Early Days...The Potters House Penketh

 Sometimes I start looking through my photo files for something ...

..and then have to stop at an image I'd completely forgotten about...

...such are these early pics from the beginnings of the business we now call 

The Potters House Penketh.

This is a pic of the very first sales day at St Joseph's Summer Fair on Meeting Lane in Penketh...late 70s.

Well the clothes say it all......!

..and hiding behind me advising on prices and top saleswoman...is my lovely late mum over from the troubles in Belfast for a week of peace.

You can see that it wasn't all Alan's ceramics then he was still teaching... 

...as head of art at Penketh High School.

We backed quite a few of the Traidcraft organisations.

And I also did a bit of dealing in vintage and collectables..anything to get the business going.

Every Tuesday I hired "The Institute" on the main Warrington Road.

This is a pic of sisters who came with their mum and shared the building..it was a place of fun and friendship.

Later it became a coffee house for the local church..St. Paul's Penketh and was renamed "The Manna House" ..and when sold on to a young local entrepreneur...Andrew Mulholland...it kept it's name and is used for grand parties and celebrations.

It meant a lot of packing and unpacking and lugging heavy boxes of ceramics and craft goods.

...and our old car at that time often needed a push to get the engine going!

There were many lovely people who became involved by baking and making for stalls.

So much laughter and naughty innocence...it was great to remember it all as I looked through the file of pics.  

It's Advent December 2021

 ....and the old driftwood tree comes out of the tool shed...is dusted down and the spiders webs cleared away before it's once again in pride of place in the big gallery window at The Potters House Penketh.

On go the twinkling lights...a job for the potter...aka Alan Snape.

...the box of beloved baubles is dragged down the stairs from under a bed in the guest room..

...year by year I scour the christmas shops for another one to add to the collection...but it has to be that little bit different from the hundreds that are the choices available now...

...and every year I buy each of the grandgirls one to start their own collection.

Aunt Helen was my partner in "crime " each Christmas at 43 St. Johns in Belfast...I would crawl into the cubbyhole under the stairs to find the box with the treasure in it....in those days mainly paper decorations.

...ooops!...why is it always the fragile ones that slip out of your hands!...still beautiful in it's shards of fine glass...

After our visit this year to the autumn Chelsea...inspired by the work in the main tent... I started collecting the autumn leaves as they fell from the gingko tree in the garden...pressing them in old art books...always heavy!...and stringing them in chains for the gallery windows.

...some japanese acer leaves found their way into the strings too...

..a choir of angels echo the message of hope

...nothing to make you ashamed...

In the window....ceramic camel £150 : ceramic angels £20 : Large penguin with gold crown £170 : small penguin with gold crown £110 : ceramic polar bear £180 : individual ceramic letters £150 : HOPE £450  Icon.."Christ Pantocrator" £150 : ceramic hare £180 : Box assemblage ceramic hand £150 : ceramic stars £20 : Globed angel £150 : small driftwood christmas trees £20 : chain of pressed leaves £10 ..and so much more inside.

More work can also be seen at Technically Brilliant Art in The Golden Square Mall, Warrington.

and

The Buckenham Gallery Southwold, Suffolk.

Today the sun is shining...although these are often called "the dark days"...but there is always hope and so that is my wish for all of us this Christmas.....

"And hope doesn't put us to shame..." Rom 5:5

Much love

Geraldine

Art challenge...Day Six...Jonah in the Boat Asleep.

Day Six of the potters art challenge.

Many of the series Alan has produced have been based on well known Bible Stories. 

This is from the story of Jonah who disobeyed instructions...and ended up inside a BIG fish!....he eventually obeyed ...though still wasn't very happy...read it for yourself!

In this piece from the series Jonah is asleep in the boat...just before they throw him off to the fish!!!! Typical of the potter's sense of humour.

Day five of the potter's art challenge....and this camel seen in the window at the Buckenham Gallery in Southwold...is ready, willing and able to paaarrrtay!!

Where do the ideas come from?...I dread to think!

I think this sweet camel is long gone...off partying somewhere classy...but others will follow where he has lead no doubt.

You can always pop into the Potters House here on Heath Road Penketh to see what the potter is conjuring up at the moment.

Looking in  and...

...he's looking out!!

Art Challenge Day Three

Day Three of the potter's art challenge.

Most artists hate commissions...takes them away from what they want to do...it means they have to ask questions!!

But commissions are also bread and butter for an artist! 

This commission was however a pleasure for Alan.

This is a Baptismal Bowl commissioned by a newly renovated Liverpool Church. 

(pics by G)

Alan Snape's Art Challenge...Day two.

Day Two for the "Potters" seven day art challenge.

one of the main ceramic pieces that Alan has produced here at The Potters House Penketh has been The Landscape Pots. these have each been individually produced with both land and seascapes.

