Every town has one. A friendly cafe where you can paint pottery while you enjoy a brew. So it is that the Sticky Earth Cafe is a well-known tea- and pot-painting stop in Cromer, and the sauce tzores source of a number of interesting cups, bowls and plates in the kitchen at the Maison Des Girrafes, and all sorts of bibelots in Crox Minima’s bedroom.
While we’re on the subject of Crox Minima, it was she who recently hosted a birthday party at the Sticky Earth, so while the assembled nine-year-olds were having a riot at one end of the cafe, I decided to indulge in some therapeutic pot-painting at the other.
What you do is buy an item of unglazed ceramic, paint it, and they’ll glaze and fire it for you for collection a few days later. I decided that what the house needed most was a new sign to go outside the front door to confuse entertain visitors, so, having chosen a ceramic house-sign blank, I started with a colour wash, and sketched in the words …
The subject now began to emerge, at first, ghost-like …
… but then with increasing definition …
until the sign was complete and ready for the kiln.
The glazing process changes the colour balance slightly. Here it is, fired and with a nice shiny glazed surface …
… and, finally, mounted by the front door for the edification of all our visitors.
Gorgeous! I have to come and see it in person.
You'd be very welcome, as always.
Absolutely brilliant!! Love it!FYI: word verification = snail. Seems oddly apprpriate given other recent bloggins!
Very nice!Girrafe-golden retriever hybrid … AHAHAAHAHAA!
Oh, how wonderful! You're going to absolutely terrify the young men with your sproingy & intelligent castle-building family happiness, you know. Your daughters will look to them to be the same kind of fun and, well. Tall order.
@ Tiddles – you sure it didn't say 'chicken'?@ Barn Owl – snort. Mrs Crox thought it looked like Heidi wearing a girrafe costume but didn't like to say anything…@ Amy – as you know, the only advantage one has over one's kids is that they are easily embarrassed. They'll be faster, smarter and more hip than you, but only you can tell their boyfriends what they looked like dancing nude around the garden aged two and a half.
I believe you mean "show their boyfriends". One must always be careful to document, and my documentation's color-process adorable.
I stand corrected. Memo to self: Show, not Tell.
Wow, Henry, it's, like, art! I could never have achieved anything so professional looking. Much respect.Sadly, despite your opening para, our town doesn't have such a cafe, so we have to make do with craft centres and such with the facility.
… perhaps you should set one up!
Very impressed! Like Brian, our town is sadly lacking in this essential amenity (or any other, thinking about it) so if you ever thinking of doing a little work on commission please let e know.
Fantastic stuff, cromercrox. Also on the topic of creativity and 'making your own', earlier today for the 1st time I used moonpig.com to create a birthday card for a relative. It should arrive in Canada just in teh nick of time. Details:- http://ff.im/3XzTc
Lovely Henry! it looks very welcoming and appropriate
I take it the glaze makes it withstand rain and winds a bit better?
Yes, the glaze makes it completely weatherproof. Even in Cromer.
That is quite excellent. I especially like the friendly smile, and the classic spelling of the word "Girrafes".
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