So I was given the opportunity to run some workshops for LEFTCOAST our local arts organisation and I decided it was as good a time as any to start the business back up again. I have been thinking about starting up again anyway but this was the major kick I needed to get going.
You may remember my post on Saggars and some of my results. I really want to talk a bit more how these wobbly pots are made.
So I was going through some pots in storage a few weeks ago and pulled out this lidded jar. It really caught my eye and I can’t stop looking at it, it is one of the last things I made before my youngest child was born. I have a feeling something similar to this will be on the cards again. They give a good variety of surfaces to carve, decorate and play with and I would like to get them into a saggar too, perhaps with a bit less decoration and let the saggar do all the work.
I have never been to see Winchcombe Pottery, so when I was visiting the Lighthearts earlier in July they suggested we should go on a trip there. In case you don’t know much about their history click here, needless to say Michael Cardew reopened the country pottery in 1926 with the help of Elijah Comfort and Sydney Tustin. It was then taken over by Ray Finch in 1946 and was run by him and his family until the last year. It is now run by Matt Grimmitt who is the Great Great Grandson of Elijah Comfort. Entering the pottery they…
So this week I made some prototype saggar formers and saggars, I mixed my own clay with sawdust, grog from broken pots and some molochite for added strength. Now if I didn’t have a deadline I would let them dry over two weeks, but I had a deadline so I force dried overnight and fired the next day so you will see some cracks in the larger saggar. Also if you want to make a saggar former don’t leave such big gaps as the clay can get stuck in them making the harder to remove.
