Innholdsfortegnelse for #41 i ClayCraft

Welcome

Welcome It’s heartening to see that studios and galleries are starting to re-open. I completely understand that there’s an economic need to start returning to some semblance of normality, and I know how hard it has been for everyone. The pandemic has hit every area of our lives, and its effects will be long-lasting. I do think that mitigation measures can be successfully applied in most cases and that trading can and should start up again, albeit with a new way of working. We should also be prepared to make changes on the fly, as and when things develop. But potters are resilient and adaptable; just look at some of the wonderful things that have been born out of this situation. Community projects, peer support, new bodies of work, and…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

THE POTTERS GALLERY OPEN

THE POTTERS GALLERY OPEN This Conwy gallery is now open, initially for limited days due to some of its members isolating, and of course with safety measures in place for visitors and staff. Running for the whole of August 2020 is: Maker of the Month – Philip Jolley Wonderful surface decoration and colour, combined with handbuilt vessels, wall pieces and tiles. Open on selected days during August. The Potters Gallery 1 High St, Conwy, LL32 8DB Tel 01492 593590 thepottersgallery.co.uk…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION Claire Porter has spent her lockdown creating a mini salt kiln! Before Covid, I was a small business owner running a successful and growing pottery business. By Easter, like so many other craftspeople, stuck indoors with no income and dwindling clay supplies, I realised necessity really is the mother of invention – so while my husband and No2 son started building me an online shop, and No1 son took over my studio hand-building a full-size toilet (à la Great Pottery Throw Down), I started planning a new kiln. But what type of kiln? I didn’t have any bricks for a wood kiln, and I already have gas and raku kilns, so I hunted out Ian Gregory’s book on Alternative Kilns. I loved the Little…

4 min

ClayCraft|#41

SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Subscribe to Clay Craft Pay just £44.99 for 12 issues SAVING 34% ON THE SHOP PRICE Join us for step-by-step makes, tips and inspiration. Inside every issue of ClayCraft you’ll find practical handson guides to our projects – throwing and hand-building; Linda Bloomfield’s regular feature on glazes, and Doug Fitch’s diary column. Other features include established potters, suppliers and studios, and you can find local courses in our comprehensive listing. Save money by subscribing today! Editor GREAT REASONS TO HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION GET THE DIGITAL EDITION PAY JUST £34.99 FOR 12 ISSUES Download your magazines to your device and carry them with you to read anywhere, anytime. SAVE UP TO 47% SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/CRA Available across all devices. Savings based on the usual print cover…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

How to use Glazy part 5:

How to use Glazy part 5: EARTHENWARE GLAZES AND INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTION Glazy.org is an online glaze database created by Derek Au. Most recipes on Glazy are high-fire (cone 10, 1300°C) or mid-fire stoneware (cone 6, 1240°C) but there are also some earthenware glaze recipes. At earthenware temperatures (cone 04-02, 1060-1100°C) colours can be brighter, although the clay body will not be fully vitrified and the ware may be porous unless completely covered in glaze and fired on stilts. To search for earthenware recipes on Glazy.org, go to Recipes and search under All Temps for Low. Most Glazy users are American and use commercial American frits containing boron, including Ferro frit 3124, Ferro frit 3134 and Ferro frit 3195. In the UK you can substitute standard borax frit, but you may…

4 min

ClayCraft|#41

COMPETITION

COMPETITION WIN a complete kiln start-up package In celebration of good health and 50 years of good business, the team at Northern Kilns is giving away one of its newly launched plugin kilns - The LITTLE CHIEF The LITTLE CHIEF is the smallest kiln in the Chieftain range, a premium top-loading kiln, complete with controller, furniture, VIP delivery into position and tuition - offering you a complete start-up package, or a great addition to an experienced potter’s studio as a test kiln The competition is easy to enter, absolutely free and open to everyone. We wish you luck - the competition closes on 31 August 2020 What is the Little Chief? Volume: 45 litres (1.6ft3) Internal dimensions: 405mm x 340mm (16” x 13.5”) (diameter x height) Power: 3kW, 13 Amps…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

