Innholdsfortegnelse for #69 i ClayCraft

We’ve been lucky with the weather this autumn. It’s been unseasonably warm until now, which has been great in terms of saving money and not having the heating on. We’ve got wood-burning stoves, so we can often avoid using the oil-fired central heating until Christmas, but there’s no doubt the weather’s on the turn now. I’m acutely aware of the financial challenges that working potters face, and so I was very interested to read about the Cheshire Clay Studio’s transition to low-firing glazes (see page 66). They’re lucky that they have the in-house expertise to adapt their existing high-firing glazes with some clever chemistry, saving money both by not having to replace big batches with new glazes and by firing the kiln to a lower temperature. I’m sure the manufacturers…

Anglian Potters are back. From the 19th November to the 11th December, local potters will be offering handmade work – ideal for a unique Christmas present. Whether you're looking for studio pottery, handmade tableware, sculpture, or a work of art, you'll find it here. The potters continue their annual tradition by donating unique handmade decorations for the charity Christmas tree. Visitors can see all the pieces on display at All Saints Church on Jesus Lane, Cambridge. This year, all proceeds will go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association in memory of Peter Warren, long-time Anglian Potters member and editor of the Newsletter. All Saints Church Jesus Lane Cambridge CB5 8BP November 19th to December 11th 10am to 4pm every day except Mondays No entry fee If you have a news…

Linda Bloomfield is a scientist turned potter. More glaze recipes can be found in her books, Advanced Pottery (2011), Colour in Glazes (A&C Black 2012), The Handbook of Glaze Recipes (Bloomsbury 2014) and Science for Potters (The American Ceramic Society 2017). Her new book Special Effect Glazes, and the second edition of Colour in Glazes are both out now. Linda has recently launched her online glazing course, How Glazes Work, on her website: lindabloomfield.co.uk D uring the 1960s and ’70s, many potters moved to the countryside to set up potteries in farm buildings where they had space to build kilns and wood-fire. Well-known wood-firing potters include John Leach, who set up his studio and woodland in Muchelney in Somerset, Clive Bowen, and Svend Bayer in Devon. I have noticed a…

Cooking up a storm in the glaze room With about 50-60 people a week coming into the studio for classes, taster sessions and courses, one of our ongoing tasks is ensuring we have enough materials to keep everyone happy. From early on, we realised that buying readymade glazes would be prohibitively expensive for class situations. Fortunately, we had in-house expertise to make a basic range of dipping glazes. From the beginning, Cheshire Clay Studio has had a glaze-making area where we can safely mix the chemicals for these large buckets of glaze. As we have grown in conf idence and our class members want to experiment with more interesting glazes, glaze-making has become a big part of what we do in the studio. Today, we have the expertise of Philip…

Visit Charleston, East Sussex, for the winter Designer and Maker Fair. Discover artisan wares, support local independent businesses and fill up your Christmas stocking. On the 26th-27th of November, the Hay Barn will be brimming with stalls from over 30 local and independent artists, ceramicists, designers and makers – just in time for the holiday season. The makers and designers will also be on hand to discuss their work, influences and ideas. Upgrade your festive weekend and join a wreathmaking workshop with Sarah Whiting of NettleWood Flowers. The workshops include wintry hot drinks, stollen and free entry to the Designer and Maker Fair. Caccia & Tails will serve Italian-inspired festive treats to fuel your retail therapy. Why not make a day of it? Explore the wintry walled garden and book…

The Royal College of Art (RCA) is delighted to announce a significant new scholarship endowment that will award six annual scholarships of £35,000 each year over the next two decades – the Märit Rausing Scholarships in Ceramics & Glass – thanks to the remarkable generosity of Julia and Hans Rausing. The scholarships will be open for the next academic year and will be for suitably qualified UK students who apply to study MA Ceramics & Glass at the RCA – a one-year, 45-week course. They will cover full fees and contribute towards living expenses and materials, opening up higher level study in this area to people from a wide range of financial backgrounds. The scholarships have been made possible by a generous donation of £6.1m from Julia and Hans Rausing,…

