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More Ceramics...
Sep. 10th, 2011 04:16 pmIt's J's birthday today. This is why I've managed to wriggle out of working at the Kilwinning Dig - we had other things planned....
The 'other things' included a trip to Arco, so I could get J his present. He's a bit dull when it comes to presents. He doesn't collect anything (as yet...) and he likes things to be 'useful'. Sometimes 'useful' can be downright invaluable - Homer the breadmaker (D'ough!) was a combined birthday/Christmas present last year which has so far rewarded us with many lovely, tasty loaves.
Anyway, I suggested that I followed the 'useful' theme by getting him a pair of decent steel-toe capped, lace-up safety boots for his gardening. He sort of agreed - he doesn't really do that much heavy work and his boots are sturdy, anyway, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
So we traipsed down to Arco in Irvine in pursuit of the boots in question.
Unfortunately, Arco was closed. Which meant no birthday present - apart from a couple of bars of fairtrade Green & Black chocolate...
We went home via Dalgarven Mill, where thankfully, the birthday present crisis resolved itself. There was a book on Scottish Ghosts which J expressed an interest in, so that was duly snaffled (he's reading it now...), and then we went to visit the Antiques & Collectables shop across the way. Now, J was humming and hawing not so long about starting a collection of Anita Harris ceramics - Anita Harris is based in Staffordshire, and works with a painter who formerly worked within the Moorcroft stable. She does a lot of limited edition stuff, and J is quite partial to it - it's quite bright, with a lot of reds and oranges, so it's hit and miss with me. I either go 'wow!' and love it, or it leaves me cold...
Not only is it visually arresting (the shapes and the glazes are pretty impressive....), I'd say it's also something which is a good bet for future investment.
J was checking out the AH stuff with interest, and one of his favourites was a rather striking vase featuring a 3-d dragon slouching on a bed of hot coals. I offered to buy him a substantial portion of his very own piece of Anita Harris (I couldn't quite afford to buy him the whole thing...) and he readily agreed, so the birthday crisis was resolved. And with another rather pretty Anita Harris vase on sale for the princely sum of £15, I threw that in for good measure.
Result! J got a birthday present which- while not useful - will at least hold its value through the years. And I'm now no longer the only saddo in the house with a collection of modern ceramics.
The only problem is that we're now running out of space to display them...
The 'other things' included a trip to Arco, so I could get J his present. He's a bit dull when it comes to presents. He doesn't collect anything (as yet...) and he likes things to be 'useful'. Sometimes 'useful' can be downright invaluable - Homer the breadmaker (D'ough!) was a combined birthday/Christmas present last year which has so far rewarded us with many lovely, tasty loaves.
Anyway, I suggested that I followed the 'useful' theme by getting him a pair of decent steel-toe capped, lace-up safety boots for his gardening. He sort of agreed - he doesn't really do that much heavy work and his boots are sturdy, anyway, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
So we traipsed down to Arco in Irvine in pursuit of the boots in question.
Unfortunately, Arco was closed. Which meant no birthday present - apart from a couple of bars of fairtrade Green & Black chocolate...
We went home via Dalgarven Mill, where thankfully, the birthday present crisis resolved itself. There was a book on Scottish Ghosts which J expressed an interest in, so that was duly snaffled (he's reading it now...), and then we went to visit the Antiques & Collectables shop across the way. Now, J was humming and hawing not so long about starting a collection of Anita Harris ceramics - Anita Harris is based in Staffordshire, and works with a painter who formerly worked within the Moorcroft stable. She does a lot of limited edition stuff, and J is quite partial to it - it's quite bright, with a lot of reds and oranges, so it's hit and miss with me. I either go 'wow!' and love it, or it leaves me cold...
Not only is it visually arresting (the shapes and the glazes are pretty impressive....), I'd say it's also something which is a good bet for future investment.
J was checking out the AH stuff with interest, and one of his favourites was a rather striking vase featuring a 3-d dragon slouching on a bed of hot coals. I offered to buy him a substantial portion of his very own piece of Anita Harris (I couldn't quite afford to buy him the whole thing...) and he readily agreed, so the birthday crisis was resolved. And with another rather pretty Anita Harris vase on sale for the princely sum of £15, I threw that in for good measure.
Result! J got a birthday present which- while not useful - will at least hold its value through the years. And I'm now no longer the only saddo in the house with a collection of modern ceramics.
The only problem is that we're now running out of space to display them...
