Saturday 18 May 2013

Cockington Ceramics Festival, Torbay, South Devon

Lovely area, I was really looking forward to this event. It was not just for the ceramic event I was taking part in. The area is of astonishing natural beauty, it is by the coast, I was going to the sea. The image is from the day of my arrival, moody weather but mostly shiny. I had a good walk, first to Babacombe beach, whith its colourful stones/pebbles, greens, pinks and reds, the green blue of the sea, the blue of the sky, the brightness of the sun, the yellows and blues of the flowers. All the saturated colors and the smell of the sea. I follow the coastal path on a circular walk returned to the hostel. I had to do the most of that day. I was tired as I have been carrying most of the day my suitcase and backpack, full of pots, from London to the hostel in Torquay, by train. The weather report was saying that this would be the warmer, sunnier day of the week. So I stayed outdoors till late. The following day Thursday was going to be the day for setting up the stands at the Ceramic Festival. Thursday was going to be windy and with plenty of rain. Very early in the morning I walk towards the caves. There are caves in Torbay, there,were found some of the oldest remains of humans in UK. What to say of the caves, full of fantasies in color and shape. After this my mission was to set up the stand for my pots. Luckily the marquees were super lux and super sturdy. It was a truly windy day. I do not really enjoy the momment of unpacking and unwrapping the pots, so many things, it is not like moving house but... is that kind of thing. When everything is on the table it gets a bit more enjoyable. It is like making an installation, but not so, a window display with many articles and few props. That is my case for the limitations on the weight I can carry myself. But finally it was all ready for Saturday Saturday started for me with a relaxing walk towards Cockington a bit less than an hour. I was going to demonstrate at 10.15 am, and it is always a bit stressing. The theme I choose for this demonstration was that of hand building with dry clay modules, from simple objects to complex ones. The bonds would be done with paper clay. There were no many people at first, but soon they were joined to my satisfaction by a generous group of school children, I felt more at ease. Then the day went by, the sales were good, the visitors, the fellow potters, and the very friendly and helpful people running the event. At the end of the day Ian Gregory was demonstrating as well. Sunday was another good day for slaes. Sandy Brown came along the pavillion as she was later on given a talk at Cockington. There was a full program of workshops, talk and demonstrations running parallel to the Fair. All in all it was a great experience, that the bad weather could not spoil. I am looking forward to come back.

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