The beginning....

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog post.  I've been procrastinating about starting a blog for years, the main reason being the time commitment. I'd hope Facebook would make a good substitute, having used it for years to keep in touch with family and old friends overseas, but I’m quickly learning that a Facebook page is not quite as straight forward or as easy to negotiate as I'd hoped it would be.  So here I am at the beginning of a new journey, one where I hope to make new friends, one that I hope you will find interesting, and one that I hope we will both find rewarding.

Now for the bio bit.....

My name is Melanie McGready.  I live and work in a small village called Spa in a beautifully scenic part of Northern Ireland.   I’m not originally from here.  I was born in England and brought up all over the place: Australia, USA & Saudi Arabia to name a few.  My Dad's Australian, my Mum's English, and I’m very much a mixture of the two.

I studied photography at College many moons ago in the pre digital era, and although I have an absolute passion for photography, I have always had creative impulses to do more with my hands and when I discovered polymer clay back in 2010, so began my journey with clay.  I fell in love with the versatility of the medium and set out to learn every technique going.  The possibilities are endless and five years on I still can’t wait to try the next technique on my ‘to do’ list.  I bought a small electric kiln in 2014 and now I’m hooked on ceramic and precious metal clay too.  Subsequently Cherryhill Studio was born.  I'm very passionate about what I do and every piece I make, and feel blessed that I can.

If I’m not hiding in my little studio sanctuary you’ll find me kept busy by my husband, four daughters, six alpacas, two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’s, and a gorgeous British Short Hair kitten named Casper, who I’m considering renaming ‘Claws’.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and becoming part of my journey. xx