Visit to the Louis Mulcahy Shop (or, What I Did on My Holidays)

Last month, the Oyster and I made pots! (Mine’s the one on the left.)

We were on holiday on the Dingle Peninsula (Co. Kerry), where we often stay, and I finally did something I’ve been sighing over for years: paid a visit to the Louis Mulcahy workshop in Ballyferriter. I took the Oyster with me, leaving Niall and the Feaster to amuse themselves on the beach.

I love Louis Mulcahy’s work – the forms and colours are so beautiful, the pieces so tactile. Not having read the website in advance, I kind of hoped we might see a potter at work, but I wasn’t expecting to get a chance to try it myself.

The Oyster went first, sitting up on a kind of saddle in front of the wheel, wearing a plastic apron with his sleeves rolled up.

The potter (not Louis – I think her name may have been Janet) started him off, centering the clay with a few swift passes. Apparently, this is the most difficult part – you squeeze the clay into a rising pillar as the wheel spins, then push it down again, centering the bulk accurately to ensure a symmetrical pot.

Under her guidance, the Oyster pushed his fingers into the middle of the spinning clay, then drew them out towards the edge. Very quickly, he had a lovely little bowl shape, which the potter sliced off the wheel with a wire.

Then it was my turn.

Now, I’ve kind of hankered after pot-making since I was a child. I’ve done pinch-pottery, which I enjoyed, but never on a wheel until now. It sits at the back of my mind, prodding me every so often, suggesting that I might really, really like it.

So I was (quietly) incredibly excited as I put on my apron and sat up on the saddle. Once my clay was centred, I wet my fingers and began pushing them into the spinning shape.

“Draw your hand back towards you – move from the elbow,” prompted the potter, and I felt the bowl start to form itself. She warned me not to go too far down, to make sure that I had a solid base.

After a while I switched my fingers to the outside, thumbs on the inside, moving up and down, easing the top of my bowl back in towards the centre. The potter checked to see if I was keeping the thickness even, and made approving noises. I caressed my little bowl, hugging it more firmly at the bottom so that it drew in.

It was marvellous.

For €2 each, we got to take our pots away. They haven’t been fired (although that is an option), so we won’t be able to use them for food or liquid, but we can paint and varnish them and keep other things in them if we like.

I also bought some egg-cups in the shop, for a somewhat eye-watering price that I was nonetheless delighted to pay. This is art I can use – that’s incredibly important and exciting to me. If I could have, I would have bought much more. Perhaps when I am a Craft Tycoon I’ll go back and get a dinner service.

Meanwhile, I may need to investigate taking a pottery class.

If you’re a regular here, you’ll have noticed how rarely I’ve been posting recently.

Thanks for reading!