8 Week Pottery Course - loam.

 

I’ve spent the last 8 weeks learning how to throw pots on a Friday afternoon.
It’s been a lovely way to finish the week and something I look forward to all week!
 
I’d never been that bothered about clay.  Did some hand building at school, but I don’t remember anything very good coming out of that.  My neighbour is a potter and I’ve enjoyed nosing in her studio a couple of times and was thinking about asking for a class with her.  Then I came across loam. which is a 10 min drive away and offered a range of classes.  Maybe I’d try that.
Except they are super popular so they were always sold out when I looked.  A year later I finally made it onto the waiting list and then a few months later got the email – a space had come available.  I was in.

Over the 8 weeks we learnt to throw, turn and glaze out work.  We started with mugs, then bowls, plates and ended with vases.

I wasn’t that impressed after week 1.  We were taught how to centre the clay on the wheel and then make it into a cylinder.  I managed 4, but they looked untidy and nothing like mugs.

 

Week 2 was where the magic happened.  With a week to dry out a bit the clay was now leather dry and we could do more work.  First we pulled handles for our mugs so they would have a little time to dry before using them, then we learnt how to turn our pots.
This meant turning them upside down on the wheel, securing with clay and then cutting away the excess to give the mug a nice foot.
We then stuck on handles.  Suddenly I actually had some things that looked like actual mugs!  Wow!

Week 3 and we learnt to throw bowls.  Similar to mugs but not as tall.

 

Week 4 and I turned the bottom of my bowls to give them nice feet.  My mugs had now had a first fire and were ready to glaze.  I dipped my mugs, each one a different colour and set them to one size.  At this point they didn’t look much different and although there were samples of what the glaze might do, there are no guarantees in the world of pottery.
 

 

Week 5 and we learnt to throw plates.  This was a bit tricky as we were going out rather than up.  It was also very messy and I’m glad I had no errands to do after class and could go straight home for a wash!
My mugs had had a second fire and were now beautiful colours!  I took them home and set them up in the kitchen where I could see them each time I walked in.  I couldn’t believe I’d made them!  I still can’t decide which is my favourate.

 
Week 6 I turned the feet of my plates and then glazed my bowls.  I had made 5 bowls and they had all been fired now.  I didn’t want to just dip them.  I wanted to play.  I started by using some thin masking tape on the outside of one and all over on another.  They were dipped and the tape removed.  Two I dipped so there was an overlap.  One I dipped completely black, then dipped half in white.  One I dipped half in white and half in green so there was an overlap in the middle.
The last I used a brush on glaze to see what would happen.  This had layers of different colours.
 

Week 7 we learnt how to throw vases.  The first couple were quite big, but I’ve been learning to make glass flowers so I started throwing smaller to try and make a suitable vase for them.  I think they were all still too big.
Two bowls had come back from being fired.  They were both lovely and joined the mugs in the kitchen.
 

Week 8 and I found that gravity had acted on one of my vases and crushed it!  I turned the feet of the ones which were left.  I then had a go adding some coloured lines to one of the vases - this has to be done before it's first fire otherwise the colour won't stick.  So far so good.  I look forward to seeing it glazed in transparent and finished.  Nothing to take home this week as the kiln has a bit of a back log!

 

I have really enjoyed the past 8 weeks.  Its been a lovely distraction from other life stuff at the moment.  That couple of hours at the wheel fly’s by and I have no time to think about other things.  As soon as you do your pot will crumple.

In fact I’ve enjoyed it so much I’ve signed up for the 6 week summer term.  Hopefully the rest of my bowls will have been fired and finished and my plates and vases will be ready to glaze.  This time I’ll be able to bring my own projects, but still with the helping hands of Jack and Annabel.

And I do think it’s mostly down to them that I’ve enjoyed it so much.  Every week they start with a demo of what we’re aiming for.  They are there to keep an eye as I try to do it and if it’s going wrong they are happy to step in and help.  But they aren’t too hands on.  I can just get on with it and if I mess up, the clay just goes into the recycling bin and I start again.  There is no judgement, and they have been happy to answer so many of my questions.  It just feels like a really lovely safe environment to learn in.
 