These can be seen at our shop and gallery and also the galleries that stock his work in Southwold, Snape Maltings and Whitstable.

A ,Bitter Week.

We spent four wonderful days on the east coast last week....Suffolk and Norfolk.

We were there to deliver stock to some galleries in Southwold and Snape Maltings. That's the ceramic stock made by the potter here at The Potters House Penketh.

But also to attend some of the organised workshops and readings at The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.

A real feast of poetic words and thoughts.

Then to cap a great weekend we drove north to Norwich and UEA, to take the eldest grandgirl out for a meal....all students need treats from grandparents!

So late evening after saying our goodbyes we set off for the journey north.

My head was full of the new poetry and poets we had heard....and the news we listened to as we drove was full of the thoughts of the soon to be decided presidential race for The White House.

The euphoria of the four days slipped away little by little as reality arrived as if brought down from the cold north by the chill winds that blew.

The vacuum of this moment in history....will soon be filled with one or 'tother...and we ourselves will soon be either in or out apparently of whatever we have been part of!!

After Auden

And so the leaves fall

And in the chill wind fall fast.

For on the long ride back north

Winter arrived in bitterness.

Somerset Levels Commission.

This commission came from an Irish friend, for some relatives living in Somerset and loving the levels.

 The potter is more used to his land and seascape pots based mainly on Southwold and Aldeburgh..so this was a new venture and much perusal of google pics and pinterest boards were looked at, before he sketched his ideas in a book and started the heavy job of raising a large ceramic pot. It is big...not quite a metre high but not far off! 

There were certain requirements made for the decor on the exterior...hares, heron, water and reeds...and the potter added his usual wonderfully modelled bridges, fences and landscape. The glazes are chosen to enhance the fired clay and the final glaze firing reveals whether or not it has been a success.

Well this is the second one...not that the first wasn't good it was, but experience tells you that often the next one manages to capture the essence of a piece. Soon it will be on it's way to The Levels...then we shall see if it has done it's job. 

We made our now annual expedition to The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival this weekend just gone. It's held mainly in the village of Snape at The Snape Maltings...very apt for the potter and wife!
Our association with this part of Suffolk goes back to the years of the teenage children. But the festival..only the last three years. The potter has some ceramics in the Gallery there and also in The Buckenham Gallery in Southwold ...so there's a double reason to take the six hour trip from here in the north west to East Anglia. And a further reason as the oldest grandgirl is now at UEA  in her second year and getting more political by the moment!!
But the festival was just great this year. I love the different approaches. The "academic"...the "comedic"...the "ex-punk"...the "rock-star"...the "rap poet"....and the madness of the open-mike late night session!!
Each year I've made the effort to get to as many sessions as I have energy....and these poets are a sample of those I heard speak this time.
Attila The Stockbroker, Gerry Loose, Kei Miller, Helen Mort, Jeremy Reed, Valerie Rouzeau, Pedro Serrano, Susan Wicks, Jane Duran, Peter Sansom and Jeni Smith.
From the workshops to the Q&A sessions the talks and the readings, it's a feast of words and emotions.
  Now I will have to have a go at putting it all into practice....
I plucked up enough courage to have a go at the open mike session in The Plough and Sail at Snape on the Saturday evening.....this was my contribution!

...hands shaking by the time I had finished!!...

Grandgirls in the studio.

When the southern grandgirls come up to stay ...the cry goes up...

..."pops came we make something in the studio?"

This is good as there may be a slight possibility therefore that one of them could...and I emphasise ...could...think in the future of taking over the making of the ceramics!

No pressure then!!

Whether that ever happens or not, the art produced in these sessions, absolutely lacks of fear from any criticism....

..how good is that in this high-powered world of success!!  I love it.

...so I said..."who will take it over?"...and one was designated....but I'm not telling which one it was as she has a lot of growing up and having fun to do before any of that happens.

Starting again.

Soon we will be back in the studios with the groups that come for pottery classes every week.

We waited for a while this year to make sure that the potter was up to teaching..

......but though waiting for an op at the end of January...

...as we say in Belfast!....he's "rarin" to go!

I thought it might be interesting to post some pics of the work done by one or two of the talented folk who come each week.

So these are ceramics made by Gordon Firth...

...a verty talented artist...

...with a wonderful quirky sense of style!

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

 

po

I was lucky enough to nhave been given them as part of my christmas treats......

....wooohooo!!!

The Gourd Pot.

So... I wrote a few weeks ago about the pumpkins that were not!...they were gourds...and very nice ones too.

...daughter, from down south, took quite a few home...

... and the lovely pottery class people took some more.

But I still have a basketful of them....though what to do  except gaze appreciately at them.....

....I'm sure I don't know!

Anyway, the Potter  always gives me a ceramic christmas goody and ...so this year the theme was not the pumpkin...

