It is a number of years since I first produced my website and it is really about time that it was updated to perform on the three platforms that are now a normal part of everyday life - computer, tablet and smartphone. I am not a great technology buff and things like Facebook, Twitter, etc. leave me lukewarm. This Blog is a revolutionary departure for me. Perhaps it might be an acorn! I am not sure how frequently I will update it (I am not sure what the conventions are) but I will do my best.
It is now ten years since I moved from the foothills of the Pennines in East Cheshire to Newbiggin by the Sea in South East Northumberland. I have been very busy during that time. As you will see from the main website I have continued to produce my own work, I have been active in the community and I have contributed to the establishing and running of the Newbiggin Maritime Centre. Even though I am retired I still don’t know where I found the time!
One of the colleagues I have worked closely with at the Maritime Centre for over seven years recently died. He was the same age as me! It was a tremendous, unexpected shock that has made me realize that my time is not infinite. (I went out the day after he died and bought a new car.) My thought processes were similar to when I experienced a series of personal crises in 1994 and they led to a few significant decisions. Now I have decided to ration my time more assiduously and spend more of it with my wife and family. I hope to start visiting friends and places that I enjoy before they close down! But I will still pursue my personal work because (as my wife says) it is my life.
I recently met a potter in North Berwick who is still producing beautiful raku fired pots. He is 82 years old! So there is hope for me yet. I have got some years to go but I am currently working on a series of pieces that I have called “Spirit of Place”. I have pushed my boundaries a little further afield and have started to use painterly techniques using earthenware glazes. I have not seriously used earthenware since I was at college in the late 60’s. It is a whole new learning curve and will no doubt lead to a few (or many) disappointments as I move away from the safety of the reduction fired stoneware that I have developed over the last twenty years. I will update the website as the work progresses – watch this space.