So pop back at the end of July to see how term 2 went and what I managed to create this time.

Powdermill Cardigan

 

 Last September I got started knitting the Powdermill cardigan by Kate Davies.

It had been on my list for a while and I thought I'd have it done by Christmas.  Previous cardigans and jumpers have taken 3-4 months.

Today (May) I finally added the buttons (glass buttons made in my studio)!  That's only 8 months in the making!!

I knew it might take a little longer than normal, after all it's got quite a detailed pattern and is only using a DK yarn.

However, it is knitted in the round which speeds things up a bit, but did mean I had three steek's to deal with (one down the front and one for each arm hole) which then slowed me down.  

Then when you think you've finished, you need to add a neck band and two bands down the front, and I sewed ribbon into the front bands too to stop the steek from unraveling!  And all the sewing in ends - as you can imagine there were a few.  And there might have been pauses for other projects along the way, but they weren't very long.

 

I used Stylecraft Special DK and love the colours!  Lipstick, Royal, Citron (one ball of each) and Graphite and A Hint of Silver (two balls of each).  That blue and red remind me of the drawings of princesses I used to draw as a kid, for some reason a colour combination I loved. 

The only slight annoyance is the right front button band which has the button holes in it.  I was using a 2 stitch icord, but the holes were too small so I made them bigger, but I should have made the icord bigger too.  This means the edge is slightly distorted which is annoying. 

 

As I was working on it last week, I didn't think I'd get to wear it any time soon as we enjoyed a mini heatwave, but the wind has turned so maybe I will.  It is a bit thicker than some of my other cardigans.

I'm not sure I'd wear it into the office.  It is very in your face, but I think it will work well round the house or maybe walking the dog?

 

I'm glad to see the back of the making of it and move on to something else.  But I have a confession.  While making it I couldn't help wondering what it would be like if I made it in a different colour way, and didn't keep to the strict colour pattern.  I've got a bag of left over yarn from making a crochet blanket a couple of years ago and think the colours would work so well.  So this evening I may well be casting that on.  But I know it will take a lot longer than this one, as there are too many other projects on hold right now!

Antwerp Pullover

 

I can't remember the last time I bought a jumper.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

However, I am always on the look out for a cosy, interesting jumper.  So when I found the Antwerp Pullover pattern on a website, while looking for something completely different, I had to add it to my basket.

Unfortunately the material I chose to make it from, while a lovely colour wasn't really thick enough (I think I'll make it into a dress maybe?) and so I put it to one side while I decided what to do.

 

With a week off booked for Easter I decided to try again and so ordered some needlecord fabric in a stunning ochre (yellow) colour.  Still not as thick as I'd hoped, but I decided to try it out anyway.

I started by working out what size I wanted and cutting out all the pieces, before following the instructions and carefully putting it all together.  I've made a few clothing items before so I had an understanding of how it would go together but I didn't think the instructions were as clear as they could be.

I also found that the needlecord would stick to itself, which wasn't very helpful.  And it left lots of little yellow bits of fluff everywhere.  As I don't have a good way of finishing edges I assume I'll have little bits of yellow fluff with me for some time to come. 

 

I haven't decided if I like the end result or not.  I love the colour and the feel of the needlecord.  But it's quite a light weight jumper and not very snuggly.  It might be good for the week of warm weather we might get if we're lucky.  However the fit is pretty good and I could probably have gone down a size if I'd wanted something a bit more fitted.

I'm thinking about making it again in a thicker material.  The design also came with a collar option instead of a hood, which might be better with a thicker material too. 

I need to live with it for a bit first I think.

Blown Hollow Glass Beads with Ikuyo Yamanaka

For the last couple of months or so I have been following along with the International Society of Glass Beadmakers - online learning for making blown hollow glass beads.  

