We are fortunate to have living next to the cottage one of Cumbria's best ceramic artists - Steve Valentine. We asked him to place some of his work in the cottage and shown below are the pieces you will be able to enjoy during your stay.

What Steve has to say about his work:

I use a heavily grogged crank clay, especially for my garden sculptures. This type of clay has the rough, natural feel that I am looking for. I hand build all of my pieces by rolling a slab of clay and then building the shape that I want. Not one slab of clay I roll out is planned to become a particular object, my hands find the form and then manipulate it into the thing it is going to become. To get the surface design I use naturally found tools such as stones, shells and twigs found on local fells and beaches. I then use my fingers to add a unique fingerprint to my pieces. The use of natural objects to make the surface design adds a dimension not evident in other ceramics. It adds a unique dimension once the clay sheet is formed and is always a one-off.

Once the form is created it has to stand for a week or so until the clay goes 'leather hard'. When the clay is leather hard, the pieces are 'biscuit fired' at 1000oC, which completely dries the clay and prepares the surface for glazing. During the biscuit firing, the pieces can shrink by up to 10% in volume. For surface colouring I use natural earth oxides, such as rutile, iron and vanadium, and then a matt light-oatmeal glaze. Once glazed I fire my work to 'stoneware' or 1260oC-1280oC, which makes the clay completely non-porous and frost proof.

Although I appreciate the skill in producing neat and tidy pieces, I actually like my ceramics left with a rough appearance due to my unconventional approach to slab rolling, hand building and mark making.

I choose not to produce thrown forms but if I did, I would end up altering them to make them appear dishevelled and aged! You will see that the results of my work is an edgy, raw, robust form combined with rustic natural elements. Look out for my ever growing boat range seen at a show near you.

Steve has an open workshop so you can visit him or take part in one of his sculpting courses during your stay - you can visit his website at www.edgeceramics.co.uk