Calm

It has reached that lovely time of year when the days are getting longer and longer, meal times are getting later and later, as beach time and extended dog walks are calling.

Once the pottery door closes Ruby and Bramble are poised at the back door waiting patiently for the dog leads to be lifted off the hook, and from that point on, the tails are wagging, the barking starts, as they begin to shout at me impatiently to hurry up. A short while later we are off. Across the field, over the road, and onto the track which leads to Lily Loch and up to the slate bench, where you can find yet more amazing views out over the headland. It is the perfect spot to watch the ferry cruising along up the Sound towards Port Askaig. To breathe in the sea air and take in the vast open skies and sea that surround the island.

Down along the track, past the dam, following the burn, we get ‘beachtime’. Here a pebble beach meets the Sound, and the gentle lapping of the waves calm the soul. I love it.

I have had a busy week. In the pottery I have been spinning plates, literally. My little workshop has been buzzing with creativity. We have welcomed so many lovely people, coffee has been brewing, cake, scones, sandwiches and afternoon teas have been served. There has been a buzz in the air, and so much painting. The kiln has been firing away, pottery has been turned into amazing reflections of creativity and memories. Even the Happy Farmer has been dancing around the pottery with one of our lovely Italian friends who calls by each year, and her dance with the Happy Farmer has become a tradition, and we all know the Happy Farmer loves traditions.

The ‘all singing all dancing’ new farm and pottery laptop then chose this moment to take a nose dive, and set new challenges for the farmer’s wife, kind of ‘beyond repair’ challenges. Four hours of ‘playing’ computers with an incredibly patient tech team, computer technology really is not my strong point, and it was decided that the best way forward was to provide the Happy Farmer’s wife with a brand new, shiny, all singing, all dancing replacement laptop. My head was buzzing. Hours on a phone listening to some beyond horrendous call centre background music, while I patiently held the phone to my ear, as they thought up yet more software hoops for me to jump through. I was sat in front of a computer screen that was just refusing to play ball.

I escaped to the beach then. The dogs, the sunshine of a calm spring evening, and the gentle lapping waves of the Sound just melted away the stress and I was reminded of how lucky we are to live on this beautiful island.

It is at this little beach then that I stumbled upon the glossy pink and brown seaweed, scattered across the pebbles, having been brought in by the tide. This seaweed inspired my ‘Seaweed from the Sound’ pottery range. Inspired by one of my many walks there, in the pottery workshop I dipped my brush into the coloured slip clay and painted the patterns and colours of the seaweed onto the bisque. People often comment on how relaxing and therapeutic pottery painting is. Hopefully all of the lovely visitors who brought pieces from this range over the Easter holidays enjoy their pottery as much as I enjoyed designing and painting it.  

I hope you manage to find your calm.

Until next time….