Time to reflect
30/11/2022
Building work causes pottery hiatus.
Seep testing
December 2021, I had a lot of ceramics that I still wasn't happy with. Fortunately my family and friends were, so I decided I would take donations for it and set up a Just Giving page for Breast Cancer Research, which currently stands at £355. January 2022 I lost my creative space due to building works, leading to an 8 month hiatus from pottery, but it was never far from my mind. I did however gather skills in laying a reclaim parquet floor and making a parquet desk and side table, not to mention decorating. I also supported my daughter through an injury and became a member of Nuthurst Parish Carbon Busters (I started to think about how this impacts setting up a pottery business) and supporting my son through his A levels.
August 2022 on our family holiday in Pembrokeshire, I spent an afternoon speaking with Mark Walford about glazing (my Achilles heel), chemistry and heat work (the kiln gods), I left with a sample of their clear glaze, recipe to shared if successful! Spurred on I was ready to start making again. My 3 children left in September on their adult journeys (until Xmas anyway), I was able to commandeer space in their bedrooms for drying pieces of work. (Note to self, a studio needs lots of shelves). By now you will have gathered that I lost my work space and I use a community kiln. To hire a kiln you need to fill it, otherwise you are paying to heat an empty space. Filling a kiln depends on the shape of what you make. It takes about 8 weeks to create enough hand built piece of ceramics as I fire each piece twice, bisque and glaze firing. I thought that if I had my work ready by the end of November I would be able to have a stall at a Christmas Craft Fair. As I started making work I found out my kiln share was no longer available, fortunately another one had come on line in Sussex, Adur Firing Ceramics, reaching out to Rebecca, I discussed my work and concerns, fortunately she primarily uses the same underglaze as me and shared a clear glaze that works consistently for her. Forever indebted, this took my work to the next stage. My work however wasn't ready until early December (note to self - stock needs to be ready by October, I'll be ready for 2023) and once you have your work back, you need to do a seep & pour test of functional vessels, and catalogue your work. All important learning steps on my journey.
August 2022 on our family holiday in Pembrokeshire, I spent an afternoon speaking with Mark Walford about glazing (my Achilles heel), chemistry and heat work (the kiln gods), I left with a sample of their clear glaze, recipe to shared if successful! Spurred on I was ready to start making again. My 3 children left in September on their adult journeys (until Xmas anyway), I was able to commandeer space in their bedrooms for drying pieces of work. (Note to self, a studio needs lots of shelves). By now you will have gathered that I lost my work space and I use a community kiln. To hire a kiln you need to fill it, otherwise you are paying to heat an empty space. Filling a kiln depends on the shape of what you make. It takes about 8 weeks to create enough hand built piece of ceramics as I fire each piece twice, bisque and glaze firing. I thought that if I had my work ready by the end of November I would be able to have a stall at a Christmas Craft Fair. As I started making work I found out my kiln share was no longer available, fortunately another one had come on line in Sussex, Adur Firing Ceramics, reaching out to Rebecca, I discussed my work and concerns, fortunately she primarily uses the same underglaze as me and shared a clear glaze that works consistently for her. Forever indebted, this took my work to the next stage. My work however wasn't ready until early December (note to self - stock needs to be ready by October, I'll be ready for 2023) and once you have your work back, you need to do a seep & pour test of functional vessels, and catalogue your work. All important learning steps on my journey.