Philippa de Burlet

Serving plates

Thrown porcelain plates painted with underglaze and oxides.

THE PANDEMIC EFFECT

Covid 19 has shaken the world and affected us all. Even if we avoid the illness we cannot escape its many repercussions.

I found lockdown both awful and wonderful in equal measures. I missed my children and grandchildren and worried about them. But I loved walking while Dartmoor and its lanes were deserted and the skies were empty of planes. Traffic stopped and the world was full of sunshine, birdsong and busy insects.

I had bursts of activity in my workshop followed by paralysis when I listened to and read the news obsessively. There was some uncertainty about food supplies at the beginning of lockdown so we dug and planted a veg patch. We talked about food a lot and one of my daughters commented that plates were better than bowls for serving food so I made some plates.

By the time the family arrived at my house in July, the veg patch was bursting with peas and beans and the children loved picking them. Mostly they ate them raw, barefoot in the garden, no plates required.