to learn! I am also very limited in what I can do in my garage due to lack of space so this way I can use tools and equipment that I either cannot afford or don't have space for. This is where the wheel comes in.

Using a wheel is a very messy business, at least it is for me! I definitely need space and a splash zone. However, I think this is why I find it so attractive. I tried a wheel a few years ago but gave up as my arthritic hands were seizing and painful from doing it. I didn't have the fine control required. Anyway, while I've been back in a class I've found myself looking at this lonely, unused wheel and I'm sure it's been calling me. Over Christmas I was talking to Mr Ty Siriol about it and I decided that I'm going to give it another go, only this time I'm going to use warm water instead of cold to keep my hands moving freely. 

I've now had two sessions on the wheel and the first time pretty much all I made was a mess! It really is hard to do. This week I was so pleased because I have 2 items that look vaguely like vases and 2 more that are tea bowls. I was so disappointed when class was over as I was just getting into it. I'm annoyed that I forgot to photograph them for you to see. I'll have to remember my camera next week so I can show you. They are not pretty but they are getting better with each attempt.

I discovered an added bonus to using the wheel, even if all I make is a mess. By using warm/hot water with the clay and having it running through my hands I actually felt that I had better movement and less pain in my joints. When I got home I quickly peeled all the veg in case I lost it again! Maybe I need to bathe in the stuff! 

I am now feeling so obsessed by the wheel that I am trying desperately to think of a way that I could fit one into my garage. I think L'il Miss' bike and my wheelchair will have to find another home because I NEED a wheel. *wink* It is therapy for both my mind and body, and I might eventually be able to make something we can recognise. Until then I'll keep going in class and hopefully remember to take some pics for you.


In the meantime, take care!

Cathy x
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I said Owl be back!

As you can probably guess today I'm featuring owls! Sorry about the really obvious pun in the title but it really did have to be done! 

After chatting to a friend online before Christmas I set about making her a family of ceramic owls. I'd never done them before but she was happy to experiment with me. So out came the clay!

First I made 2 pinch pots and joined them to make a bubble. This was roughly squeezed into an owlie sort of shape taking care not to burst the bubble. 

An owlish sort of shaped bubble of clay. You need a bit of imagination at this point!

Next I needed to refine the owl features so the clay was smoothed off and some features were added. Now it starts to look like a lump of clay with attitude!

Looking a little perplexed maybe?

All she needs now are some wings and feathers. She looks like a she to me, all snuggled with plumped up plume.

Mrs Hoot!

As my friend wanted 3 owls to represent her family I pretty much repeated the above process to make Mr Hoot, who looks to be giving a lecture and baby Hoot who is smaller and has her wings out asking for a cuddle, awww. There is an extra one *just in case* as Kenny the kiln could throw a fit!

The Hoot family before firing.

This of course is what the owls look like before firing and glazing. So I begged Kenny to be good for me and set them cooking. Once they came out of the kiln they were all white as that is the true colour of the clay I use.

After the first (bisque) firing. If you are wondering, the other one is a mushroom house!

 My next task was to glaze the owls and my friend told me what each family member's favourite colours were so that their owl was definitely theirs. We went for black, purple and silver. I also painted one turquoise as I thought the glaze would work well. The colours don't show up before the second firing so it's a bit deceiving unless you are really familiar with them. For instance, the black one here actually ends up being the silver one and the grey one turns out black!

Painted with glaze and looking a bit dull before firing.

 After the second (glaze) firing it's cross your fingers time! This is when I talk very nicely to Kenny and hope he's behaved as he does have a tantrum now and again. On this occasion I opened Kenny and was horrified. The bottom shelf had cracked in two during the firing and everything stacked on the shelves above fell. The owls were on the bottom shelf so I couldn't see if they survived but you know what, they are tough l'il guys and survived intact. I was at least expecting a broken wing.

The owl family 'Hoot' after their ordeal in Kenny!

Do you have a favourite? I'm quite taken by baby Hoot but I think Mr Hoot and his deliberations make him my favourite. Here they are after a photo shoot!

The family 'Hoot' inspired by Georgia.

I hope you enjoyed 'the making of family Hoot'. I love to share my process with you. Also, a big thank you to Georgia who inspired me to make these and push me out of my comfort zone. 

I hope to see you again soon!

Cathy x
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