COURSES

COURSES Do you run a course that you’d like to see here? Email claycraft.ed@kelsey.co.uk for free inclusion in our listing SCOTLAND CLAY WORKS STUDIO Courses: All levels from beginners to intermediate. Taster courses, general pottery and throwing courses. Open access facility for more advanced makers coming soon Dates: See website Location: Dumfries & Galloway clayworksstudios.co.uk DUNDEE CERAMICS WORKSHOP Courses: Classes for all levels from beginner to intermediate, for individuals and groups. 1-1 tuition available. Open studio access and kiln hire for members Dates: Throughout the year (see website) Location: Dundee dundeeceramicsworkshop.com FORGAN ARTS CENTRE Courses: All levels and ages catered for in hand building, throwing, Raku, sgraffito and mishima Dates: Various (see website) Location: Newport on Tay, Fife forganartscentre.co.uk HOLY LOCH POTTERY Courses: Hand building & throwing tuition for all…

28 min

ClayCraft|#41

ARTS COUNCIL FUNDING

ARTS COUNCIL FUNDING Kingsgate Workshops is thrilled to announce that it has received funding from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to run a socially distant programme for the next six months. It will be commissioning digital artworks for desktops and running a new mail art initiative: Kingsgate Postal Service. Desktop Backdrops – each month, one artist will be invited to make a new digital work for people to upload to their desktop background. The first commission is by Ella Belenky, and it launched on 1 July. Kingsgate Postal Service (KPS) – every fortnight an artist will be commissioned to make an edition to be sent by post. One writer will also be invited to work with this artist to produce a piece of text to be sent alongside the…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

WETHERIGGS UPDATE

WETHERIGGS UPDATE There has been a development in the campaign to save the historic Wetheriggs Pottery site. The developer who bought the site has offered to sell the plot containing the historic listed Wetheriggs Pottery buildings, including the unique Beehive kiln for £250,000. Naturally, obtaining an offer to sell is a big step forward, and the campaigners want to get your input at this stage. The offer to sell presents two options; would you like to see Wetheriggs Pottery reopened to the public as a working pottery again, which teaches people about the history of English Country Pottery, offers pottery classes, art classes and has studio space and a museum containing important pottery artefacts and historical information related to Wetheriggs? The other option is for the historic part of Wetheriggs…

2 min

ClayCraft|#41

COLOUR SAMPLE PANEL

PROJECT TWO COLOUR SAMPLE PANEL If you like to decorate surfaces with colour, be it underglaze, glaze or lustre, for example, it’s far better to have a real reference for the colours as opposed to a glossy picture in a catalogue. This simple panel shows at a glance how a colour will look on your work, and will save you the trouble of testing each time You will need: Paper to make templates ■ Cutting knife ■ White firing clay – porcelain is best if making a colour panel for lustre, but make the panel from the clay you mostly use – earthenware or stoneware ■ Rolling pin, plastic sheet, 3-5mm roller guides ■ Absorbent board ■ Small texture stamp – can be any shape but a small rectangle is…

4 min

ClayCraft|#41

Commemorative work

Commemorative work Ceramic artists Emma Rodgers and Jacob Chan recently collaborated on a prestigious project to create a commemorative tea set to be presented to the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong The Water Dragon theme was inspired by, and is a celebration of, the prime minister’s name – Hsien Loong – which was given to him by his father and means ‘Illustrious Dragon’. In keeping with this theme, fluidity was a key part of the design. Jacob created the thrown form using JB Porcelain onto which Emma sculpted and added the details of the dragon encircling and flowing around the teapot. The main body of the piece features the dragon gliding through water. A porcelain casting slip was applied to the surface to create the droplets of water.…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

WIN!

WIN! We have two copies of Linda Bloomfield’s latest book, Special Effect Glazes to give away in a free draw Enter online at: claycraft.co.uk/bookcompetition The first two names drawn at random after the competition closes at midnight on 21 August 2020 will each receive a copy of the book* Experienced ceramicist and ClayCraft contributor Linda Bloomfield’s latest book guides readers through the world of special effect glazes; from drippy and crackle to ash and lichen glazes. Beautifully illustrated with pieces from both emerging and established potters that showcase stunning copper oxide-blues, metallic bronzes and manganese-pink crystal glazes, Special Effect Glazes is packed full of recipes to try out: from functional oilspot glazes using iron oxide, to explosive lava glazes. As well as discovering glaze recipes, you can learn the basic…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

Pottle Muddery gets potty-mouthed

Confessions of a novice Pottle Muddery gets potty-mouthed Perhaps I speak for all of us at the moment, when I say CENSORED!! It seems so long ago that I made my Hope blooms. So much has happened; so much has changed; so much remains uncertain. Every now and then I find myself letting off steam with a few choice words; sometimes more than a few. Occasionally I let out some very choice words at very high volume. Perhaps that’s why when I saw the issue 40 tube-lining, all I could think of was expressively piping swear-words onto clay. It was an image that kept coming back to me, and when it did, I felt a sense of peace. I began to think that if I trailed some serious swear-words onto…

