Innehållsförteckning för #68 från ClayCraft

I t’sdefinitely been an unsettling few weeks. The Queen’s death, sadly, wasn’t much of a surprise. She had been getting obviously frailer over the past few months, but even though we all knew it was coming at some point, when something like this happens, it’s still a shock. I would never have described myself as a monarchist, but I was surprised at how upset I was. She’s always been there, quietly serving, dignified but with a mischievous side that we were occasionally privy to. The way the nation – the world – came together to honour her was truly moving. Then it was the start of the university term, and I, like many of you, I’m sure, bought a wok that’ll never be used, and waved my child off –…

We’ve chatted to a few home studio owners in the past couple of years, and although all of them are intrigued about how we run our classes, one comment comes up again and again. “I couldn’t deal with people all the time.” They are quite right about the need to like people. When someone asks us what we do, of course, we say we run a pottery studio, but the fact is that the pottery studio is a people business, not a clay business. We had an interesting chat with a fellow potter who found it very difficult to get their mind around our lack of interest in ‘selling opportunities’ for our makes. Time and again, they tried to promote fairs and exhibitions to us and were left scratching their…

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You will need: ■ Stoneware clay – amount depends on the size of hotel ■ Rolling pin, 10mm roller guides, plastic sheet ■ General tools – ribs, serrated kidney, wooden spatula, surform etc ■ Dowelling of various diameters ■ Surface decoration of choice – it can be left unglazed if preferred Before you begin: Do a bit of research online to gather ideas for your bug hotel. You’ll be surprised how much information there is – for example, suggestions of how to fill them to encourage different species, and shapes and sizes. However, remember you can only work within the size restrictions of your kiln, and even though you may want to make a large one, maybe start on a small scale first to see if insects…

You will need: ■ Clay of choice – earthenware or stoneware, preferably white if you w ant to glaze in lighter colours – 1.8kg (4lb) for each half of the body and extra for the neck. You will al so need clay to throw a pad for a batt if you don’t have a quick-fit mechanism ■ Toolsfor throwing – wood enbatt, water bowl, sponge, ribs, cutting wire ■ Turningtools ■ Potter’s knife ■ Glazes of choice to suit clay type Before you begin: This vessel is made in three parts, two of which fit together to form the body, with a third section thrown onto the top. The key to success lies in precision measuring and taking the time to get the details right. We suggest that if you…

YOU WILL NEED: ■ White clay – suitable for hand building – earthenware or stoneware ■ General wooden tools and ribs ■ Wooden spatula ■ 5mm dowel ■ Brushes for glaze application ■ Masking tape ■ Brush-on glazes 1 The effect we’re aiming for in this project is that of stacked pebbles, so with this in mind, make a few simple drawings in your sketchbook of shapes you might like to make. Around the drawings, note ideas for colour combinations and any details you might want to be reminded of later as a record of how you visualise the finished bottle. 2 Prepare two balls of clay of equal weight. The examples shown here weigh 227g (8oz) each – a good weight for my palm, but yours can be bigger…

What a month; the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, a new Prime Minister, and for us, a second dose of Covid. It was a sad day when the Queen died. We were in the workshop, live-streaming the Prime Minister talking about the energy crisis in the House of Commons – we’re extremely concerned about this as it has the potential to destroy our business. It became clear that something peculiar was going on. Then came the announcement that the Queen was gravely ill. Later, the news broke that she had died. I think for some of us who have known grief in recent times, it unlocked feelings we have tried to suppress. It was about more than just the Queen passing, and it touched us deeply. I’m not particularly…