After leaving the Isle of Man we flew to the UK and spent a few days with my husbands relatives before driving to Wales.
Fortunately the UK and Australia both drive on the left hand side and with a Sat Nav and a competent driver like my husband, it was an enjoyable adventure.
We stayed in Penally which is not far from Tenby...
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Penally garden - Yukka plants are a popular exotic in both the UK and Ireland
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| close up of Clematis vine on fence - many varieties all over Ireland and Wales (they are not easy to grow in my Sydney coastal area as they need cool roots to flower.) |
Tenby is a popular holiday town
We wanted to see the countryside and compare the old South Wales with our New South Wales...
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| Welsh country road |
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| not much room to pass and oncoming vehicles appear suddenly but everyone is happy to let you pass, just take turns pulling over where you can |
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| Welsh country road with view |
But what about the pots I hear you ask...
Well what a treat..
We discovered the prettily located Gwili Pottery
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Gwili Pottery, Pontarsais, Carmarthen, Wales UK
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where we met Chris, the maker/thrower and her decorator of the day, Kelly. Usually Chris's daughter, Sarah does the decorating but Kelly helps out when she has time from her own business, Kelly Edwards Skincare
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| Chris at work in the studio |
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| Mugs in the making |
We had a lovely chat with them both about clays and firing and decorating with slips and a gorgeous mug has found a new home in my kitchen.
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| decorating undeway |
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| Kelly working with slips to decorate a bowl |
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| the mug which came home with me |
The pottery has a Facebook page:
link here and a website:
link here.
The Welsh town names are fascinating and quite unpronounceable to my Aussie tongue..
I had heard a lot about Aberystwyth in regards to pottery and so we took a drive to check it out...
I should have done some better research before getting there, The Arts Centre is at the University and from the road appears to be a venue for performing arts only... after checking with the Tourist Info office we found it was the right place afterall, so back we went and I had an hour or so of browsing while my better half read a book.
It was such a treat:
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| Michael Cardew |
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| Elizabeth Fritsch was one I admired while researching handbuilding during my studies |
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| Lucie Rie bowl |
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| Lucie Rie narrow necked vessel |
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| Lucie Rie - same bowl showing inside |
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| Lucie Rie - narrow necked vessel |
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| Hans Coper - vessel |
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| another Elizabeth Fritsch vessel |
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| Contemporary student work - amazing detail - 40? shades of grey |
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| Love the precision of these yellow bowls too |
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| a nod to the Welsh traditions |
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Raku pigs and sheep - had seen these in a book/mag before but so good to see them in the flesh
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From Wales we spent a few days in Somerset before packing for our return to Sydney in a dear little village called DowlishWake which is the home of Perry's Apple Cider.
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| Perry's Cider |
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the apple orchard
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And then it was back home to get over my jet lag so I could attend a talk and demonstration by Euan Craig The Potter from Japan. Watch the next post...
Remember to check Kim's link up over at Frogpondsrock for more pottery blogs.
or I might see you on Facebook: Anna's Ceramics
10 comments:
Thanks for a wonderful tour.
You are so fortunate to go to a Euan Crag talk/demo.
hi Smartcat
Yes, I'll post about that later in the week. Thanks for dropping into my blog :)
What a fantastic trip! The mug you brought home is beautiful, I am imagining it must have been hard to choose. And those raku animals...I absolutely love them.
I have just 3 posts on your trip in UK. So glad to see you had a lovely time here. Your mug looks so pretty! Raku animals look sweet! : )
Hi Anna M. Branner it was very hard to choose with a whole shop full of beautiful pieces. Hi Midori, yes it was a great trip. I should look up the maker of those raku animals, I'm sure they have been in Ceramic Review.
Oh Anna,
What a wonderful time with family and pottery passion! I look forward to seeing what you make after such an inspirational and relaxing holiday.
Sorry it has taken me so long to catch up with your adventures,life has been very demanding at this end.
Sadhana xx
Hi Sadhana thanks for taking time to read my blog.. I get the feeling your life is mostly like that, with broken cars and all :)
I am loving the tour you are taking us on of your vacation, seeing all of the countryside, that colorful mug you purchased is wonderful, and love all the other pottery examples you are showing especially the pigs and sheep.
Thanks for visiting my blog, what wonderful pottery you saw in the making PLUS on exhibit!
Hi Gary
Thanks for calling back to my blog. It was a great trip...
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