  

which it has been in the past...

...no, no, it's the gourd!

 

I'm looking forward to filling it with sunflowers later in the year.

Christmas Angels

Fresh from the kiln and singing their little hearts out!

"Hark the herald angels sing....."

Can't keep the potter out of the studio!!

The Third Workshop.

Friday was the last of our summer workshops at the Potters House Penketh.

The sun...a very dear absent friend...made a welcome appearance ...joy of joys!!!

First the priorities....coffee and biscuits.

I made lavender ones again this time.

(I'll put the recipe at the bottom if you are interested.)

 

Old friends greeted and lots of chat in the back yard.

Then into the studios to see what ideas the potter had prepared.

Many in this group come with their own ideas...but it's always good for Alan to have a few alternative ones up his sleeve!

The starting point for this, came from an Italian tile and the stencils were prepared previously....good one this!

Greek style pot, always popular,

waiting for some decoration.

Lunch served around one o'clock...and with that sun still shining on us we eat al fresco.

Oh...That's the potter trying to get in on the act!

Lunch-time doziness nearly takes some of us over....but then it's back to the studios

 and a race to try and finish each ceramic sculpture.

Some folk have been coming to the Potters House for years 

but others have maybe only ever tried their hand at modelling in school....

...so it's quite an accomplishment  to get this looking so good.

...I love his big feet!

There's more work to do on the plaque but I love the interpretation from the original Italian tile.

 

Four o'clock in the afternoon came all too quickly!...and off they went...excited and chatting as they go.

Lavender Melts

50 grms golden caster sugar

130 grms unsalted butter

200 grms self-raising flour

1 tblsp chopped lavender leaves

2 tsp lavender flowers

1. Preheat oven to 180C

    Cream sugar and butter.Add flour and lavender leaves

    Beat until mixture comes together.

2. Turn out on to lightly floured surface.

    Knead briefly to form a dough.

    flatten to a disc and wrap and chill for half hour.

3. Roll out on a floured surface - half a centimetre thick.

    Sprinkle with flowers and press them in gently.

    Stamp out rounds with an 8 cm disc.

    Transfer to a greased baking tray.

4. Bake for 7-8 mins...lightly brown.

    Remove from oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.

5. Store in  an airtight tin....or eat them with family and friends soon!
 

Magpie!

I'm following in Ember's footsteps this year and getting rid of one thing every day....so far so good.

Magazines from the year dot...one LBD too many and it had to go...
...how many handbags can I genuinely think are necessary for the different occasions in my life? some have to go!

Ohh! yes, I could go on and bore you even more...until you tutted at the lunacy of the collector, and her wilful ways...

But!

There are still areas of the house that I can't bear to consider as they are my worthless but magpie collections.

Forgive!

Not much of monetary value...just memories of Ireland ...children and grandchildren.

So

I'll just go and dig around in another drawer for a while...
...there's bound to be suitable throwing out or passing on materials in it!

The W. I. workshop.

It seems ages since we had this workshop, but it was such a good one, I've saved it 'til I had the time to post. We've been so busy recently that I think more than two weeks have gone by since I used the blog!
Hope I haven't forgotten what to do!

This one, however, is all about those mighty women who are I think are known as...
 "The Backbone of England!"
We love having the local W.I. groups here at the Potters House studios.
And what with the opening of the Alice Show at the Tate Liverpool, then this is very apt, as these women live in that very area where once upon a time, the "godly" Charles Dodson was vicar!
But I'm always on my best cooking practice when they come...because even the mighty M.and S. take their cake ideas from the W.I. markets of the land.
So we start as we mean to go on....coffee and hot milk with freshly baked St. Clements biscuits....oranges and lemons to you and me.

Then they get down to the job in hand of creating some ceramic marvels...always cared for by the potter himself.

But these are no slouches when it comes to being creative as this group has been before and entered some of their work in the Tatton Show...

 and ....hurray...won prizes.

Bodily sustenance in the form of lunch arrives at half past midday...

..and not a moment too soon as it's tiring work pulling and pushing clay around to get the shape that you want.

 Little french savoury pastries...and greek cucumber salad...

...Mary's favourite carrot and orange salad...

...potato salad recipe care of the german side of the family... and a freshly baked honey ham to go with them.

Then Dutch Apple pie made by the potter himself...it's a bit like rolling out clay!

Then refreshed it's back to the tables...though some have never left them...

 ...and  so on towards the finish at four.....

...when dry mouths can be once again refreshed with that brew at the heart of all Brits....tea...oh, and cake! 

...lemon drizzle and chocolate and orange gateaux....

The finished work is left to dry completely before baking in the kiln as usual.

Then the potter will glaze those that are ready.

...oh yes and did I mention the laughing and jokes they brought with them...quite reminded me of Aunt Helen!