Seals, selkies and the sea

I’m enjoying making new mug designs and the latest is inspired by seals in Morecambe Bay. I’m lucky to live near this beautiful bay - a place of wide open spaces, big skies and an important home to diverse wildlife. And Morecambe Bay gives us locals the most stunning, theatrical sunsets night after night.

Sunset - Morecambe Bay - Lakeland Fells - Teresa Kirk

I’m fascinated by a colony of seals in Morecambe Bay. In the mornings I’ve been enjoying the seal cam at South Walney Nature Reserve, watching seals bob up out of the sea or gather on the beach. They’re such beautiful, curious creatures and they’ve sent me down a rabbithole of folk tales and mythology - of selkies in Scotland, connections to mermaids and merman, and stories that tell of a deep longing to return to the sea.

Seals chasing fish inspired this page of drawings. So far they’ve become a mug for taking to the seaside and are proving popular with customers in Wales and Scotland, and with those of you who tell me you love the sea and wild swimming.

Seals chasing fish at Heysham village on Morecambe Bay