Pot Fest in The Park

Pot Fest international ceramics market at the magnificent Hutton in the Forest was the weekend before our exhibition Opening. In spite of the hectic time we were having in the gallery we managed to take Sunday off and have a really enjoyable day out.

Both Jill and I love pots, as visitors to the gallery will know, and it was great to see quite a few of our regular exhibitors at this fantastic event.

Adam Booth's Lily of the Valley gate had been newly installed in the garden and it looked perfectly at home already.

Every year at Pot Fest there is a themed competition where exhibitors can submit one piece each. The visitors and the potters all vote for their favourites. This year the theme was 'Altars, Shrines and Makers'. Our good friend Christine Smith won with her fantastic piece 'Homage to The Shrine of Flight'.

Homage to The Shrine of Flight by Christine Smith

I also loved this piece by Richard Godfrey, I do enjoy a tea ceremony...

A Shrine To The English Tea Ceremony by Richard Godfrey 

We took a tour round the house and gardens. Every year Lord and Lady Inglewood buy some contemporary pottery for the house and it looked so at home beside the Arts and Crafts pottery and the many other treasures.

In the gardens we spotted this cheeky monkey looking out from an upstairs window:

Of course we couldn't go home without a little collection of new pots.

I bought a couple of pieces from Paul Young including this luscious bowl:

When we got home we all ate a delicious salad from Margaret Brampton's 'Alice in Wonderland' bowl:

Yum!