Studio, garden and enjoying my art

I have finished two paintings in the past couple of days, as well as throwing several bowls, a salt pig and a teapot. It's been so good to get into the studio and I'm hoping to make a concerted effort to keep the momentum going. At the moment the studio is packed with things that don't really belong there, as we're in the process of converting our garage into a study / lounge. At the moment the main obstacle in the studio is our chest freezer which I have to work around. I'm looking forward to getting this moved as I've bought a small wood stove which I want to get fitted before the weather turns cold. Last winter wasn't that pleasant in the studio. I did have a small gas heater, but it wasn't really good enough.
I put this video together to try and show some examples of work and the studio / garden. I'd like to do more of these, but as always it's time! I struggled to insert the video, but you can follow the link to youtube:

butterflies

A clip of today's activity. I managed to paint another picture while Anna enjoyed playing on the wheel. I did make some pots myself, but never managed to get a clip of them. I'll try to make another film tomorrow showing the latest pots. I need to iron out some of the technical aspects of making film clips. Anyway this is a start!

Back on track

Firstly, can I apologise for my lack of posts over the last few months. I have been busy making and occasionally selling my work, but just haven't seemed to find the time to write about any of this. My online shops haven't been particularly successful and I'm reluctant to keep relisting items due to the costs. I closed the Ebay shop as it didn't generate any sales and was costing too much. I clearly need to look at my marketing!
However, on the plus side we held a garage sale to try and raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis resource centre as Jen is running the London Marathon next year on their behalf. Our greatest sales came from my pottery, and even those that didn't buy any were complimentary.
I've also been trying to make improvements to my studio. I will be posting some videos in the forthcoming days showing some of the things that I've been up to.

Time to start working again!

 

Two weeks with my lovely girls has spoiled me; it'll be hard getting back to work next week. The April showers have disrupted some of our gardening plans. One minute we're basking in sunshine getting stuck into the weeding,m the next we're running for cover as we're under fire from high powered hail stones! The hens have settled in well and have started laying; kids adore them!

 

  I still have a huge amount of pottery in stock and I'm struggling to find outlets for it. The Ebay shop wasn't very successful as it cost more than I made. I'm not getting much luck on Folksy or etsy either. The trouble is paying for adverts does generate sales, but not enough to make it worthwhile. I'm beginning to think that I need to look for a shop that'll exhibit my work without wanting to take a huge cut - easier said than done!
   It's definitely time to start pushing things forward again...my dilemma is which direction to push!

spinning plates!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, we've been really busy having holidays in Wales! Oh, and organising some work to the house and garden. I still have quite a bit of stock that I need to sell to make room for more work. I'm hoping to try my hand at making some slipware soon. I often wonder whether I've got too many irons in the fire. As well as the pottery I'm trying to keep fit by cycling. I also teach guitar once a week, as well as squeezing in my own practise. I love working in the garden too and now we're planning to do some work on the house! I'm the proverbial Jack of all trades and master of none. The thing is I love all of these things and enjoy them all in different ways. I wish that I was better at most of them and realise that to become better then I should really focus on just one and perfect it. Trouble is this would involve abandoning the others and if I did this I think my life wouldn't be as rich.

Oh just to add to  our commitments, we've now got hens!

Testing the camcorder.

I've put together a quick video of a typical evening after work - sorry it's very amatuerish!

Get in, sort tea, help with homework and piano practise and if I'm lucky get out into a cold dark studio.

Well, that's how the studio appears in the clip - it actually seems much lighter when I'm in there. I think if I'm going to make video clips in there I'm going to need better lights. I also think it needs decorating!

I seem to be fussing a bit over this bowl - maybe it's the pressure of being on film!

On the up!

Well I definitely feel like last weeks glitch is behind me and I'm really looking forward to what the next few weeks hold. It's all thanks to a dose of good spring weather and some new blogging friends!

I've been able to get out into my garden and me and Anna (daughter) spent a few hours planting a variety of veg seeds. We then went to a local farm and got some advice on keeping hens, which we'll be getting in the next few weeks. Anna's beside herself with excitement about this!
I've also started to get my head around this blogging lark and have to say a big thanks to the people who've been in touch and shared their experience of making and selling pottery.

Today I also managed to get my video camcorder working, so tomorrow I hope to get a clip of my studio and veg patch and maybe get back to throwing something.

Here's some photos of the last few days. Come on spring!