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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Let the Christmas festivities commence!

I haven't posted for a little while as I've been so busy with craft fairs, coffee mornings and the usual online side of my business. However, I can now breathe... The last fair is over and the final posting day is today so I can now turn my attentions towards the family for the next couple of weeks. 

My stall at the Abergavenny Art & Craft Fair.

L'il Miss finishes school tomorrow and Mr Ty Siriol only has to work Christmas Eve so we'll have plenty of quality family time. Instead of playing with clay, I'll be making cookie dough. L'il Miss is a dab hand at rolling and cutting the shapes for me. Every Christmas Eve we bake cookies for Santa, and of course extra for ourselves!! It's something I've done with L'il Miss since she was a year old and something I hope that she will carry on when she has her own children. This is L'il Miss aged 1 just before she dunked Rudolph's carrot in Santa's milk! We don't encourage drink flying in this house so Santa gets milk!

The other little tradition that I started after L'il Miss was born is new pyjamas on Christmas Eve so that we are looking out best for Santa. We stay in them all Christmas morning until we have to get dressed for Christmas dinner. This year L'il Miss is going to help cook dinner with me. If I train her up maybe she'll cook it for us in a couple of years time. :-) 

In her new pjs for Santa.

As my health hasn't been very good this year we are having a peaceful Christmas with just the three of us and we are visiting all the family on Boxing Day. This way I get to spend more time with my daughter and we extend the excitement of Christmas by another day. 

It doesn't look like we're in for a white Christmas this year. It was lovely a few years back to see the snow falling on Christmas morning. There is something magical about being warm and cosy indoors with all the decorations up while watching the snow gently falling. Then of course, they young ones have to go out in it and freeze themselves. Just have hot chocolate waiting for when they need it! This pic of L'il Miss is a few years old now but I love the look on her face.

L'il Miss in the snow.

So you can probably tell that I'm starting to get excited about Christmas now. Most the gifts are wrapped and I'm only waiting on one more to arrive, hopefully today, and then I'll do the food shop on the weekend, then let the festivities begin! I love my family and I love the opportunity to have everyone together. 

Finally, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Yule Blessings, and look forward to seeing you all in 2014 for another fantastic year together. 

Cath xx 

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