 

With 7 different modules it covered how to blow a glass bead then different ways to decorate and shape them.

I've been fascinated by hollow beads forever, but have struggled to improve mine with no real guidance.

 

The online course has meant I can watch the videos in my own time before attempting my own beads.  I also have the option to ask Ikuyo questions too. 

 

While I have found some techniques quite hard, for instance stretching or twisting the beads, it has definitely improved my glass handling skills, and I finally know how to add an additional hole to my beads, something I struggled with for ages.

 

And while my twisted beads didn't come out all lovely and round like her's, some of them have a lovely sculptural quaility to them that I really like. 

 

I've really enjoyed the course and learning new techniques which I'm sure I will incorporate into other projects.  It's also been really nice to have a focus for going down to the studio each week, even if I only made a couple of beads each time.  

 

Maybe if I keep practicing I'll end up with something as beautiful as Ikuyo's beads.

 

Small Sculpture in Flameworked Glass

 This weekend I was back at West Dean.

The weather was so nice it was nearly a shame to be stuck inside all weekend, however what we'd be learning was too exciting to worry too much about the sunshine.

 

As you might have seen, I do some lampworking (flamework) in my spare time in the studio 'im outdoors built me.  I work in soft glass which is pretty easy to make into beads but has to be kept hot until you are done then straight into the kiln to anneal.  If you don't keep it warm it can crack and break and be a pain in the ass.

This weekend I learnt how to work with hard glass - borosilicate, which is much more forgiving.  It's less likely to explode than the soft glass and you can put it down and cool it while working on a project before annealling it when you are done.  It makes it very good for creating sculptures.

 

The class was taken by Andrea Spencer a very talented glass maker who came all the way from Northern Ireland for the class! 

I was the only person in the group with any hot glass experience, but while some things were similar, like the tools and how the glass moves, it was also quite different, with it being stiffer than the glass I normally use and there being no need for mandrals (or bead release! Yay!).

 

I was quite happy to watch and listen and learn everything about this 'new' type of glass.

We started by making some leaves, which suited me just fine.

Then we learnt how to make the leaves into a 3D sculpture by using a framework of glass to hold things in place while we melted them together.  Then we learnt how to make a little bird.

 While waiting between things while Andrea helped others, I manage to create a pair of sycamore seeds, based on Andrea's demo from Friday night.

On the second day we learnt how to make flowers and I embraced this and managed to make 3.

 

It was all so different from the other things I've done with glass and I loved it!

It was very satisfing to come home with a handful of lovely glass things, that I made and I could make again if I bought the right glass.  I just need to stick them all in my kiln tonight and set them to anneal and they should be pretty robust. 

Definitely worth missing the sunshine for...

Decisiveness Super Bulky Scoop Shrug

 

 A couple of years ago I knitted the Portland Cardigan, and while I liked the stitch used, I didn't enjoy wearing it - it was too bulky under the arms.

Seeing as I wasn't wearing it and it was taking up room in the waldrobe, I unravelled it and balled it up and kept my eye's open for a new project which might have a better outcome.

It took a while but then I came across the pattern for the Decisiveness Super Bulky Scoop Shrug by Brome Fields on Esty.

 

I've been working on a very detailed knitting project since September so at the beginning of the year I decided to give myself a break to make something that would knit up quickly.

As my yarn wasn't as bulky as the pattern and I didn't have big enough needles (although they were perfect for my yarn) I made some slight changes to the pattern based on guesses and a rough sizing square and got going.

 

I wasn't sure how much yarn I'd need but decided to use up what I had and then buy some more if needed.

I used up all my yarn and thought I'd finished.  I sewed up the arms and started to sew in ends, but in my heart I knew it was too big and I wouldn't use it as a shrug in this format.  It would either need to be a blanket or I would have to start again.

 

Much to 'im outdoors horror I undid it all, and set it aside for a bit before trying again.

This time I kept much closer to the pattern, just going up one size.  And ended up with something much more suitable, although I think I could have probably gone up one more size.  Don't worry I'm not going to undo it all again!  

