Last year Pulp Fiction Bookshop owner and ceramics collector Chris Brayshaw made a pilgrimage to Wales to meet highly-respected clay artist Charles Bound. Now he has assembled a large number of Bound pieces to form a first show of his work in Canada. It can be seen at CSA Space, upstairs from the bookstore. You need to ask for the key at the store's front…
My most recent cone 05 glaze firing was rather small, but it's always good to see how the clear glaze alters the colours my visitors have chosen. Each artist has put so much thought into the design and taken great pains with each plate. Here are pieces by Eric Metcalfe, Monique Fouquet, Renée Van Halm, Paul Mathieu and me. Most were painted on our most…
Are you intimidated by colourful underglazes? Some Tricity Potters are happy to make pots in classes and then glaze them but worry about using underglazes. With that in mind we arranged a fun game of cooperation for last Wednesday's meeting. Members were asked to bring along a bone dry or bisque-fired pot, any underglazes they have and a brush or two. We had lots of…
There's always more to learn when you toy with atmospheric firing. People ask how it went and the answer is 'well 80%', often. That's good. Overall the colours looked encouraging when we opened the kiln door but my batch seems rather brown. I shall refer to my notes and make suggestions to myself to try a different flashing slip, or apply less etc. Every time…
Once again I had the chance to join fellow potters in a firing of the Vault Kiln at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Hoping that having my name on their waiting list would earn me a chance, I had thrown some experimental pieces back in November. Lucky me, I was invited to bring my two cubic feet of ware for this firing. The pots are…