Candleholders and Cold Clay Mornings...

Keeping warm in the winter – especially when there’s snow in the air – is tricky at the best of times. So just imagine what it’s like trying to throw pots! I always make sure I have plenty of hot water when I’m throwing – In fact it’s the first thing I do in the studio after putting on my overalls; boil the kettle for some piping hot water. But there’s no amount of comfort that can prepare you for the next stage. It’s difficult to describe just how shocking it is to plunge your bare forearms into a cold, damp plastic bag and wire off a slab of stoneware! Even if the room itself is warm enough to work in, the clay remains bone-chillingly cold in this sort of weather…

However, the show must go on! And recently (since Boxing Day in fact) I’ve been throwing regularly to try to re-stock on pots. Christmas was very good for me, but as a result I have almost nothing in stock except a few pots here and there. So I’m steadily working through a huge list of ‘priority pots’ (which at the moment feels like everything I’ve ever made!)

But it’s always good to try something new too; to keep things fresh. Above is a photo of a new design I made last week. I’ve always wanted to make candleholders but never seemed to get around to trying them out. So when I received a request recently for two candleholders with handles, I decided to have a go right away and made a small batch of six. I’m very pleased with them actually and they were fun to make too. I made them in one piece; a bit like throwing a lid with a knob. I threw the flat ‘saucer’ part first, leaving a lump of clay in the middle which I then pulled upwards into the candle ‘bowl’. Next day I gave the base a quick clean and added a small handle for carrying. And I’m looking forward to seeing how they come out – because I might be tempted to keep one for myself…