Innehållsförteckning för #66 från ClayCraft

ClayCraft Magazine www.claycraft.co.uk Kelsey Media The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL EDITORIAL Editor: Rachel Graham; claycraft.ed@kelsey.co.uk Consultant editors: Jacqui Atkin, Kevin Millward Contributors: Jacqui Atkin, Linda Bloomfield, Doug Fitch, Kevin Millward, Lisa Pritchard, Simon Shaw Project photography: Philip Wilkins p.wilkins@btinternet.com Design: Focused On Design Ltd design@focusedondesign.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Talk Media Sales Simon Hyland, 01732 445327 simon.hyland@talkmediasales.co.uk Talk Media Sales Ad Production Manager: Nick Bond 01732 445325 production@talkmediasales.co.uk MANAGEMENT Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden Managing Director: Kevin McCormick Chief Executive: Steve Wright Publisher: Mark Winterton Retail Director: Steve Brown Audience Development Manager: Andy Cotton Events Manager: Kat Chappell Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Hayley Brown Subscription Marketing Director: Gill Lambert Subscription Marketing Manager: Nick McIntosh Subscriptions 12 issues of ClayCraft are published per annum…

‘Our Town’ is a community project, funded by The Arts Council, bringing everyone in the local Ashbourne area together through clay. Young and old have contributed to this major installation comprising 1,500 ceramic houses, shops and local landmarks in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The installation, conceived by Sarah Heaton and Helen Cammiss, owners of The Clayrooms Pottery Studio in the town centre, “celebrates the unique and historic place we all call home”. Everyone from toddlers to Keith Brymer Jones went along to make a building! ‘We have been blown away with the response to our project… it’s been a particular joy to watch school children absorbed in the creative process,’ says Helen. ‘We challenged our growing band of studio members to take on the challenge of recreating some of the familiar and…

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 P otsare usually biscuit-fired before glazing so that they are less fragile to handle and more porous for the absorption of glaze. However, it is possible to raw-glaze unfired ware. This can be done either at the leatherhard or bone-dry stage. At the leatherhard stage of dryness, the clay will not be very absorbent, so the…

Whenyou are standing in 36-degree heat, in a greenhouse, with one bag of clay left to service 48 people for a week, it’s hard to remember that we started a clay studio for fun. Fortunately, and in the nick of time, the clay delivery arrived, and several hot and sweaty people unloaded 500kg into the sweltering greenhouse. The classes never knew how close they came to taking up crochet. Not every day in the daily life of Cheshire Clay Studio is so dramatic. Mostly we just get on with the day-today running of our medium-sized pottery studio, but it does have its moments. Quite a few of those moments involve one of us wondering, “Just how did we get here?” A bit of background might be useful at this point.…

I ’m very pleased to announce that this month sees the start of a new blog from the Cheshire Clay Studio. Jacqui Atkin and I first visited them in 2018, when they were the Cheshire Clay Collective, and we spent a lovely day marvelling at the facilities they had. Located on a farmyard, they had inherited a huge glasshouse at the back of the studio, which was perfect for ‘outdoor’ firing, while still being under cover. The team kept in touch with us, and we learned that they’d been able to expand their interior space to fill the rest of the building. Theirs is an interesting story of a group coming together when the class they were attending, closed. Keen to keep everyone close, instead of finding an alternative class,…

If you ever want to make tiles in repeat, using a mould is the perfect solution for quick production–this project shows you how You will need: ■ Clay – preferably a smooth variety to make the model, with extra to build cottle walls ■ Rolling pin, 10mm thick roller guides, plastic sheet ■ Plaster and scales for weighing ■ Bucket or large jug for plaster mix ■ Mould-maker’s size (soft soap) and brush Before you begin: The subject for the tile demonstrated in this project is a much-stylised bird on a leafy background, inspired by mid-century Scandinavian design. You don’t have to copy this design, but the principles are the same whatever image you use DIFFICULTY RATING ★★★★★  4 Place the traced template over the slab and redraw the design…

Europe’s most prestigious ceramics festival is thrilled to be back at the stunning Royal Windsor Racecourse to celebrate its 28th year of the show, where discerning homeowners seeking that unique finishing touch to their décor can discover and buy acclaimed ceramic artwork. Along with the strong lineup of the pottery world’s most knowledgeable and experienced potters, well-known artists and up-and-coming ceramicists will both display and sell their art at the Royal Windsor Racecourse, Berkshire on 19th, 20th and 21st August 2022. In addition to the 200 exhibitors showcasing their art, a full daily programme will include: ● Ceramic talks and demonstrations ● A Clay Creation Zone – throw a pot on a potter’s wheel, have a go at Raku firing or make a creation by hand with guidance from an…

You will need: ■ Clay of choice – earthenware or stoneware, preferably white-firing if wanting to decorate as shown – approximately 1.8kg (4lb) in total ■ Tools for throwing: water bowl, sponge, ribs, cutting wire ■ Batts for finished items ■ Underglaze colours of choice (or slips) ■ Brushes for application ■ Decorative sponge – shape of choice (see below for information) ■ Fine sgraffito tool ■ Transparent glaze Before you begin: A note about sponge shapes Shaped sponges are widely available from craft outlets or discount stores (in children’s toy departments) for very little cost. They are a little difficult to cut to shape yourself, but you can overcome the problem if you dampen it first and then freeze it – a sharp craft knife should then easily slice…

What a month it’s been, with several important deadlines all arriving together. It’s been hard work, night after night, working until way past midnight, but we’ve met our targets and more, and we’re very pleased with what we’ve achieved. There have been frustrations and heartaches this month, failures and triumphs. As I sit here writing tonight, we are in a static caravan near Penrith, having just set up our stand at Potfest in the Park, which opens tomorrow. This will be home for the next three days. Many of our potter friends camp, but I’m afraid I need my home comforts too much, and I decided I was too old for camping about 10 years ago, so we always find somewhere more suited to a man of my years. That…