What’s in the Saggar?

ByJoseph Travis

For the uninitiated, I should explain what a Saggar is, it is a big piece of pottery that smaller pottery is sealed in.  Traditionally this was done in Stoke on Trent to protect the pottery from the coal fire that they fired their kilns with. Modern Potters use them to get a reduction environment inside an electric kiln, this stops the kiln from getting damaged and brings some different effects to the pots. I threw a a saggar a few years ago and it has been sat on the top shelf on my studio for a few years now, not…

Peter Goodridge

ByJoseph Travis

This last week I learnt that Peter Goodridge has died.  He isn’t a well known name in the ceramics world but I had the pleasure of meeting him at the International Ceramics Festival 2015 in Aberystwyth.  He was the Site Supervisor and I was a volunteer for the second time. He was an amazing person that inspired those that worked with him, cared about the volunteers that worked with him and he led by example.  He found out about my research and what I did on my Masters project and fought for me to be put in charge of social…

What’s in a Shed? Or how I have been teaching myself CAD

What’s in a Shed? Or how I have been teaching myself CAD

ByJoseph Travis

In 2016 I started working as a Design Technology Technician at a local school, after I finished my Masters I felt like a change.  The job means I work in a variety of materials, mainly wood and plastics but also metals.  There is also an element of electronics which the department wants to expand in an I have qualifications in, so I am helping them expand what they offer to their students. The other main skill that they offer is computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM), we have a laser cutter, cnc router and 3D printer that…

The Potters Cast

The Potters Cast

ByJoseph Travis

Back in February I was interviewed by Paul Blais on The Potters Cast and it was just released as episode 214.  Please have a listen and let me know what you think.  Currently I am testing a new Social Media Platform that I quite like, join the mailing list to find out more in the next week or so.    

Am I thinking too much?

ByJoseph Travis

“Better to put Spirit into the Materials” -Jacques Kauffman This last weekend I travelled to Scotland and back to be part of a friend’s wood and soda kiln firing. The journey was a long one taking me 12 hours for the return trip, so I went well armed with a sketchbook and an iPod loaded with my two favourite podcasts The Potters Cast and Tales of a Red Clay Rambler. As I travelled I listened to the podcasts and sketched what I saw out of the window. It was a pleasant way to travel alone to somewhere I have never…