Meet the Maker - Chloe Harford of Glazed and Amazed

I fell in love with these sculptures the moment I saw them and thought you might like them too.

They are made by Chloe Harford who originally studied  Design Crafts at college.  I’m not sure when love blossomed between her and partner Chris Hawkins, but they met at college where he was a potter.  After completing her course he invited her to learn more about ceramics in his workshop deep in the heart of the Tamar Valley.

Chloe explains how it all began for her.  ‘I started with making a few small ceramic brooches & necklaces soon after and slowly the animals developed to where I am now with the very popular puffins and seals.’ 

She has been making animal sculpture ever since and, inspired the local wildlife found on the land surrounding the workshop set in acres of woodland on the banks of the Tamar, they are perfect raku replicas.

‘The Tamar Valley has a long mining history and the workshop itself stands close to one of these mines. Tin, copper and tungsten were once mined here and  the  whole  valley  is  rich  in  minerals, some of which are used for glazes and colour.’

Chloe starts by sculpting a new piece from which she makes a mould for reproduction, She casts each mould by hand and pieces the sculptures together sometimes altering the sculptures as she goes to give differing poses.

Each piece is hand finished, bisc fired and glazed before being raku fired.  During the raku process the work is rapidly fired to 1,000° C.  It is then removed from the kiln whilst still glowing and placed in a container of sawdust which instantly combusts.  The shock of the air causes the glaze to craze at which point it is covered and left to cool.  The smoke from the burning sawdust penetrates the crazing giving the distinctive black lines. 

‘By altering the sculptures I can create different poses making many of the sculptures truly unique.  Some, like the puffins and penguin, are decorated with coloured slips and the fishing puffin has individual fish made by hand and not from a mould so every puffin has a totally unique group of sand eels for his dinner.’ 

Visit her website to find out where you can buy her work in galleries around the country.

And don't forget we have our own range of wildlife hats for your little 'uns to look just as cute in.  You can find them here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Getaways - Machado Gallery, Barford, Warwickshire

A recent work trip involved a stay away from home and we were lucky to find this great place in Barford.

The Machado Gallery is run by ceramicist and sculptor Sue who not only runs the B&B but also art courses in the adjacent gallery.

Her own breads served up at breakfast proved so popular that guests kept asking her how she made it and so the idea of running courses in the art of breadmaking was quickly hatched.

Sadly our visit didn't allow us the chance to kneed some dough, but we enjoyed the cosy warm fire (can't believe we needed it lit in May, but the weather was against us) and the spacious lounge full of books, paintings, ceramics and sculpture. 

We stayed in one of the three bedrooms, all of which are kitted out with pretty white cotton linen and all the things you need for a restful night away.

Breakfast was lovely and Sue was up and about making fresh pancakes with fruit or little brioche type cakes as well as her infamous bread.  Everything that had that extra special yumminess turned out to be something she had made -the marmalade, the syrup, the bread, .....bliss.  We're sure you'd enjoy a stay here too.

Meet the Maker - Jo Lucksted, Ceramic Artist

Jo Lucksted confesses to having a bit of a magpie personality. She covets things of beauty, whether it’s because of it's form, texture or material but mainly because of the skill that has gone into creating handmade.  She hopes that her work reflects some of these qualities. 

Jo's work is influenced by the stonework of churches she knew as a child, in particular Wells cathedral and it's not difficult to see where her inspiration has come from for her Angels and Mythological sculptures.

 

But she believes that ceramics are accessible to everyone and runs workshops in and around Somerset.  She has her own shop in Shepton Mallet from where she runs workshops, but there are also courses in Wells, Yeovil and Frome.  They are half day courses and are an inexpensive way of getting some excellent tutoring and making something for yourself.

Her interests are summed up simply.  Her, family, music, creating, spending time on her allotment, and avoiding exercise or housework

 

Meet the Maker - Felt maker Stephanie Carswell

I've already blogged about Hawthorn craft gallery in Blandford, but couldn't really do justice to the work of owner Stephanie Carswell who creates the most stunning sculptures in felt.

You can see her work on her website, but I would also suggest you take a trip to her gallery in Dorset so you can see the sculptures up close. 

 She has run workshops in the past at her gallery so that others can have a go and sells kits in her shop too.  If you're looking for a hobby, this might just be the ticket.