Teän Kirby

Where does the Severn Sea end and the world begin? I don’t know, but it’s somewhere between sleeping and waking.

I was born on the Gower coast and named after a tiny island in the Scilly Isles. I fell for the romance of the sea, hook, line and sinker! When we moved to Bristol, I had to live on the coast, so here we are so many years later. It was love at first sight! I won’t pretend that I don’t miss the grandeur of the waves which crash in from the blue Atlantic onto wilder shores.

But the estuary, it’s sands, the gentle, softer light, subtle colours, apricot, violet, lavender. Mists, big skies, constantly changing atmosphere. Textures of sand, mud, tides, strong currents. Coastal woodland. The mighty beech tree in our garden, standing like a sentinel at the waters edge. Mystical Denny island, daily rising from the water and sinking back again. Vast tidal flats, ebb and flow. Water traffic, reminding you that the world is out there. Sunrise, sunset, like living in a Turner painting. All framed by the Welsh coast, sometimes seen, sometimes lost. It’s beguiling, tantalizing, dangerous! What better inspiration could there be? The Severn Sea.

Teän Kirby
www.teonapottery.com