Planning for the future, a new workshop

I'm very excited about this piece of news. I'm going to be sorting out my workshop properly this year. 

You see I've been doing my pottery in my garage for the last few years but it is so cold in the winter months that production stops. Well not next winter! 

I'm going to be bricking up the garage door and replacing it with a big window that will let in lots of lovely light without needing to be exposed to the elements. Planning applications are in and we have our building firm sorted. I really can't wait!

Where the garage door is now is where I plan to have my art desk and do my painting. I'll have good light there. I will also have space to put up more shelving so that I can store my paints and glazes downstairs (they are in the spare bedroom at the moment) and also have space to store more stock. 

The other up side is that we will get back out spare room for overnight guests. Or somewhere for me or hubby to run to when one of us decides to snore. It's usually him snoring! Shh... I didn't say that! 

So there's my little piece of exciting news. I had to share it with you. I know that my crafty buddies will understand the significance and I daresay that their spouses will appreciate not having craft supplies all around the house as well! 

I'll try to remember to photograph things as they progress. 

Cath x

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics 
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts 
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
G+: http://ht.ly/UvPxX
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tysiriol/

Time to expand, and I don't mean my waist!

As we all know times are hard at the moment for many of us. The financial crisis is still very real for many despite what Governments say. We have recently had a blow to our monthly income so I am having to get more creative and expand what Ty Siriol is all about. Thankfully when I named the business I added the '& Crafts' bit at the end of the name 'Ty Siriol Ceramics & Crafts'. 

I have had a light bulb moment. You see, I'm not able to keep up with the making side of my pottery due to illness and I can't keep the shop stocked and fresh like I'd want to. This is when I decided to expand into the vintage market as well but still focusing on ceramics and some glass. 

I have quite a bit of vintage stock on Etsy these days. I find them all over the place, clean them up and in some cases upcycle them and give them a fresh coat of glaze to bring them back to life. I have some stunning pieces as well that I'm quite proud of. I love it when I find a hand thrown piece of pottery with the artist's name or stamp on it. There is no way I will let them go to landfill. The artist would have worked damn hard and have trained for many years to get to that pot and it deserves to be loved by someone else. 

Here is one of my favourite finds. A hand thrown terracotta jug complete with the stamp of the artist. It's got a beautiful earthy and organic feel to it. The form is stunning and you can clearly see the stamp under the handle of the jug. Wonderful.

Here is another example of a wonderful find. This mug feels great in your hand and has a comforting feel, like drinking hot chocolate on a winters day feeling. Again we can see that the artist who threw this mug has signed the bottom. Another one-of-a-kind saved from landfill. 

This next piece I have fallen in love with and I really had to force myself to list it on Etsy. This stunning vase, thrown in terracotta, shows the lines from the wheel and you can feel the undulations. The accent of glaze across the front sets it off beautifully. If this one doesn't sell I'll be more than happy to keep it. ;-) 

It is still early days for my vintage section but so far things are looking promising. I really hope that it helps my Etsy shop to keep going. For now I'm not making very much but more doing what I want to for relaxation. To me, pottery is a form of meditation and I want to keep it that way. 

Once again, thanks for reading,
Cath xx

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCraftsG+: http://ht.ly/UvPxX
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tysiriol/

Cardiff Food Festival

I recently went to the Cardiff Food Festival with Mr Ty Siriol. Even though as a coeliac sufferer I can't eat anything there, Mr TS love, love, loves his food and the more exotic the better! 

So off we went in the drizzly rain, me in my really unattractive bright purple rain coat and Mr TS looking normal and blending in well. At least he could find me easily if I wandered off! 

See! I told you it was bright!

Thankfully, it's not only food at the festival. There were also an array of art and craft stalls with their owners wrapped up warm and sheltering as best they could from the endless rain. 

There were a few ceramics stalls. I really loved the stoneware and their glazes. Sadly, my kiln doesn't fire to those temperatures... but Mr TS did say that maybe next year we could save for a new kiln. :D He's so wonderful. Love him to bits. (Sorry about the soppy bit. ;-) ) 

There was one stall where children were being shown how to throw their own pots on the wheel. It was lovely to watch the children getting involved, despite being in the rain. I did take a sneaky photo on my phone. Aren't they wonderful?

