Maike Browning Jewellery heading to Manchester and Cambridge.

I am very happy to have two new wonderful stockists, the fantastic Craft Shop at The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, who will be showing my Sol collection and Cambridge Contemporary Crafts, right opposite the stunning Kings college.  

Here are a few new pictures of pieces from the Sol collection, some of which will be heading down to Manchester this week. 

Giant Sol Necklace

Slim Sol earrings

Slim Sol bangles 

 Big Sol earrings

This weekend we had a rare day of bright sunshine, embracing the blue skies we walked out around Calgary bay and up onto the hills. We spotted an otter on the shore, weaving its way between the rocks and little islands of seaweed, we followed its path for a long time, before heading away from the shore and up onto the raised beach - raised flat grassy land high above the sandy beach, left over from the before the ice age, when the sea level was 7 metres higher than it is now.

 Treshnish point and the Treshnish Isles

A beautiful standing stone, I cant look at him without seeing a big smiling face and sleepy eyes.

 From the other side of the standing stone, revealing its incredible balancing act.

Maike x

Throw, turn, slip, glaze, fire

If I hadn't become a jeweller I think I would have liked to become a potter. Luckily enough, at the moment I have the fantastic opportunity to take a day off from my studio each week to go up to the north of the island and do some pottery. I am still very much a bigginner at this craft - even thought I have been practicing on and off for a couple of years. The process - from block of clay to finished glazed pot - is a slow one, with many techniques to grasp along the way. It all takes a lot of concentration but when its going well it can be quite meditative.

 

Turning the bottom of a pot before the first firing.

The balcony where I throw, turn, slip and glaze my pots, part of a stunning glass 

barn at Scriob Ruadh farm, Tobermory, where Isle of Mull Cheese is made. 

Painting clear glaze over the blue slip, after the first firing

Putting glazed pots into the kiln for the final firing.

                              Two finished pots, experimenting with different techniques.

Soon I hope to make up some simple circular tiles  and small ceramic plinths to use for display in my studio gallery/shop. The space is coming along nicely, doors painted, floors nearly painted, next step - display table making.

I'll leave you with this stunning view of the Treshnish isles, seen last week on a blustery walk with Ross and my visiting Dad. x