more yellow

this past week has been traditional November grey, but the leaves are at their brightest, which offsets the gloom somewhat. the hazels are a little behind the rest, this one is along the edge of Bale wood.

one sycamore stands out; it is translucently yellow amongst its naked neighbours – ash trees which have mostly dropped all their leaves without even bothering to withdraw the chlorophyll.

field maples in Cake’s Lane are turning orange.

and under them pools of pale leaves reflecting the light.

oaks are more conservative and still have a mixture of colours.

and they stay very rusty compared to the red freckle on the field maple .

a tiny yellow snail on the road in the rain. I was just too late to catch her with her horns out.

and a field maple in glorious yellow, its leaves shining in the grey light, as if  the sunlight they have been absorbing all summer is returned to brighten the autumn day.

and now the sheds, cleaned up and ready. first the kiln shed, which has a great deal more space in front of the kiln now.

the workshop, with sturdy bench and vices installed. I have some more work to do in here, so that I can hang up all the tools.

the pot store, with two sets of shelves – I need to fix these to the walls before putting anything on them.

general store room; paintings stored all round the walls, clay and packing materials in the middle, with old financial records and other things one has to keep somewhere behind them. and the wonderful view out of the window in the door.

a new direction; the beginnings of a large press-mould for a big dish. I am launching into open shapes for two installation proposals, of which more later. but these moulds, which I will fire to biscuit temperature, will take a long time to dry out, and may be difficult  to fire successfully. I am using the industrial crank I bought. it is a terrible disappointment for making pots, its plasticity is almost nil, but I think it could be useful for these moulds.