Innehållsförteckning för #70 från ClayCraft

T hisyear really has f lown by; it doesn’t seem like more than a few months since we last made Christmas projects. We’ve gone a bit more low-key this time, with some simple, quick makes. With Covid having essentially removed two years from our timeline, the worrying state of the economy, war in Ukraine, and crippling utility bills, nothing has seemed normal for a very long time. Last Christmas was a write-off for my family – we were all ill in quick succession – and so I’m hoping that this year, despite everything, we can get together and have a relaxed time. No huge presents, nothing over the top, just a fire, games, good food and a drink or two. A return to times past, maybe. When life was simpler,…

Before you begin: We have thrown these little pots directly on the wheel head, but if you aren’t confident about lifting items off the wheel, you can throw them on a batt. If you don’t have a quick-fit mechanism for your wheel, you will need to throw a pad to secure the batt onto – a reminder of how to do you can find this in issue 65, Project 1, Pasta set. You will need: ■ Clay of choice – earthenware or stoneware 200g per pot ■ Tools for throwing – water bowl, sponge, cutting wire, rib ■ Small hole-making tool (a tiny drill bit would be perfect) ■ Decorating method of choice ■ Small cork stoppers for the tops (widely available online or through craft outlets) Dampen, but don’t…

YOU WILL NEED: To make the mould: ■ Potter’s plaster ■ Clay to make models – choose a smooth type ■ Small, non-absorbent board ■ Card for templates ■ Bowls for mixing plaster/measuring jugs ■ Tools for modelling To make the decorations: ■ White-firing paper clay ■ Rolling pin, 2mm and 3mm thick roller guides, plastic sheet ■ Decorating materials of choice However, all the other shapes need to be made in two sections for the shapes to fit together properly. Working on the non-absorbent board and using a marker pen, transfer the outline of your first image by drawing around the template, then turn it over and draw it again as a mirror image, as shown. . Complete the second model in exactly the same way. Note: You can…

You will need: ■ Paper to make templates ■ Ruler, pencil ■ Textured vinyl wallpaper of a suitable type to look bark-like (samples available from most DIY stores, and there are plenty to choose from), or bark texture tool/method of your choice ■ Porcelain clay ■ Rolling pin, plastic sheet, 3-4mm thick roller guides ■ Sharp knife ■ Asmall amount of underglaze colour for the figures Before you begin: This project has a difficulty rating of 5 because we are using porcelain, which is notoriously difficult to work with. In addition, the slabs are much thinner and larger than we have used before, so they require particularly delicate handling. The key to success lies in judging the perfect time to handle the slabs – they cannot be soft because they…

O urseventh Online Exhibition went live just over a week ago, but of course, it wasn’t straightforward, these things never are! In the days running up to the arrival of Shannon Tofts, our photographer, we found a last burst of energy to get the final pots finished up. They came out of the kiln looking lovely, and I was so pleased. It wasn’t until we got them under the brighter lights of the workshop that we noticed that every single piece out of our smallest kiln had begun to shiver on its rim. It’s a real kick in the teeth when it happens, and sometimes it seems to be for no discernible reason, which makes it hard to resolve. However, the ones from the medium-sized kiln were fine, so it…

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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 I recentlytook part in a wood-firing at Kigbeare studios near Okehampton in Devon. The firing lasted five days, with a team of six potters taking four-hour shifts with eight hours off in between. On the first day, we preheated the kiln by burning a few sticks at the front to warm it up. Then we began…

C layWorks was five years old this autumn, but as I have suggested in previous articles, my and Lauren’s backgrounds in teaching and making reach further back in time. This year is my 30th year of making pots, and this month, I look back at my own education and training. In 1992 I was still living in London and had just completed an Art Foundation course, which left me convinced I no longer wanted to paint. Motivated by the need to find an alternative purpose, I found a job and spent my spare time involving myself in several different activities, one of which was a local recreational pottery class. The local authority facilitated the class, which ran within the former art department of an old secondary school; while the equipment…

Note: These underglaze-patterned sheets are referred to as both 'decals' and 'transfers' by different suppliers. They are the same thing – underglaze printed onto tissue/rice paper, which is transferred by wetting the back Before you begin: It just so happens that, annoyed by the mess left behind on the table after using my salt and pepper grinders, I decided to make a shallow tray to stand them in and contain the spillage. And then I thought this would make an excellent example to show applying rice paper transfers in a more precise way to follow on from last month’s method. So this is the reason for the particular shape we are applying the transfers to here, but the principles for cutting and fitting will be the same for all straight-sided…

The venue was an old Royal Ordnance munitions depot in a huge building formerly used to store weapons during the Napoleonic wars. Fascinating history aside, the building now houses Saramica Clay’s new studio, where students can take classes from throwing to glaze-making and slip-casting. Over 40 people arrived to see the local celebrity potters demonstrate their craft and chat about their experiences on the Throw Down. Richard is particularly interested in historical pottery and brought along some of his medieval-inspired work for us to see. He usually works in red earthenware clay, which is low firing and is sometimes called ‘dirty pottery’. However, he started off by using White St Thomas stoneware clay, demonstrating coning up, and opening out and then went on to make a bellied-out jug. His top…

You will need: ■ Clay of choice – earthenware or stoneware ■ Length of 10mm dowelling ■ Rolling pin, plastic sheet, 5mm thick roller guides ■ Small cookie cutter (or similar something round) ■ Selection of tools and ribs ■ Paper to make three oval templates for a base ■ Decorating media of choice Before you begin: We are making the tubes for this project using a simple method as an alternative to extruding the shape. However, if you have an extruder, you can use it to make the tubes; simply skip the relevant steps but follow the construction method. Butt a ruler up to the cut top and extend it over to the other side so you can determine where to cut that side to…

C omingup with wonderful ideas for events at the studio is exciting and fun. “Let’s do a weekend workshop.” Yes! Great idea. “Let’s do an evening demonstrating how to make glazes from scratch and invite all the potters in and around Cheshire.” Brilliant, let’s do that. “Let’s have an Open Studio weekend where we can display and even sell some of our and our class members’ work.” Fabulous. “Let’s do all of this, and our classes, and our taster sessions and our throwing courses in October and early November.” Hmm. Too late. The dates went in the diary, and we are drawing breath for the first time in six weeks after having delivered all of the above. Our first weekend workshop was a complete no-brainer. Fate threw the perfect clinician…