Square but not too Conforming.

Sometimes it's nice to do squared pots, I like the pie dishes this way as they fit in the fridge or oven better. I use a piece of wood with some scrim wrapped around it to push the shape, I have cut out a D shape on both sides then pushed it shut before but I find this works just as well for me.

We like to put some Rutile slip (mixed with a wee bit of wood ash) on the rim then combed through when we have just thrown the pot (Before squaring the shape of cause).

I use a towel to sit the pot on before trimming.

And a surform blade for shaping it square.

Then sponge it off.

The pottery stamp.

Ready for waxing the rim for glazing.

And this is what it should end up like.

Great news on the Nx rams horn wedging saga!

She can do it now, (I could say she's gone from being pants to a smarty pants! Especially with these breeks on.)

Someone else likes the new step for wedging too, it makes a great head rest when Nicola's foot is placed just so. (No need for high heels either).

Beautifully consistent clay for throwing.

But she's still beating herself up over not getting things right first time!?!

I got her on to throwing the tall squared vases and as her first vase was 2mm shorter than my one she said it was no good - OK Nx now we are getting a wee bit too conformist.

See I can't really see anything wrong with it, which one is Nx?

I do think some people have too little to do in their jobs though, I got a statement from the credit card machine company and it had this written on the back which made its self not only wrong but the paper redundant because you can't use it for notes so easily

(But it's not blank it says something on it!!!!!!!)

Mud Pack.

You may not be able to make out the coating of Connect festival mud on Nx car but believe me it has a full rally style roof and all job. But from the "glamorous" music festival mud we have to come back down to earth and sort out the more mundane (but less rotting vegetation smelling) mud of the granite glaze prep'.

It is nice to be back though.

Foot Wedging of Sorts.

I thought we had some campers from the USA and the Russian steps as neighbours but it was just a SPA (No not an out post of the Scottish Potters Association a SPA - you know massage, incense and Lama Chanting going on, all that new age hippy stuff).

Went to see some of the great musicians at the Festival Connect held in (NOT) sunny Inveraray at the Castle, which in spite of the rain and huge amounts of mud was really great (had to camp though, not a nice experience in that amount of rain). Did get to see great stuff like Elbow,

The mud was rather bad, this shot below was before I got in to the venue it was really bad inside but I didn't get a photo as I was too busy trying (in vain sometimes) not to fall over! This foot wedging was a kind that Nx was definitely better at than me! She's a bit lighter than me so that might help and a more well balanced person too.

Though I was amazed that my motorbike boots stood up to the onslaught very well (still changed in to my wellies later just in case they were overwhelmed by the depth of mud).It's a great place to have it but a shame the weather stopped some from coming to it, not really a castle any more (the Victorians kind of spoiled it).Just a bit surreal.

Gold Frapp was radiant as ever. The Levellers, F' Ferdinand, Gossip, Duffy and lots more played over the weekend.

It did stop raining sort of for part of the time (I do mean sort of).

But it decided to be nice for the journey home, (and hasn't been bad since!?)

Oh well back to the reality making some pots and having a nice bed to sleep in.

Getting my Elbow in.

Apologies for the bad camera work but just a wee taste of what Elbow were like - you really had to be there though. Maybe not as good as The Love Daddies (See Doug' Fitch's blog) but brilliant none the less.

Handling Big Jugs.

This was done a few days ago and shows me pulling a handle for a Tall Jug, it also shows that Beagles like to be fed early (Bailey was making very funny noises).

In the Undergrowth.

We have noticed a new wee friend who we've named Peter as he seems to be a rabbit of no fixed abode. I cleaned out my wheel box today, (first time for a while), Nicola said her tutors at Glasgow Art College told her that if you had an untidy wheel box you had an untidy mind - well my wheel was filthy so what that makes my mind I wouldn't like to say!!! Anyway here are some of my tools that I find useful, my wire isn't in this shot and I don't have my favorite turning tool on show either but everything else I use for throwing and turning is here, I don't buy many tools just make most. Don't have a shot gun for Peter Rabbit darn it! Maybe Poppy the cat will help with him.

I was cutting back branches so that folk can see the signs.

These are before.

These after

A bit better.

In Training or Cut Backs?

This afternoon I was trying to tidy up and cut the trees back to let people see us from the road but unfortunately the long loppers have broken so I had to improvise a bit, I suppose on the other hand you could see it as training for the weekend when I'll be of at Connect one of the local music festivals down the road about forty miles at Inveraray Castle, (Around here if you go to a big concert held in a field you will usually expect to be wearing Wellington boots and then of cause you have to jump about quite a lot when dancing don't you).