9 min

ClayCraft|#41

APPEAL FOR CHILDREN'S CLAY KIT FUNDING

APPEAL FOR CHILDREN'S CLAY KIT FUNDING The Mud Gang, a small pottery studio in Lambeth, is hoping to supply The Childhood Trust with 50 clay kits for disadvantaged children in its local community. The Trust works with primary aged children at schools in Brixton who receive free school meals. The team at the studio is passionate about the benefits to mental health and wellbeing that come from creative outlets and want to make their craft accessible to as many people as possible so that they can benefit from it too. "We would love to be able to engage and enrich the lives of members of our community through these kits. Once their work is completed, we'll fire and glaze them to be treasured and enjoyed forever," they said. "We also…

1 min

ClayCraft|#41

MUGS FIVE WAYS

PROJECT ONE MUGS FIVE WAYS Throwing mugs is one of the best ways to practice repeat production. You begin with the same amount of clay each time and just keep going until you've made the required number in exactly the same proportions. The old saying 'practice makes perfect' really does apply in this case You will need: ■ Clay – stoneware or earthenware (see note about clay weights, below) ■ Tools for throwing – water bowl, sponge, rib, cutting wire ■ Turning tools of choice ■ Glazes of choice to suit clay type Before you begin: You will learn how to throw five different shapes in this project, then how to pull and attach handles to complement each shape, bearing in mind how comfortable they are to hold. The initial…

15 min

ClayCraft|#41

BISQUE PLATE RING

PROJECT THREE BISQUE PLATE RING This is a very useful mould for making plates in repeat, especially if you make several rings at a time. They easily stack for space-saving storage YOU WILL NEED: ■ Circular batt in a size you would like to make your plate ■ Clay – any type will do ■ Stiff card ■ Craft knife ■ Ruler ■ Marker pen ■ Stiff plastic kitchen scraper – the type used for cake making are best ■ Cutting mat if you have one ■ A small block of wood + a length of chamois leather ACTUAL SIZE TEMPLATE: Begin by transferring the given template to a sheet of card, then carefully cut the shape out using a ruler to ensure the cut lines are straight. Place the…

3 min

ClayCraft|#41

BACK TO BASICS – A RETURN TO THE CYLINDER

PROJECT FOUR BACK TO BASICS – A RETURN TO THE CYLINDER Most of you will know by now that the cylinder is the basic form from which many thrown items are developed. Learning to throw one well is an important skill to perfect, so in this issue, we return to this basic technique to show that even the simplest of shapes can be made into something sophisticated You will need: ■ Clay – earthenware or stoneware. Any colour, but white stoneware if you want to put a celadon-type glaze on the finished item ■ Tools for throwing – water bowl, sponge, cutting wire, rib ■ Glaze of choice to suit clay type Before you begin: We really are going right back to the basics here, including how to centre the…

11 min

ClayCraft|#41

FIRING – ELECTRIC KILNS

FIRING – ELECTRIC KILNS With the lockdown preventing access to teaching spaces where the firing is done for them, more people are buying kilns to use at home, so we thought it might be helpful to include a guide to firing an electric kiln (Photos: Northern Kilns) • Electric kilns are generally the best choice for the beginner – especially those living in urban environments because they burn cleanly, are safe and easy to fire with generally predictable outcomes. • These kilns are available in many sizes, some small enough to fire in a domestic situation. • Sophisticated programmers/controllers mean that you don't have to kiln-sit to turn up the temperature and make sure electric kilns fire smoothly. • Top-loading kilns are usually less expensive than front loaders – will…

9 min

ClayCraft|#41

Doug’s DIARY

Doug’s DIARY (Photo: Layton Thompson) The recent weeks have seen weather in extremes, which is quite characteristic of the climate up here. After a prolonged spell of scorching sunshine, worrying that the river that supplies water to our house might run dry, we’re now into the rainy season, as though a switch had been flicked. The countryside is still vibrant with a breath-taking array of wild flowers, meadowsweet and willow herb just taking the stage in the hedgerows and in the forest where Hannah and I continue to run in an attempt to complete Couch to 5K, foxgloves tower above a miniature world of speedwell and trefoil. It’s beautiful and fragrant and unfortunately brings with it a high pollen count, as Hannah and Fred are finding out to their cost,…

7 min