Potter's Wheel One Day Workshop
It always amazes me how certain skills in other areas of life are transferable to working with clay on the Potter's Wheel. This weekend we had a helicopter pilot who proved himself a real whiz on the Potter's wheel. Although he had never made pots before, he mastered the technique almost instantly. When I quizzed him on his natural ability, he likened the experience to flying a helicopter! Apparently the smallest of movement of the joystick (we're talking millimeters) has a dramatic effect on the direction of the aircraft. The same sensitivity is required when gauging the thickness of the clay and pulling the material upwards.
For more details of our brilliant weekend and one day workshops please take a look at: http://www.eastnorpottery.co.uk/pages/eastnorpotteryadultworkshops.htm and for dates and a booking form: http://www.eastnorpottery.co.uk/pages/documents/adultdatesandbookingform2010.pdf
Terry 4 Jody
Terry proposed to Jody in an awesome fashion (as my thirteen year old daughter put it): under the rouse of picking up some tools from a friends farm - Terry lured Jody into the lambing shed to behold a flock of spray-stencilled sheep - each one displaying a word from the sentence "Will ewe marry me?" Then it was on to Eastnor Pottery to commemorate the engagement by making a couple of his and hers coilpots...as you do!!
My Week at Holyoakes PRU
I spent a lovely five days with the staff and students at the unit. We made a series of collaborative 'gargoyle' wall planters, pinch pot fruits and loads of wheel thrown goodies. The pupils loved it, wanting the school to invest in a potter's wheel for themselves. However, what impressed me the most was the unity of the staff and the inspirational leadership of the head. This was an "outstanding" example of eight caring, professional team players successfully operating in a sometimes difficult and challenging environment. The firm but fair way they communicated with the young people created a space for me to do what I do best and without the sympathetic and sensitive policing, the project would have suffered and a creative environment would have been difficult to achieve.
Solihull Libraries Under Five's
I've enjoyed a longstanding working relationship with Solihull Library Services. Under five's and their families were the latest target for a couple of clay play sessions - one in Solihull Central Library, the other in the shiny new library in Chelmsley Wood. The participants explored the clay and each had a taster 'go' on the potter's wheel.
PRU Staff
I kicked off a week long residency at Hollyoaks Pupil Referral Unit in Redditch with a twilight staff session. Teachers and teaching assistants all had a go on the potter's wheel as well as getting an insight into the techniques I would be using with the students.
Abi's Birthday
Back in the day & pre children, Matt and Louise did a two day throwing workshop with us (Matt is still very proud of the little teapot that he made).
On Saturday, it gave us great pleasure to host their eldest daughter's 5th birthday party at the studio. The party goer's made 'Colourful Critters' - pinch pot animals painted with colourful slip. We had ladybirds, hippo's rabbits and butterflies. The children's creatures will be fired glazed and ready for collection from the studio in a few weeks time.
For more details of our 'Colourful Critters' and other themed birthday parties please take a look at: http://www.eastnorpottery.co.uk/pages/documents/birthdaydetailsandbookingform07.pdf
Badsey Residency
One of my favourite contemporary sculptors is Peter Randall-Page, http://www.peterrandall-page.com/about/intro.html).
Inspired by his giant charcoal drawings, I encouraged the year One and Two children at Badsey School to dramatically increase the scale of their fired creations by creating large, observational studies using chalk and charcoal on sugar paper.
Finlay's Spider
At Evesham Nursery this week, the children could choose what they wanted to make on the potter's wheel: trains, rockets, princesses, butterflies etc...
Finlay decided to make a spider. He threw a large lump in the shape of a spider's body, removed it from the wheel and went to busy himself on the table. Half an hour later, at tidy-up time, I discovered Finlay's completed masterpiece (see left) eight legs and all!