DIFFICULTY RATING ★★★☆☆ Before you begin: This lantern is made from slabs that are thicker than we normally suggest, to make it sturdier for garden use. The former tube you choose must be large enough to hold a chunky candle once fired, so bear this in mind when selecting one. Also, you will need the diameter of the tube to work out the size of the wooden dish template required – this should be 1-2cm wider than the diameter of the tube. You will need: ■ Paper – to make templates (lining paper is useful for making templates) ■ Apair of compasses ■ Pencil, craft knife ■ Large tube (carpet roll tubes are great or look for wide drainage pipes in a DIY store) ■ Wooden (or…

DIFFICULTY RATING ★★★★★ You will need: ■ Sheets of underglaze decals like the Sanbao examples shown here. Note: If you’re decorating the ring vase from project 4, as shown in the following steps, you will need two sheets of decals. ■ Abowl of water and a sponge (alternatively, you could use a brush) 1 Buying the decals Sanbao seems to have the widest selection of ready-made decals, which it offers in a choice of colours, albeit limited to about four. However, these are excellent decals which transfer easily to the clay surface. You can buy these decals directly from Sanbao itself, based in Jingdezhen in China, but many UK ceramic suppliers stock a wide range of them – Blue Matchbox Supplies has a particularly good selection. A little…

Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), until 12th February 2023 Lucie Rie (1902-1995) was a ceramicist with immense technical knowledge and an inventive, experimental approach. She created thousands of beautiful and original pieces which transformed how ceramics were made and viewed in the UK and beyond. Rie is among the most celebrated potters of the 20th century, and she carved out her career as an independent female potter in a male-dominated industry. This new exhibition brings together more than 100 of her works from public and private collections, offering a rare opportunity to experience her ground-breaking practice across six decades. As well as domestic ware, she made individual pots for commission. She innovated techniques with different clays and glazes; sometimes combining ingredients to create glazes that bubbled or melted when…

DIFFICULTY RATING ★★★☆☆ YOU WILL NEED: ■ Clay – earthenware or stoneware, preferably white-firing if you want to decorate as shown ■ General wooden tools and ribs ■ Abee stamp – available from ceramic suppliers and craft outlets, this one is from MKM. ■ Underglaze colours – black and yellow/orange ■ Glaze – transparent or coloured transparent 1 Prepare a 450g (1lb) ball of clay or an amount that sits comfortably in your hand and that you feel confident to pinch. Press your thumb through the centre of the clay until you feel some pressure in your palm. 2 Remove your thumb from the clay and replace it with a finger, then using a finger from your other hand, pinch out the base of the pot to a flat width…

DIFFICULTY RATING ★★★☆☆ You will also need: ■ Asmall polystyrene ring – widely available from many craft outlets or online stores ■ Clay of choice – earthenware or stoneware ■ Rolling pin, 5mm thick roller guides, plastic sheet ■ General selection of wooden tools and ribs ■ Short length of 10mm dowelling Before you begin: Polystyrene rings are available in many sizes and are relatively inexpensive to buy. Don’t be too ambitious to begin with; choose a smaller one to practice on first. If you like the result, you can easily move to a larger size. You can also buy them as half-rings with a flat back – these will work just as well. Begin by recording some ideas for your vase in your sketchbook. Draw a few simple circles…

What a month, a new Prime Minister... hang on, didn’t last month’s diary start like this? What a shambles. We have been so busy these past weeks, a midweek trip to Edinburgh for the opening of our show at the Scottish Gallery and many late nights in the workshop, making pots for our upcoming Online Exhibition. As ever, there have been complications, this time self-inf licted, which I’ll explain later. As I sit here in my fireside chair writing, I know that there is little more making that can be done and that the final kilns will be fired in the next couple of days, full up with pots, which will be out just in time for the arrival of our photographer Shannon Tofts, early next week, on Hannah’s birthday…