 

Because I was using recyled wool I had a few more ends to sew in than I'd have liked, but better to reuse the wool into a nice new project.  All gave me joy to make, hopefully this one will also be joyful to wear.

I think it's going to be perfect for this spring weather where it can be so lovely and warm and then cloud goes over the sun and it's cold again.  Something to just slip over the shoulders to keep me warm.

 

I've still got a few balls left so will have to think of something to do with them too.

A Bench Apron

 

 I am very lucky to have a lovely little studio at the bottom of the garden where I can do all my messy creative stuff like working with glass.

Over the last year as I've learnt more skills the poor studio has had more and more things added to it (tools and materials), to allow me to create everything I want.

I was very lucky to have a set of drawers donated to me from our neighbours who no longer needed them,  which helped with the storage issue, but I would like to start making some jewellery in there too and that needs a slightly different set up.

 

Traditionally, jewellers have a bench with a half circle cut out of it, with a bench peg that sticks out of the back edge of the circle to allow them to work on an item, with a fabric or leather bench apron which hangs under the peg and catches things as they drop - for instance if you are cutting a piece of silver wire to lenght.

Because I have such a small space and it needs to do many things, I can't really afford to cut a half circle in one of my worktops or have a bench peg sticking out all the time.

So 'im outdoors made me a peg and got me a clamp so I can use it when I need it.  I just needed a bench apron to catch things that I drop as the dog doesn't like them falling on his head, and it's really frustrating when you drop the thing your working on and then you have to spend ages looking for it!

After a lot of thinking and a discussion with 'im outdoors we came up with the idea to use sliding towel rails to make a sliding bench apron.  When I don't need it, it sits under the bench but when I need it I can just pull it out and set my peg up above it.

 

'im outdoors was very happy as all he needed to do was screw in four screws.  Then I could would out how to make the fabric sling to sit under the peg.

I decided to use an off cut of the waxed cotton from the bags I made in December.  And having made a paper prototype to make sure it would work set up my sewing machine.  

It was very simple.  Hem the front edge.  Make two tunnels, one on each edge for the towel rails to slot into, then create a dart at the back to raise the back edge and hopefully stop things escaping that way.  It reminded me of the canvas chair seats my mum made when I was a kid.

I'm very happy with it so far, it looks just right.  But the proof will be in trying it out.  I'm not sure what the next project will be yet, but I'm ready when I think if it! 

Sharing My Knowledge

 

I've always been happy to share my knowledge with others.

Last year I joined my local Arts & Craft Society and as I started to get to know people I realised that a lot of members have or want websites, but aren't sure how to make the most of them.

In my day job I work as a user experience researcher, talking to customers and watching as they use websites, so I've got a fair idea of what people are looking for when they visit a site. 

So when the first request came through for members to write content for the newsletter I wrote a piece about things to remember when adding content to your site.  Namely - tell a story so people can understand the artist behind the work and can see it's value.   (" but I can get it half that price on Temu!")

Then just before Christmas I got asked if I would come to one of their demonstration nights, and while the others who got asked were asked to give short demonstrations of how they create their art, I got asked to be there to answer peoples questions about their websites.

I said yes, which is how I was sitting in a community hall one evening this week hoping that someone would come and talk to me.  

 

I wasn't as busy as some of the other tables - how could I compete with lino printing, fusing glass or weaving, however I did have people come and talk to me, and I think we had some useful conversations.

Examples... One chap asked if he needed a website, but when we talked about what he needed it sounded like his LinkedIn profile would work fine, if he updated it.

 One ladies website had some amazing art on it, but none of the stories of her art were on the same page as the art.  I reminded her that you never know how someone got to the page so you can't assume they have read everything on your home page.

And one ladies showed me her site and after looking round we agreed that her navigation needed amending to help people find what they were looking for.

I loved these conversations and I hope it helps these artists to get their work out there and make the sales they need.  Got a question, feel free to ask, just don't ask me to build a site for you!