I've been struggling a bit to improve the "parsnip" shapes. Yesterday, I think we made a minor breakthrough. The new shape has a more tapered foot and neck. It elongates the shape, making it less muscular and a bit more refined. It always amazes me how all these small adjustments can completely change a shape's personality. I am taking a spontaneous shed day to make another one of these. I want to have all of these shapes finished for this coming Tuesday when college starts. I will take them all in to get them glazed in time for the show in May.

Its also forecast to be really warm tomorrow, so an extra shed day is a good excuse for a sundowner on the terrace. Life is too short not to take advantage of these precious spring days. To me Spring feels like everything is exhaling. You can hear it at 4.30am when the birds start to sing and you see it in the unfurling leaves. Its such a wonderful time of the year.

The cold winds are back this weekend, but we are going to Suffolk because Temptress (the boat) needs her blue stripes repainted. She is relaunched the week after, so the painting can't wait. Its ok, because the Spring also sees the yachting community come out of hibernation. Catching up with some friends and a pint of Adnams should just about compensate for the lack of potting. I must also remember to take the sketch book. At the moment, I don't spend enough time sketching and looking back, I can see more ideas can be found at the end of the pencil. If you look back over the blogs, you will find this shape in a sketch, but I didn't really explore it enough. If I had given it more time to develop on the page, I might have found this shape a bit sooner.

I have also stuck a big sheet of paper to the wall behind the wheel. I have realised that the shape in my head does not translate into the clay on the wheel. What happens is that I get distracted by another shape that emerges. The idea is to sketch the shape I want to make onto the wall, including its dimensions. For some reason, it keeps me on track and stops the shape morphing into something else. If you get idea drift like me, give it a go.