Welcome to the first of my monthly blog updates and musings from the pottery. Earlier this month I launched my website crowandharepottery.com with the guidance and skilled help of web designer Niki Paterson and I have many plans for 2026 which I will share with you in these monthly blogs and the quarterly email newsletters (if you are interested in subscribing for the newsletter updates please head over to my website and pop in your details on my newsletter form).

January is not a beginning in the bright, bursting sense. It is a threshold month, a time of quiet, cold, and inward facing. In the Gregorian calendar, it is the first month of the year but in the old pagan calendar, this is the deep wintertime. The earth rests beneath frost and rain, seeds held tight in dark soil, dreaming of warmth. The world feels still, but beneath the surface everything is preparing.

This is the in-between season from Yule and of Imbolc’s approach, when the first stirrings of life begin to whisper, even if we cannot yet see them. January belongs to the realm of the Crone – the wise winter aspect of the goddess. She rules over endings, rest, and deep knowing.

In Celtic folklore, this is a time of:

• divination and dreaming
• tending hearth and home
• honouring ancestors
• clearing away what no longer serves

January is named from the roman God Janus, who is the god of doorways, beginnings, and endings, depicted with two faces looking forward and back.

Not a month for rushing forward, but for listening. It is a time for planning and preparation and in the Studio Pottery this is just what is happening.

In the Studio Pottery

My pottery practice in January is always slow. The studio is cold and the small trek down the garden seems harder when its frosty or wet. Also, the daylight fades so quickly and sitting in room with bright overhead lights when the view out of the windows is pitch black can feel a bit spooky.  The cold changes how clay behaves; my body is stiff in the cold and my hands ache after hours of working with cold wet clay. Everything takes longer to dry and requires more time and patience.

I do have a couple of heaters to help keep me warm and I have a kettle to warm up my water. This is the month when I recycle my clay, re organise the pottery and give it a good clean and generally work quietly and slowly – preparing the ground for the brighter and hopefully warmer months ahead.

In all honesty January is a time when I usually sit in my warm home and plan out what I am going to make, sketching ideas and doing research. There is something deeply comforting about the ritual of preparation. January teaches us that rest is not laziness, it is part of creation itself. Before anything grows, it must first be held in darkness.

May this month bring stillness, warmth, and quiet courage for the year ahead.

A Small January Ritual

Make a comforting herbal or fruit tea to boost energy levels. Here are two of my favourites.

Morning Sunshine Brew

A lovely fresh stimulating drink to start your day with the boost of vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties of ginger and turmeric. Makes 1 serving:

INGREDIENTS	METHOD
2 clementines or 1 orange 3cm piece of peeled ginger sliced thinly A small piece of fresh turmeric root or ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder 250mls hot water Organic honey to taste	Half the clementines/orange and squeeze the juice into a teapot. Add the squeezed fruit husks, along with all the other ingredients except the honey into the teapot. Pour over freshly boiled water to cover and leave to steep for 5 minutes and then strain into a mug and add honey to sweeten if you want.

Afternoon Boost Latte

The matcha tea gives a good sustained energy boost along with the protein packed nut milk. If you can’t do nuts then sub with a milk that you can drink – oat, soya, cow or goat milk are all good options. Makes 1 serving:

INGREDIENTS	METHOD
250mls almond milk (or whatever milk substitute you are using) 2 drops of vanilla extract or ¼ pod of vanilla seeds Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon matcha powder ½ – 1 teaspoon of honey (raw, organic, flower) or maple syrup	In a pan gently warm the milk with the vanilla and nutmeg and bring to a soft rolling boil and then remove from heat. Whisk in matcha powder until frothy and sweeten to taste. You can serve warm or in hotter months make in advance and pop into fridge and serve cold with an ice cube.