CERAMIC PAINTING

Oh what a busy week, I feel exhausted! We didn't have much time to do many activities this week because, beside appointments and other things I had to do, we are helping out a person very dear to our heart. It has been a quite hectic week and today I will take a break from every thing, just try and relax.



Just to give the final blow to my energy level, yesterday I planned a trip to Greenwich to visit the maritime museum, and just by chance I found on the internet this interesting place which is a ceramic cafe' just few steps from the museum. The name is Biscuit and it is a very special coffee shop where all cakes are home made by local ladies, and it is also a ceramic shop, meaning that you can choose from a large range of white ceramic objects to paint as you like and take home. In the web site there was no mention of prices, which I found a bit tricky; I decided to give it a go, and if it was too expensive I would just direct myself to the museum as back up plan.



It would have been a completely fine trip, and a really enjoyable day, if the public transports would have been decently working! But unfortunately it seems an habitual fact that on week -ends nothing is working properly! Underground lines closed or partially closed and replacement buses running overcrowded! A terrible journey, that really sucked up my last resources.



Biscuit (http://www.biscuit-biscuit.com/) made the journey worthwhile (but of course next time I will make sure every line is working before even thinking of going). The cafe' itself has a lovely atmosphere, clean and simple; the cakes look delicious and there is a wide variety of biscuits and snack for the children too. Their ceramics come in every shape and size: from tiny bears to big jugs and plates, and depending on the size they are divided into 4 category-prices. Even the lowest category can be expensive as it start at 10 pounds. Nonetheless, thinking that the paint, brushes, glazing, the fun, and taking home something painted by your child that you can actually use are all included in the price, you may conclude that it is not that bad after all.



I chose a mug at 10 pounds for M. to paint. I made her chose the colours she wanted and we set ourselves on a table. M. was really confident, she just sank her brush in the paint and started waving it onto the mug. Colours got mixed and there was too much paint in places which I tryed to spread onto other parts of the mug. When she finished with the background I put paint on her little hand and made an impression of it on a side of the mug, then I drew a flower and a butterfly in black with a thin brush.

It wasn't a bad art after all. In one week it will be glazed and ready for collection. Looking forward to drinking tea in my little artist's mug!

After biscuit we went to the maritime museum, where M. had a fun time looking at the various boats and touching and playing with all the bits and pieces in the "hand on" section.

Both places provided us with a fascinating experience, but not too soon it was time to prepare for the very long and tiring journey home! M. slept in her buggy and woke up when I was getting off from the last bus. Finally home!