Treasure!

There's nothing I like more than pottering along a beach looking for treasure.... shells, driftwood, seaweeds....... Today I went to a very well known Cornish seaside village and hunted for bits of broken pottery.

I was not disappointed! Once I got my eye trained in to spot the glimpses of blue and white, green and brown lying amongst the pebbles and seaweed and sand, I found far more pieces than I expected.

It is such a thrill when you bend down to pick up and then turn over that ordinary looking sherd of plain white pottery to reveal a beautiful fragment of Victorian blue and white design on the other side..... You begin to imagine what plate or bowl the piece originally formed part of; it might have been the pride and joy of some kitchen dresser until the day an accidental breakage caused it to be discarded in the rubbish, only to be washed down the local stream and emerge years later in the natural detritus of the harbour below.

I shall be using these pieces I've found in a range of collages and cards. These once discarded fragments will then be given a new lease of life, and be admired as objects of beauty and design once again.