From Pumpkins to Pottery
When pumpkins become more than just soup…
When I was around 11, me, my sister and our mum moved in with her partner and his two daughters on his farm. It was amazing. 1100 acres of beautiful working farmland on the South Staffordshire/Shropshire boarder which for a kid is a fantastic playground. My fondest memories are of playing in the stream that ran through the valley behind the farmhouse, sledging down the snowy banks in winter, of climbing trees and building dens, raising chickens and helping in the lambing sheds.
By the time us girls were all teenagers the farming side of life starting to slip behind us. Boyfriends, college and jobs became the new norm and farming started to slip behind us. After over a decade of calling this farm home, my mum and partner separated, I bought my first house, and pursued my love of art.
Skip ahead to October 2021, and I received a message from the farmer’s new partner, Vicky. She’d heard I was creative and loved anything arty and wondered if I would help out with their PYO pumpkin event during the half term holidays. It was just general things initially, setting up social media pages and promoting, helping pick and paint pumpkins for the arty pumpkin trail and selling to customers in the day. We got on together so well, chatted about the farm, what the other girls were up to and eventually onto the subject of art. Turns out she is an amazing pastel artist, and just like me found the farm such an inspiring place to live.
Vicky and pumpkins
Vicky, me and The Bumkin!
Vicky invited me back down the farm to see what had been going over the last couple of years. We had a wander round with a cup of tea and I was amazed at the hard work that had been put into the farm. The buildings were being refurbished, a beautiful Air BnB had been converted from a previous tack room and barn, a lake and nature reserve was being established in the valley and there was so much more emphasis on re-wilding and preserving habitats.
She took me to an old barn up on the farm yard, and told me how she’d like it to become a studio to be creative and pursue her passion for art. It’s a brilliant space, with high wooden beams, big open doors and ample room to create. Next I knew she asked if I would like to share the barn with her and be a studio colleague and my heart jumped! Not only would I be back down the farm again after so long but to actually have an opportunity to start an amazing creative adventure with not only someone who believes in me but is also a fellow artist is so heartwarming and incredible. I hadn’t felt that happy in a long time and I think she knew that too.
Work has begun on the new studio.
We’ve become great friends, and her enthusiasm and passion is contagious! We’ve planned the space to accommodate both our art styles, and facilities are currently being put in to enable us to host workshops including two toilet cubicles, a kitchen area and communal space. We’re making a concerted effort to repurpose and reuse whatever we can in the process, from furniture to sinks to lighting in order to keep our carbon footprint lower.
I am no professional painter and decorator!
The last few weeks of atrocious weather has certainly hindered us, and I’m hoping that after this week the weather may brighten a little so we can crack on moving the stuff currently stored in the studio into another barn.
In terms of actually making ceramics I’m stuck until I can get my kilns and wheels moved in to the new studio. There’s wiring issues in my current studio which means i’ve had no electricity or heating for months, hence the lack of production posts on my Instagram feed.
Fingers crossed, if all goes well and there are no more horrific storms coming our way, our new studio: The Cartshed, will be up and running before the summer!! I‘d love for you all to be a part of this journey, so I’ll be posting the process whenever I can on Instagram.
Loads of love
H xxx
