Land of pieces a’plenty

Jane Blackman’s cosy cottage is a world away from her old home in London.

While riots raged in that area of the capital recently, she thanked goodness for the relative peace and quiet of the Yorkshire countryside.

She and husband John Lewis left city life behind eight years ago when they bought their home in a village just outside York.

“We had a terraced house with a tiny garden and as soon as we had our son Owen we decided we wanted to bring him up somewhere more rural. I don’t regret it at all. The only thing I miss is the cultural side of London but I probably see more of it now I’m here because I make the effort when I go down there,” says Jane, a ceramicist, who bought her cottage on the basis that it was quirky and had space to create a separate workshop.

“It felt right and it has a lot of character. The sitting room dates back to 1750 but the kitchen is pure 1960s. It didn’t need lots of work either, which was another reason for buying it. We’d done so much work to our house in London that we really didn’t want another doer-upper,” she says.

The couple wanted to concentrate on their jobs and on Owen, nine, but they did find time to renovate an old lean-to next to the kitchen.

Its corrugated roof was replaced with a plastic one that allows light to flood in, the floor has been tiled and the walls clad with wood panelling to create a dining room.

They also refreshed paintwork but kept the colours chosen by the former owners. These include a beautiful blue in the sitting room’s bay window, which is a perfect backdrop for Jane’s pots.

Jane worked as a district nurse and later as an environmental psychologist before deciding to pursue her love of art.

“It was always a toss up between art and science when I was younger and I decided to be sensible and pursue a career in science. Looking back I’m pleased because I wasn’t ready for the art then,” she says.

She did an art foundation course, a diploma in ceramics and won a place at the Royal College of Art.

In 1999, she set up a studio making hand-built ceramics using a slabbing technique. Her vessels are sculptural and decorative rather than functional and are painted on the inside with slips, stains, oxides and glazes featuring abstract landscapes and seascapes.

She is a member of Contemporary Applied Arts and her work has been sold and exhibited all over the world including at the V&A.

Her workshop is now in the garage, which she converted by insulating the walls and lining them with plasterboard. She’s also bought a wood burning stove to keep her warm in winter, while she works with the clay and paints both the pots and on canvas.

Her abstract paintings feature in the house, along with a Peter Blake print John bought for her 40th birthday and two paintings by a Vietnamese monk.

She discovered him after winning a scholarship through the RCA to spend a year cycling round Vietnam.

They hang above an old church bench that suits the period property. Most of the furniture is old and bought from the “in need of restoration” section at Tomlinsons Antiques in Wetherby or from the Banana Warehouse in York.

Lamps, knick knacks and ornaments are a combination of charity shop finds and from eBay.

John, a research scientist, is a great eBay fan and his finds include everything from a toasting fork and chestnut roaster to some fabulous French posters and a kitsch Russian lamp created to celebrate the space race.

“We love the lamp but we daren’t plug it in so it’s just for ornamentation,” says Jane.

John’s other hobby is evident from the bottles of home-made beer in the kitchen. He is a keen brewer and his experiments that marry a love of food and drink with his scientific abilities have led to a career change.

With investment from a friend in London and a grant from Defra’s Rural Enterprise Initiative project, he and Jane are setting up the Treboom micro brewery in Shipton-by-Beningbrough and are planning to supply cask ales and bottled beers to pubs and restaurants.

“John has done some training at the Brew Lab in Sunderland and he is going to be head brewer. I’ll be helping part-time,” says Jane.

“We’re hoping to open in October and we’re planning to kit the reception area with retro furniture. It’s very exciting but it may mean moving to be closer to the brewery. That would be a shame as we love this house.

“We’re very happy here and our quality of life has certainly improved since moving from London.

“The pace of life here is much slower.”

* Jane’s ceramics will feature at The Joy of Food exhibition at the Lund Gallery, Easingwold from September 25 to November 6. www.lundgallery.co.uk, tel: 013478 24400.