A Very Enjoyable Pottery Class
2017
On Sept 4th, nine W.I. members enjoyed the first of two sessions of ceramic
tuition given by Chester potter Neil Glendinning, held in Mary Diggle's garden room. These two days had been organised by Margaret, and had been very eagerly anticipated.
We began by expertly rolling out our clay to a specific thickness to make a slab.Next, the slabs had to be slumped into moulds-a more difficult task.
Finally, and more challenging, we used nozzled plastic containers to apply
coloured slip to decorate our plates and bowls.These were then left to dry before firing and glazing.
Neil, or tutor, would do the firing at his kiln at home, in the intervening two weeks before our next session , when we would complete our dishes by glazing them.
On Monday 18th, two weeks after our first session, seven of us gathered for our second pottery lesson. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at the way our dishes survived the first firing. We began by adding a little more decoration with coloured glaze, which dried very quickly. It was then time for the messy job of dunking our pieces into a bowl of clear glaze, which looked more like plaster. All the dishes were coated in a white powder, obscuring all the colour we had carefully applied. We just had to trust that the second firing would result in a beautiful clear glaze.
We then had time to make a second piece and this time we used buffstone clay, a lighter colour than the terracotta we used for our plates. Most of us worked it like plasticine, making two birds, one duck and two cats but our two artists, Jill and Margaret, were a bit more adventurous. Jill made a small jug with a very smart handle and Margaret made a little dish that resembled a round fishing boat. Someone commented that it was just lacking a Viking sail!
All in all, we had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Neil was a very patient tutor and always had a way to rub out or repair our mistakes. We now have to wait until our masterpieces are returned and see if we are glad or sorry that we signed them.
Many thanks to Margaret for organising the sessions and to Mary for use of her Garden Room and, of course, the coffee & biscuits.
(Text by Marian H and Heather. photos taken by Margaret)
On Sept 4th, nine W.I. members enjoyed the first of two sessions of ceramic
tuition given by Chester potter Neil Glendinning, held in Mary Diggle's garden room. These two days had been organised by Margaret, and had been very eagerly anticipated.
We began by expertly rolling out our clay to a specific thickness to make a slab.Next, the slabs had to be slumped into moulds-a more difficult task.
Finally, and more challenging, we used nozzled plastic containers to apply
coloured slip to decorate our plates and bowls.These were then left to dry before firing and glazing.
Neil, or tutor, would do the firing at his kiln at home, in the intervening two weeks before our next session , when we would complete our dishes by glazing them.
On Monday 18th, two weeks after our first session, seven of us gathered for our second pottery lesson. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at the way our dishes survived the first firing. We began by adding a little more decoration with coloured glaze, which dried very quickly. It was then time for the messy job of dunking our pieces into a bowl of clear glaze, which looked more like plaster. All the dishes were coated in a white powder, obscuring all the colour we had carefully applied. We just had to trust that the second firing would result in a beautiful clear glaze.
We then had time to make a second piece and this time we used buffstone clay, a lighter colour than the terracotta we used for our plates. Most of us worked it like plasticine, making two birds, one duck and two cats but our two artists, Jill and Margaret, were a bit more adventurous. Jill made a small jug with a very smart handle and Margaret made a little dish that resembled a round fishing boat. Someone commented that it was just lacking a Viking sail!
All in all, we had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Neil was a very patient tutor and always had a way to rub out or repair our mistakes. We now have to wait until our masterpieces are returned and see if we are glad or sorry that we signed them.
Many thanks to Margaret for organising the sessions and to Mary for use of her Garden Room and, of course, the coffee & biscuits.
(Text by Marian H and Heather. photos taken by Margaret)
There follows a slideshow , showing pictures from the two sessions. The first 12 pictures,( following picture number 1), are from the first session. The remaining few are from the second session, followed by a picture of some competed works of art.
(Click and pause as you progress through the pictures.)
(Click and pause as you progress through the pictures.)