Evesham Nursery Residency
Whilst working with very small people, I'm forever hearing comments and exclamations that can only be described as pure gold. My problem, or challenge, is recording these little nuggets before they are lost forever, or altered by memory. I've recently taken to jotting down brief notes, often with hands clogged up with clay and slip sliding down the writing implement. Note to self...invest in a digital memo recorder!
'Making Sense' Exhibition
A selection of my 'discovery pots' are off to Stafford in the next few days to feature in an interactive Craft exhibition at the Shire Hall Gallery (please see http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/museumandgalleries/). I spent an afternoon filling these fired brick clay pots with stretch wrapped terracotta clay, so that visitors to the show can experience wet and fired clay all in one go.
Riverside 'Making Waves' Project
For the last couple of weeks Gemma has been enjoying leading clay workshops over at Riverside Primary School, in Hereford. With the children's help, two tree wall panels and then two boat wall panels were created - an appropriate theme given the school's name! Here are some photos of reception class and nursery children getting stuck in with the messy job of creating their masterpieces. Once fired the final pieces will be mounted on a wall at the School.
Creative Childhood's Exhibition
For the past six months or so, there has been an important Early Years and Creativity projcet taking place in Birmingham. Its aim - to look back at ten years of arts projcets and reflective practice in the city. The whole thing has culminated in an inspiring exhibition at the St Thomas Children's Centre in Attwood Green. I was working at the St Thomas Centre in the creche on tuesday, so I was able to pop up at lunchtime to have a look around - could have done with a whole day really - so much exciting stuff to watch and read. I'm extremely fortunate to have worked closely with St Thomas' for the past five years. Director Cynthia Knight, wrote the following introductory text in the accompanying leaflet for the exhibition :
Creative Childhoods - Working together to make learning visible."For at least ten years Birmingham early years educators, artists and parents have been exploring and researching the magic of children's creativity and thinking. Stimulated by our own pedagogues as well as those of the Scandinavian countries, US and Italy, we have been asking questions about children and enabling environments.
We have held exhibitions and conferences, worked with a variety of different agencies and participated in projects to try and deepen our understanding of: Environments for thinking and learning family creativity and learning children's musicality relationships The power of materials extending and sustaining children's thinking The effective role of artists in educational settings sustaining and embedding projects The role of documentation. Many more questions we wish to research further. We think the questions are of fundamental importance in supporting children and family's aspirations - indeed those of the government, as described in the children's plan and Early Years Foundation Stage.
The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers...
Although it meant a late night down in the studio, I was fortunate enough to work with ten 'Explorer' Scouts on Friday night. The 'Tiggers' group from Colwall meet regularly once a week, and organise a variety of activities and events - Friday night was Potter's Wheel night! 
Everybody got the hang of things within the two hour session, with each 'Tigger' producing a finely thrown pot - a very talented and personable bunch of young people you could ever wish to meet!
Wheely Good Theme!
I've been back at Badsey First School, near Evesham this week - this time working with years one and two, on the theme of 'wheels'. The children have made little pinch pot vehicles, collaborative coil pots and today, wheel inspired tiles.
Mind, Body & Soul!
Having been a 'thrower' for all of my working life, I sometimes take for granted the therapeutic benefits of wrestling with a spinning lump of mud! Once a month I am reminded of these benefits as between six to ten (usually clay novices) get to try their hand on our weekend 'throw a pot' workshops. It is both refreshing and enlightening to hear what each individual personally gleans from the experience.
To make a pot successfully on the wheel, demands both physical strength and mental discipline - any loss of focus can quickly result in a wobbly pot or even total clay meltdown! As one participant this weekend so eloquently put it "All the usual thoughts, concerns and anxieties fizzing around our heads at any one time get completely suppressed as we concentrate solely on the stages of production". She went on to explain that she'd felt so relaxed and refreshed after day one, it was as if she'd spent a weekend at a health farm.
For more details of our adult courses, please follow the link: http://www.eastnorpottery.co.uk/pages/documents/adultdatesandbookingform2010.pdf
