Another post in our occasional series of “What our customers get up to when they’re not on the wheel”

Dan and Steph spent the day with us on our one day potter’s wheel workshop 16-2-19, making some very respectable vessels and shapes.

There is no apparent end to their talents and as well as proving themselves competent potters, the couple have a multitude of other creative strings to their bow.

Steph posts penny whistle tutorials, twice a week, online as well as producing and staring in promotional videos for businesses and organisations. Dan is a freelance sports journalist commenting on football, rugby, cricket and darts.

In their ‘spare time’! the pair act and produce in a theatre group too – Phew!

Seven nicer individuals you’d be hard pressed to meet, spent the day learning how to make pottery on the potter’s wheel. It was a productive day with everybody filling their boards with fantastic shapes and forms, in fact we’ve never seen the pile of disregarded ‘learning’ pots look so small.

At the close, we ask participants to select their two or three favorite pieces to be fired, glazed and posted out in a months time. A difficult task at the best of times but made even harder by the sheer volume of super shapes. Most people couldn’t bare to part with their creations and payed the extra to have them finished in the kiln.

If you fancy spending a day behind the wheel please take a look at our web page dedicated to our one day and weekend courses. £130 for the day and £240 for the weekend.

Staff from the School of Biological Sciences, Bristol University descended on the Pottery in August, (all 18 of them) for a spot of pottery team building.

Participants built a collaborative jug, took turns on eight potter’s wheels and made some intricate pottery models before enjoying a buffet lunch in The Potting Tent Marquee.

If you would like to reward your staff or our planning a unique works away day for your colleagues, please take a look at our page dedicated to team-building.

At the day comes to a close, we encourage participants to choose their favourite pieces to be fired and glazed.

The rejected ones are plucked from their boards and piled high in a collaborative tower before being wedged into a soft lump ready to be made into pots again and again and again!

#recycledclay #tomorrowspots

After all the extravagance and cost of the big day, more and more couples are opting for a shorter honeymoon break.

This couple worked with us on the Tuesday and then went foraging with Wild Food UK on Wednesday before heading back to Harrow later in the week.

If you and your partner have something to celebrate and fancy getting creative with clay then please take a look at our pottery projects specially designed for couples.

Contemporary Ceramics is a prestigious gallery in Central London specialising in studio ceramics. For the last 6 months Eastnor Pottery co-director Sarah Monk has been developing a new a collection for exhibition at the gallery.

The work features new colours, new clay, new techniques, new slips and new glazes. The work is on show until the end of October 2018.

Here’s an extract from the article she composed for the Gallery blog.

“Creating the collection has been a winter-evening pursuit, when our busy Studio is closed to customers. By day we offer Pottery Experiences, and have been doing so for the last 24 years. Having just a few hours at the end of a busy day really focuses the creative process for me!

I am a designer-maker specializing in functional ceramics to fit comfortably in the home, particularly the kitchen (my favorite room in our house).

Breakfast has been my starting point; berry bowls and spoons, toast racks and knife rests, egg cups with decorative storage boxes and bowls of all shapes and sizes. The whole range is mix and match.  

Growing up, my Mum collected Watcombe Pottery. Over the years she managed to collect more than 400 pieces and they over-flowed from two dining-room dressers in our kitchen. I remember showing it to my school friends and enjoyed reading all the sgraffito sayings and looking at the vibrant slip-trailed patterns. My plan this year has been to fill a dresser at Eastnor Pottery with my own slipware designs, reveling in the easy-going feel of a country potter. In fact, I have already filled this dresser…..maybe I need to get a second one too!

When making my own work, my approach is relaxed and playful, and I hope this translates through to the finished pieces. I love our studio workshop and make full-use of our facilities; from the electric potter’s wheels to the table spaces for hand-building and modeling – whatever takes my fancy! Slips are brushed on, sgraffito designs drawn into the surface and spriggs applied, making the pieces tactile, a deliberate consideration. I restrict my pallet to blue and white slip on terracotta clay; it links everything together and has a country cottage appeal. All of my making happens at the wet clay stage. After a biscuit firing I don’t add anything else to the surface except for a simple lead-free glaze.”

More work can been seen on Sarah’s Instagram.

We are delighted to announce details of our fun and creative children’s workshop sessions scheduled for the approaching half term holiday.

Superhero is the exciting and inspirational theme.

