I'm not long home from delivering the special project pieces which were wedding favours for my son's wedding in Ireland. I'll be posting all about those soon.
While there I visited an Irish potters' studio whose work I had admired in the Irish Design Gallery shops where I was looking for gifts to bring home.
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| Handbuilt chooks and cat in the Irish Design Shop by Kathy of Pottery by Kathy |
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| Cat and Chook by Pottery by Kathy |
I found Kathy on Facebook and she kindly agreed to showing me her studio. Here is the link to her page:
https://www.facebook.com/potterybykathymooney/
Spring time in Ireland (Dublin) can be rather cool (Max 12 degrees C on the warmest day) with variable weather. We had a couple of fine days which were lovely and the daffodils were still in flower....
But some days were cold wet and miserable and it was one of those days on the day we visited Kathy.
However the welcome to her home studio was very warm and I loved the selection on the dining table and brought one of the little brooches home with me. (Too tricky to get larger pottery home in a suitcase).
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| Her rustic garden studio was toasty warm inside |
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| Kathy in her garden studio with some foxes under construction |
Her wonderful collection of plates has me rethinking my own collection of others pots.
After leaving Ireland we spent some time in Germany with friends...
It amazing how easily you can travel to other countries once you are in Europe.. the flight is no more than from Sydney to Brisbane and then a fast train trip and you are at your destination in no time.
Taken from the ICE train between Frankfurt and Bonn which travels at speeds up to 300 km per hour.
My hosts for the week were friends who had stayed with us in Australia in 2014 and they made us very welcome.
Even making the time to take me to a nearby Ceramics Museum and Sculpture Walk in the town of Frechen.
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| example of Bellamine Jug (taken from internet) |
The area has historically produced Bellamine Jugs since the 16th Century and shipped them around the world. The gallery is much bigger than it appears from the outside. The building is a classic 1970s architect designed by Peter Neufert. The permanent collection is downstairs while upstairs is available for exhibitions by current artists.
I particularly enjoyed the current show by Petra Weifenbach which combines drawings with shards of pottery - there is a glimpse on this website here:
http://www.kulturtussi.de/petra-weifenbach/
Unfortunately photos were forbidden.
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| Keramion sculpture garden |
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| Keramion sculpture garden |
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| delightful drawings on the tiles in the gift shop |
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| one of these porcelain pieces came home with me |
After a meal in a local restaurant we took a walk around the town to view the sculptural decorations dating back to the 1920s and through to the 1970s.
The collection of sculptural ceramics are dotted around several streets and my hostess was a very good map reader.
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| The brown panels on the building are ceramic tiles. |
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| Town fountain depicting local workers including potters (metal but probably cast from clay sculptures) |
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| Sundial on building |
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| Head with tongue sticking out |
Bears - the far one is holding a ball and I think the nearer one should be too...
We were lucky with the weather for our walk around and all too soon our week was over and it was time to catch the ICE train to the airport to start our long trip home.
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| ICE train Germany |
4 comments:
what a wonderful trip and fun to visit potters in other countries, love those golden bears.
Hi Linda
Catching up with potters while overseas is compensation for not being able to get my hands in clay! Always find a friendly potter or inspiring exhibitions.
Great pics! Sounds like you had a great time Anna, these are two places I haven't been.... I'll have to put them on the agenda!
Yes Dawn, definitely put them on the agenda... perhaps go at a warmer time of year if you can :) there were times when I nearly froze!
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