Isle of Skye Edinbane Pottery

Hello dear friends,

When on the Isle of Skye we visited the Edinbane Pottery. Actually we spent hours and hours there, watching the potters at work and admiring the beautiful art pieces they created. I've never tried this art form, but it's fascinating to watch.

Stuart

It all started with Stuart and his father when they founded the pottery in 1971. Today, besides Stuart, his wife Julie and German born Andreas also work here, occasionally joined by other potters.

We visited a couple of times. The first few times, Stuart and Julie had some days off. So we spend most of our time with Andreas. I made a short film to give you an impression:





The clay mixture they use and the glazes are made by them as well. So the whole process from clay making to the finishing touches are all done by this team of potters.

There are many steps in this process from rough clay to pot. In their shop they have a list of all the steps. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it.

What's so nice about this pottery is the openness. You can see the potters at work while literally standing next to them. They are very happy to tell about their work and answer all our questions, which no doubt they have had to answer many times before, over and over again.

The potters each have their own unique style. And I must say I loved them all equally. Work inspired by the island's nature and the sea, like the Ebb and Flow series below.

Not long ago part of the pottery burned down and had to be rebuild. When we were there they were still busy building a new oven. Stuart showed us around so we could see the ovens they have.

We watched Andreas at work on a huge teapot. I mean, really huge. Not exactly something for daily use unless you drink a whole lot of tea or have a very large party, but it's a beautiful decor piece. We had to leave though before he could add the glazing and paints, so we haven't seen the end result.

Andreas

I always love to see what tools artists work with. I'm tempted... may be there's a bit of room in our home for a potter's worktable? Who knows...

Visit this wonderful pottery on their website:

Edinbane Pottery

Or better yet, go pay them a visit on the beautiful Isle of Skye!

Wishing you a happy day!

xx Wen

The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye was one of those names that were on my wish list of dream trips. Just the name alone sounds magical to me. When arriving I first had some kind of culture shock, or nature shock really. I knew beforehand that the landscape would be barren. We had visited Wales before and it can be quite barren there as well at some places. But I wasn't quite prepared for this empty land I was about to visit.

It took me a couple of days to feel at home there. But once that was settled, a feeling of magic hit me. This land is truly magical, mysterious, and wonderful.

One of the many days we were so fortunate to spend there, we went on a road trip to the Quiraing. A rocky terrain, with very distinctive features. If you google Isle of Skye, you will probably see more photos like these. It is one of the landmarks of Skye that is a must see for visitors.

Actually we didn't plan on going to the Quiraing. We passed it by accident, because the road that we we wanted to take instead was blocked for road work. But when we saw these stunning views, we were quite happy with this pleasant surprise!

And those sheep... I have a story or two to tell you about them as well. But that's for another time. As is the story about the pottery...

Hugs and sunny smiles,

xx Wen

(Ps: the little home on wheels is not ours, unfortunately...)