It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be encouraging the children to make Marvel Comic inspired characters (although who can fail to be impressed by the powers of Ironman or The Hulk!) We’ll also be encouraging the young clay enthusiasts to consider Superheros closer to home. We’re thinking mums, dads, grandparents, teachers or some other figure they admire or look up to.

Once the children have modelled their superheros using a range of pottery making techniques, they will have the opportunity to paint their creations, there and then with coloured slips and underglazes.

The resulting work will need to dry thoroughly before it can be fired in the kiln. We allow approximately one month for this process and details of collection times will be issued on the day of the workshop.

1.5 hr sessions commence at 11.30am and 2pm and are tailored for two age groups: 4-8yrs in the morning and 9-12yrs in the afternoon. Although, these age ranges are not strictly adhered to as younger and older siblings are always welcome to participate on either session.

Places cost £15 per head with a 10% discount for x3 or more places booked. Telephone and email booking essential: Tel: 01531 633886 e: admin@eastnorpottery.co.uk

Once again we are ‘throwing’ caution to the wind and taking part in the immensely popular, terribly creative and extremely good fun HEY CLAY event.

We are inviting individuals and families to make a pot on the potter’s wheel for FREE.

Participants get to take their creations away on the day to dry and paint at home or, they can be left with us to be fired and glazed at just £10. An additional £5 per pot will entitle the maker to paint their pot in ceramic colour right there and then.

15 min time slots available all day. Pre-booking essential. Tel 01531 633886 or admin@eastnorpottery.co.uk

We also have oodles of FREE parking on site.

HEY CLAY! is a national celebration of clay which gives everyone the chance to unleash their inner potter at venues across the UK through free workshops and taster sessions.

The event is organised by The Crafts Council and takes place 23rd – 25th March as part of the BBC’s GET CREATIVE FESTIVAL

Here are a few pics from last year’s Hey Clay:

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

6 & 7 Jan

Sat 13 Jan 

Fri 26 Jan

Sat 27 Jan

Sat 3 Feb

Sat 10 Feb

3 & 4 Mar

Sat 10 March

Sat 21 April

19 & 20 May

Sat 2 June

Fri 8 June

14 & 15 July

11 & 12 Aug

Sat 8 Sept

6 & 7 Oct

Sat 10 Nov

1 & 2 Dec

Other dates are available for groups of x2 or more participants.

If you’ve never experienced working with clay on the potter’s wheel, you’ll be amazed at the positive effects on mind body and soul. Don’t just take our word for it, check out what the hundreds of lovely people have said about our fabulous experiences on Trip Advisor:

“My lovely friend and I recently spent a really enjoyable day here, so enjoyable in fact that as soon as I got home I searched online for second hand potters wheels! Jon is a genuinely nice guy, and an interesting and inspirational teacher. If you want to try something new or maybe regenerate a forgotten hobby, meet lovely people, have a great lunch, and come away with a sense of achievement … then do this!” 

“After always wanting to try my luck on the potters wheel I put this voucher/experience on my wish list for a special birthday. A friend and I spent a great day here organised by some very talented and passionate artists who were also patient and lovely people eager to help beginners like myself succeed. 
There are the added advantages of the beautiful surroundings and a tasty lunch too. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending and will definitely be returning. Thanks very much for a super day.”

“I was given a day’s experience making pottery for my birthday. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, I’m not an artist or much of a ‘maker’ though I can just about put up some shelves! I had the most brilliant day. Watching Jon show us the skills was hypnotic and almost magical, though I was sure I wouldn’t manage anything like that. Despite my pile of failed clay growing steadily (all resuable, thankfully), I was determined to crack the skills. And I wasn’t disappointed! With perseverance, patient and kind tutoring, and plenty of practice, I managed a reasonable collection of half decent pots (even if many weren’t quite what I intended, they still looked great!). Everyone in the small group made things they were proud of, and I ended up paying to have a couple of extras fired (just £6 per ‘lump’ with 3 lumps included in the price). Jon is good humoured, encouraging, loves what he does and is hugely talented. He praises your failures as much as your successes, which spurs you on. I left feeling great, though slightly achey from being hunched over my wheel and from the sheer mental effort of picking up a delicate and challenging skill. Highly recommended and feel I may be back at a later date to see if I can manage a plate” 

Tel: 01531 633886 email: admin@eastnorpottery.co.uk to book your day or weekend of potter’s wheel inspired play with clay.

and if any of you have been fortunate enough to receive an Eastnor Pottery Experience voucher, we look forward to welcoming you to the Pottery very soon.

Lots of love

Team Eastnor Pottery xxx