We went for a walk down around the bay area and found even more food stalls. The smells were wonderful. It's a good thing I'd eaten or my will power might have failed me. 

It was a good day out even in the rain so it would be great in the sun shine. I would recommend it. They also have various bands playing with the beer tents around the stage if food isn't your thing. ;-) 

I'll leave you now with a photo of some boats that were moored up in the Bay and a mummy swan with her cygnets. 

Take care.
Cathy xx

www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

It's been a while

I've been neglecting my poor, poor blog for a while. Life seemed to keep getting in the way. So what have I been up to? Well, I am rather pleased with how my yarn bowls have come out recently. So far I have made 4 and a 5th is waiting for the kiln. One had an accident as well but we won't dwell on these things. So here are some pics showing the new yarn bowls. Enjoy! 

My signature on the bottom, CAW.

Again, with signature.

Thanks for reading,
Cath xx
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

A little treat for me

I've been making a few little things for me recently. These all wall pockets! I'd never heard of them until someone asked me if I made them. A quick google search and I now know what they are. Isn't Google wonderful! So I got busy and me and my daughter had a go at making our own versions of wall pockets. 

This one has a sprig of a flower from my garden impressed into it and painted. I forget what the flower is called now though but I think it starts with a G! :) 

Now this flower I do know! Lavender! Also taken from my garden. 

This time I played with dots from my piping bag full of slip. I was thinking all the lines of a fern. What do you think?

I also have some photos of the stages of production. 

Here I have several wall pockets that I made with my daughter. She also impressed leaves into hers. I do love her butterfly on the far left that she created completely! 

A close up of L'il Miss' wall pockets. These were made for Nanny. They were finished in white with a pale green glaze painted on and wiped off the leaves to bring out the veins on the leaves. I'm afraid I don't have photos of them finished. 

The top wall pocket sadly met it's doom in the kiln but the bottom one is shown above finished. 

This is the brown wall pocket in it's greenware stage. 

So now that I have these wall pockets on my garden fence I need to think of a good hardy plant to put in them. I'm really not green fingered so I'll need one that can withstand my neglect! I'm thinking of ivy at the moment. Do you have any ideas for me? Answer in the comments and remember that the plant needs to be tough to survive me! 

Lovely to have you, as always. If you'd like to see more from Ty Siriol them you can follow us on various social media. See below. 

Thanks for reading,
Cath xx 

www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

Wheelie good fun!

As some of you know I bought a pottery wheel the end of last year and I now have to somehow teach myself to learn how to throw pots. I've found some really good videos on you tube to get me started and the wonderful Mr Ty Siriol bought me the Simon Leach book and dvds for Christmas. 

Even though it has been a tad cold for working in the garage over the winter months I have managed a few attempts with the aid of a fan heater. I really need to get that garage door bricked up! 

Anyway, I have a set of 3 tapas bowls that I made for Mr Ty Siriol as he does love his Mediterranean food. Here is what they looked like after the first firing and once the glazes had been painted on. This is before the final firing. 

A set of tapas bowls ready to be glaze fired.

 The brown glaze is meant to turn out green after the firing. 

Here are the final bowls. 

Tapas bowls after the glaze firing

Tapas bowls for Mr Ty Siriol

I am really pleased with how they turned out. I think the dark blue one is my favourite as I really love that you can see the circular marks where it was thrown on the wheel. 

As this was the first thing from my wheel that was worth firing I had to sign and date the bottom of the very first one. This little guy will now be my bench mark to see if I improve! In the meantime they are being well used. :-)

The underside of my first tapas bowl with my signature and the date. 

I'm looking forward to the weather warming up enough that I can throw on the wheel with the garage door open so I can see the woods opposite at the same time. 

That's all for now folks. Thanks for joining me. 

Cath xx


Follow me on:
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

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 

www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

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

www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

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
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics

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
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics

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
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics