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Another great opportunity to work with Penny Ericson at her studio on Waiheke Island. Week one began with some close observational drawing of natural found objects that lend themselves to a pinched form. Not drawn to drawing, I do find this a challenging way to begin. Penny did suggest that when drawing a viewed object, as this relies heavily on sustained close observation, the action of drawing seems to allow the form to become more internalised and therefore this makes it easier when it comes to construction. The subtleties of surface texture are further revealed when allowing sufficient time to look closely.

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The more exploration and experimentation that happens with each new way of working with clay, the more understanding of the need for support systems necessary to allow work to be constructed. Certainly provides ample opportunity to be creative about the ways in which works can be supported through each of the stages of the making process. Bucket hammocks are popping up all over the house right now.

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Penny set the ‘homework’ task this week to make a further set of three forms using pinch and coil techniques, adding an engobe layer and applying a sgraffito surface treatment which would allow for the addition of an oxide after the bisque firing. From that brief, three juice jugs with a cobalt/copper oxide have emerged. I am hoping that the oxide treatment will bleed into the engobe when firing to cone 6. Perhaps a nice white glaze inside and over the rim?

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You get a real appreciation of the skill and energy that a ceramic artist like Elizabeth MacDonald brings to their work when you attempt to emulate one of their forms to gain a little insight into how clay can be worked. I am certainly liking my bowl but freely acknowledge that it reflects more of a mechanical process rather that the flowing rhythm of MacDonald’s piece. Maybe after many more attempts at this layering of coils technique for building forms, I might be able to relax more with the construction and work in a more organic and responsive manner, trusting in the clay and my growing understanding of its abilities and limitations to manipulate it in a way that allows me to bring more life and energy into the piece. Watch this space.

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During our lunch break, Penny chose a couple of books from her extensive library that contained some examples of pinch and coil work to give us a better understanding of the almost limitless potential of how this process can be used to build. I was particularly taken by the works of Barry Brickell. I was certainly aware of Barry Brickell and his Coromandel railway project, but had not investigated his work to any extent. With a growing appreciation of just how complex it can be to build forms by hand (especially larger scale works) his forms are absolutely stunning in their beautiful unglazed organic curvaceousness (nice word). Well, in my arrogance and naivety, of course I thought that if Mr Brickell could construct gorgeous clay forms, then of course so could I. Oh why the @#$% do I do this to myself. Let the frustrations begin.

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The building of a three-legged bottle form using the coiling technique began by making the decision to construct a 600mm height in two halves, mostly due to the weight that the legs would be subjected to if I had tried to complete the form as one piece. The form began as a large coiled cylinder. Once a certain height had been achieved, I divided the rim into three equal parts with sufficient size to allow me to collar the sides and allow each of the three parts to be formed into smaller cylinders. A little tricky to get the point at which all three extend from the body to join together well, as you can not get within the form until such time as it is turned over, and the softness of the legs does not allow this to happen for some time. Inverting this section of the work came with its own set of challenges, particularly when the work needed support while drying, while also attempting to keep some sections wet and pliable. Another unanticipated challenge when building a form for the first time, is how, when working upside down, will the work look when the top half is joined on? Forgive the upside down photo but that was the only way I could get a sense of the work without the need to actually turn the piece over onto its still soft legs.

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My solution for joining the two halves together, was to suspend the lower three-legged half into a large bucket, taking as much weight as possible off the legs, while allowing them to just touch the base of the bucket, hopefully helping to distribute the weight evenly and have the base level.

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Construction of the top half produced what I see as a bird form. This was then dramatically joined to the bottom half, still suspended in the bucket. Scratching, slipping; inverting; joining etc one your own is quite the exercise. I’m sure there was some hesitation in the steady rhythm of my beating heart, when the coiled neck began unravelling as I was holding the work upside down and scoring it in preparation for joining to the scratched and slipped lower half. Breathing calmly averted disaster and, as you can see from the third image, we now have a bird bottle in the bucket. I thought it might be a nice idea to texture the surface, as I had done with the seaweed floats (made earlier in the module) giving the suggestion that perhaps these particular floats are the work of my seaweed float bird.

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Unfortunately the images above are all that remain of the seaweed float bird. Cracking was persistent, even with the aid of the molochite slip fix. Was never going to be satisfied with the result, so before getting to the irreversible bisque fired stage, an adjustment was required (a did feel a touch of guilt just before the hammer struck-ouch). My ‘phoenix’ is now about to start a new life, beginning as crushed bone-dry clay in a bucket. I wonder what he/she will look like?

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The Barry Brickell bottle (love the alliteration) prompted another coiled work with a more organic voluptuous form, incorporating both flattened coiled surfaces and coils left pronounced. I wanted to create a work that was as close to kiln height as possible (600mm) and decided that this might best be achieved by joining two halves together, rather than attempting to firm the coils as the walls increased in height. This did require that the rim of the base remain plastic enough to allow the two halves to be joined, and glad wrap worked well for this job.

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The top section was coiled as a cylindrical shape and then carefully pressed together, two-thirds of the way up the finished form height, to allow me to create a hole at this point. Although the work appears to split into two, the form remains as one, with coils applied around the rim (following the natural contours) until the diameter reduced to the size of a bottle opening. A slightly thicker final coil was added to the top to delineate it as the rim. My thoughts at this stage regarding decoration are to keep it simple, applying a manganese oxide to the cross-hatched surface, allowing the form to speak for itself.

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And it had been going so well! Huston we have a problem! After I finished building my Brickell inspired bottle, I moved it onto wooden slats to dry (uncovered). Checked it the following day, all good. The next, not so, with a hairline crack appearing along what might have been a coil join? Not to worry, might still be salvageable. The day following however, things began to unravel at a great rate as the hairline crack had become a gapping maw. Well what do you know, the ever lurking frustration was back (with a vengeance). Fortunately, Penny Ericson has an absolute heart of gold, and in her desire to support us as much as possible during our ceramic journey, she responded to my tale of woe by coming to my house, cradling the pot in her arms back to ‘the barn’ were we are working, and proceeded to turn my misfortune into a teachable moment by showing us one method of fixing cracks with a molochite slip. Not that I ever had any doubts about whether Penny had our backs in this module, the fact that she can be seen on her knees, on the concrete floor no less, preparing the molochite slip for my benefit, has forever cemented (no pun intended) my love and admiration for the support and care she so unselfishly gives to help us find our path to ceramic glory (or wherever our journey takes us). Of course the reason for the crack came down to uneven drying and uneven distribution of the rate of drying between the thicker top section and the thinner body. A great visual example of the drying process and the strain that this exerts upon a vessel. To help alleviate some of this strain when drying larger works, it is best to loosely cover them with a plastic sheet and allow to dry very slowly in a place with a uniform temperature. One side of this work was facing a large glass wall and subjected to more heating that the side facing away. No guesses for which side the crack appeared on. A perfect release for the building tension. A very memorable lesson in the art of drying and why this is so important. Seems so obvious in hindsight.

So far so good. The Brickell inspired coil bottle has been bisque fired and there is no obvious signs of cracking in the area that was repaired with the molochite slip. Very happy indeed.

A simple copper oxide (black) will hopefully ‘unify’ the form and accentuate the coils with a light and dark contrast. My original inspiration was an unglazed selection of Barry Brickell works in a darker clay than the Macs Whitestone I have used. This is perhaps going to be another example of how each choice we make, beginning with the clay, can have a significant affect on how a work is ultimately viewed. Although it was the form of the Brickell works that initially caught my attention, the toasted warmth of the red/orange unglazed surface seemed to give an emphasis to the ‘body’. As I have grown quite fond of this bottle (especially given its difficult birth), and with insufficient glazing knowledge yet to make much of an informed choice of colour/texture, oxide to start with makes sense.

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Did we just fly to Dunedin or some other European destination? Lovely historic feel to the CBD and surrounding suburbs with beautifully maintained colonial architecture. Quite a few students around too (me included I guess).

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Got to meet some of the nicest people, including masters student Debbie Fleming. I was so taken by her positivity and skill that I have incorporated her image into one of the pots I made on day 1 using a Dunedin Red clay no longer in production (her kindest even extended to not scratching it off in horror at my crude attempt).

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What a treat to watch Neil Grant in action. Its hard to describe what it is like to watch someone throwing who has so much experience that it has almost become part of their DNA. An opportunity not to be missed.

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Man did I come home with a suitcase of smokey clothing to wash. Hours to load (stoneware or high temperature porcelain due to the high temperature) and warm the wood kiln on Tuesday, followed by a 6am thru to 2am of stoking, clearing the mouse hole, splitting more and more wooden pallets, before “cone 12 down” (could only manage 11pm myself – thank goodness for the kindness and dedication of those who stayed on).

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Morning spent loading the stoneware and porcelain work for salt firing. After the kiln is sealed with bricks and fire clay mortar, a diesel burner progressively heats the kiln until it reaches 1100℃ at which point a mixture of rock salt and water is introduced into the kiln using a long metal half-tube. Once a popping sound can be heard, the salt is tipped into the kiln and openings closed to allow the salt to vaporise, seeking out the silica in the work, and forming an orange-peel like textured translucent glaze. This process is repeated, with every other introduction checked for its affect on the work by removing clay rings positioned within reach of one of the removable bricks from the front wall of the kiln (quite a delicate operation to ensure only one ring at a time is removed and not dropped on the way to the bucket of water).

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Steve Peyroux was kind enough to offer to run a screen printing workshop that would allow us to print on to ceramic with a ceramic colourant. Beginning with a crash course on how to construct a well-stretched screen, we headed into dimly lit studio (absent of any UV light) and applied a thin coating of a light-sensitive printing emulsion to the screen. After drying this for at least 20 minutes, we overlaid our chosen images (good contrast between light and dark is most effective) with the screen and then exposed this to ultraviolet light for 6 minutes and 30 seconds (to be precise). Next step is to remove the emulsion that has not hardened (due to being blocked from the light by the darker parts of your images) as quickly as possible to avoid it hardening also. Warm water sprayed onto the screen from a shower head was very effective. Once all soft emulsion has been removed, the screen is again dried using a hair dryer. Unfortunately time did not allow for any printing while in Otago, but i have included the recipes for your to try.

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A trip to the Hoffman kiln at Benhar (5 minutes drive from Balclutha). This amazing kiln has obviously seen better days since its opening in 1864, but still in surprisingly good nick, having been saved from demolition by current owner Laurence Baird. A massive undertaking to take on this heritage-listed building with plans to restore it and create artisans spaces (definitely needing a new roof and guttering to stop the ongoing deterioration from the Otago weather). The brick construction is quite beautiful, from arched kiln chambers and sloping buttress-like first floor walls, to second story arched windows and very tall chimney. Lets hope Laurence gets all the support he needs to revitalise such an important part of our ceramic history.

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Above are some of the works that I completed during the week.

In preparation for the first half-year assessment, I selected a few pieces that I felt showed an exploration of each module focus. I also chose a single work from each module that might present some evidence of a developing level of competence. At this point in my ceramic journey, my work is mainly concerned with the development of the technical skills required to make, and not with the use of the medium to give form to concept. All work selected has been bisque fired only.

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Selected works from the Paper Clay module with Peter Collis

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Thrown vessels from the wheel-throwing module with Hayley Bridgford.

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Chosen pieces from the hand-building module with Penny Ericson

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A couple of close-up images

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Work to date.

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Week one of our next module began with Terry (the one wearing the beret) and I catching the ferry and Uber to reach the Pt Chevalier studio and Front Room Gallery of Brendan Adams and his lovely partner Kathryn. To reach his studio you enter through the front room (no prizes for guessing the inspiration for the name chosen for his gallery) and are immediately surrounded by his incredible work. Take a look at http://badams.co.nz

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The plan for the day was to create a slip cast plaster mould of a found object that would provide us with an opportunity to work through the process and perhaps begin to formulate some ideas around the concept of Containment. The clay objects produced by our moulds will form the central pieces around which a sculptural work will be made. We will be using white earthenware (to be glazed white or clear) to slip cast our clay objects and red terra-cotta (unglazed or dark oxide finish) clay to form the sculptural container/restraint. Really looking forward to this already.

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The found object settled on for my first mould was the ping pong ball (no idea yet where this will lead). We began with a slab of clay onto which we positioned our objects. Clay was removed to allow the balls to fit exactly half way down into the clay, ensuring that the clay was pressed closely to the sides of the object and that the clay surface was as flat as possible. To provide a funnel into which the liquid slip is to be poured, clay was added in the shape of a cone. This was then surrounded by a wooden frame into which our plaster mixture was poured. It is a good idea to vibrate the liquid plaster before it hardens to help any trapped air bubbles to lift away from the object to leave a clean and smooth surface.

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After the first half of the mould has set, the clay was removed (do not re-use this clay for firing as any bits of plaster remaining will cause your clay to crack or even explode when fired). Three small depressions were made in the plaster surface to provide a key for the other half of the mould to fit, thereby ensuring that when the two halves eventually come together they will be in the correct position. To ensure the two halves of the mould would come apart after the second was poured onto the surface of the first, soft soap was first brushed on, then wiped off (repeat this step 4-5 times to leave the thinnest layer over the plaster and object surface). The mould was again framed up and the second plaster mould poured, vibrated and left to set. Once warm to the touch, the framework was removed and the two halves separated. The edges should be arrised and cleaned of any potential crumbs of plaster that could make their way into your slip cast work when it is being made.

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Day two began with an inspection of our moulds (which had been drying with the assistance of a dehumidifier). Nice and dry, we set about preparing the slip that we would be pouring into our moulds. The slip was pre-made and purchased from our local supplier. With the aid of a drill and paint stirrer attachment, we gently mixed the slip (trying to avoid introducing any air bubbles) and poured it through a sieve into a jug for pouring.

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Slip was poured into the plaster cast moulds using the pour holes created for this purpose when the moulds were made. The job of the plaster is to absorb the water from the slip and in doing so leave a skin of clay that becomes thicker the more time the slip if left inside the mould. To avoid a solid object, the remaining liquid slip is poured from the mould after sufficient time has elapsed to form a clay wall of suitable thickness. In my case, we allowed the slip to sit in the mould for 6-8 minutes before pouring out the excess. The thickness around the pour hole can give an indication of the thickness of the internal walls. With some larger moulds, a vacuum can be created inside the mould when attempting to pour out the excess slip, and if not compensated for, will result in the collapse of the internal walls. To avoid this, air is introduced into the internal cavity by blowing into a flexible plastic tube as the liquid slip is poured out. Left to harden for approximately an hour, the two halves were separated to release the clay objects. Although able to be held gently, too much vibration and a form of liquefaction happens, with the clay becoming more jelly-like. Could hold more possibilities for this generic shape.

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Some preliminary drawings of how my cast sphere might be able to be contained. I am thinking about casting some old rebar to form the connecting components and cage structure for the two ideas above.

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More moulds under construction to provide the component parts for the next steps in creating a work that incorporates the notion of containment in some form.

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There can be a fine line between success and failure. With the two halves of a ball mould successfully constructed, I decided that this presented a great opportunity to use one half of the ball mould to form a hump mould for making small bowl forms etc. After ensuring I coated the plaster surface 4-5 times with soft soap (which I made using lux soap flakes and boiling water until I achieved a brushable consistency) and adding a clay collar to provide for an extended form, I poured the water/plaster mix into this and allowed to harden. When it came to separating the two pieces however, this was not to be. I decided to seek help and asked Brendan if it would help to wait until the plaster dried out further? His reply suggested that no this would not really help and that the most effective method would involve the use of a hammer. After some initial tentative taps with a piece of timber without success, I did indeed smack it with a hammer and wouldn’t you know it, success once again. Let the drying begin (it has already taken two weeks and the moulds are still feeling a little damp).

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Week four introduced another method of mould construction which is used to create a slump mould into which clay can be ‘slumped’ to hold a specific form. In my case, I decided to construct a wake form, as I have a project in mind for later in the year. I am also hoping that using the slump mould, I might also be able to make a ‘hump’ mould over which I might be able to drape clay that will keep its external texture intact. I will of course make sure I coat the surface of the plaster mould well with soft soap to ensure that the two pieces can be separated once hardening has occurred (and perhaps keep my trusty hammer somewhere to hand).

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With my own moulds finally dry enough to begin casting, I poured my first attempts. Quite happy with the outcome although some issues/challenges now obvious. The size of the hole allowed for pouring the ball may take some adjustment before I am able to join at that site, or filling if it may be better to join at another location on the sphere. Drying of the ball to the point at which joining is optimum (another consideration) may require some kind of perforated sling, as previous spherical shapes have slumped during the drying process (handling may have impacted also). The re-bar mould has become mostly solid due to its dimensions and I am a little worried that the potential for air pockets is high. Perhaps threading a thin needle down the centre may alleviate this concern? My mould has also shown me that the two halves must fit together without any gaps as mine chipped a little during construction, and this has allowed slip to egress between the two bars. There is also a gap to the outside edge which is a problem. Will need to recast if they are working well as a form. Brendan Adams gave me a joining slip recipe as follows… 1/3 slip – 1/3 water – 1/3 vinegar. Something about the flocculation? Will explain more when I get my head around this more. Next iteration of this process might be to press mould all component parts. Joining different types of clay and clay forms produced using different techniques does present some risk. Joining a slip cast form with one press moulded, may not be the best approach. Better that all parts are either slip cast or press moulded. Next move will be to try both approaches before going ahead with maquette of my planned projects.

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Some days are filled with experimentation and the inevitable frustration that goes along with the challenges that reveal themselves during this time. Making more decisions today about what NOT to pursue. Pressing component parts produces a less crisp finish and more excess to remove/smooth. I am, however, finding that joining pressed pieces is a little easier than joining those that have been poured. The issues presented by differing clay types and construction techniques is also beginning to frustrate progress. Time for a cuppa.

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Ball mould is continuing to progress, with decisions being made in response to each challenge. Think I might hopefully have one piece of the many I will need to move my planned work forward. Keep going.

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Didn’t get the lengths the correct size to allow the sphere to fit tightly within the cage structure due to shrinkage issues. Thought I would continue construction of the cage to work out the best time to make joins, support systems etc. No decision yet as to whether I will position the sphere within a completely enclosed cage and fire as one piece, or whether this is too complicated and it may be better to glue the final side of the cage once the sphere and cage have been fired separately. Watch this space.

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Test firing of proposed component parts (of a planned larger scale work inspired by Brendan’s ‘containment’ mould making project) has worked well with all joins intact and little warping. Now for more accurate measurements, better allowances for shrinkage and more careful finishing, another cage to be constructed to give expression to the way we can be constricted/constrained by both our physical and psychological environments (and I thought I would be making plates and bowls, or even a nice hand-made vessel for that morning cuppa).

Another slightly larger cage has been constructed in the hope that after drying and firing, the white spherical shape may indeed be ‘contained’ within it.

The slip cast orb has been fired to 1160 and currently fits inside the unfired larger red brick clay moulded rebar cage. Not confident that the sphere will fit once the shrinkage of firing has occurred, so will wait until after assessment day to do this. I am happy with the general effect of this ‘containment’ and am planning to pursue the ‘bigger picture’ next year. Watch this space.

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Brendan makes the most amazing and fantastical teapots and cups. On one of our days spent with him in his studio, we were allowed to make use of his moulds to construct our own crazy pot. This is mine. Currently in the kiln. I have to say I am a little concerned that my brush application of his strontium matte glazes might not produce the outcome I anticipated at the start of this little project.

Happy. With some refinement, this olive oil pot might just make it to the table (truth be told, it is going to grace our table anyway as a celebration of each little success this year). The brushed application produced a reasonably flat fired surface, unlike another glaze I applied with a brush. Of course, many factors come into play when glazing a work. If this year of trial and experimentation is teaching me anything, it is the importance of recording everything and narrowing down as much of the unknown as possible. That way, when something works as intended, or indeed doesn’t, there is every chance that whatever change is necessary can be established and applied.

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For the next 5 weeks we will be working with Penny Ericson https://www.waihekeartgallery.org.nz/our-artists/artist-profiles/penny-ericson with a focus on hand-building with both hard and soft slab. We will also be taking a closer look at decoration through colour, pattern, texture and some of the methods and processes artists engage in to create the effects they desire.

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Week one began by creating two clay slabs. Clay was pressed between a cement board and towel to help remove some of the moisture and greasiness from the clay and to begin the flattening process, then rolled to a thickness of approx 3-5mm. One slab was set aside for an hour to begin to harden a little, while with the other softer slab, we cut six small squares and dropped each over a small wooden block placed centrally under the clay. This produced a set of shallow dishes that we added texture to using a range of tools, including a great little wooden comb (very handy).

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With the hardening clay slab, three open boxes were constructed, with each component joined using slip on both surfaces, after scoring with a needle or a serrated metal kidney (again, very useful for this job). These will be bisqued prior to week two to allow them to be painted with engobe (not exactly sure what this is yet). The box structure allows these pieces to be wall-hung easily. A box structure hidden under a clay slab allows it to hang proud of the wall, giving a more 3-dimensional feel to the work.

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A clay slab was wrapped around a cardboard cylinder (having firstly wrapped it loosely with newspaper to aid removal), with the basic shape extended upon with additions of clay and texture.

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Homework. Prior to our studio day next week, we have been tasked with researching 4 ceramicists who work with clay construction as well as designing and constructing our own 2-4 sided vessels. Some preliminary sketches may form the basis of this work, but need to think through these designs a little further and definitely testing some of the potential challenges around construction (watch this space).

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With design decision made, issues of scale (including kiln size) needed some thought. Have gone as large scale as possible, with greenware measuring approx 400x550mm. Using a cardboard stencil will hopefully help me to ensure front and back are close to matching as I can get them. Every day now I am reminded how useful the cement board is.

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Already I am second-guessing the scale of this piece as creating a 600x450mm clay slab is no easy task (especially as I decided to use a firm grogged sculptural clay in an effort to keep shapes from distortion as they were being moved and joined). The towel and cement board worked very well, with finished thickness achieved with a wooden rolling pin.

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With all components cut and of similar thickness, construction begins. To join the pieces, I chose to make up a paper clay slip using the same clay with approximately 10% tissue pulp added to the mix. Scratching both surfaces to be joined and coating both with slip does seem to aid in the joining. With the back and sides completed, I now faced the challenge of how to get the front on with out sagging and ensuring that the sides stayed vertical (it would not be easy to reach inside once the pot construction was completed).

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With cardboard support added to the central void, scratched and with slip applied, the front was slid from the cement board and progressively laid upon the sides (had to remember to stop holding my breath during this stage of construction). A bit of pressure here and there and a three-dimensional object is born. I am thinking that the success or otherwise of this pot will be in the decoration, so need to look at some more google images and glaze books to see if anything jumps out as inspiration for this piece. Really keen to show some distinction between the straight lines of the handles and the curves of the body, and also perhaps exposing the texture and colour of the clay body itself.

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Inspired by the works of ceramacist Scot Cameron-Bell and painter Gordon Hopkins, I worked through a number of design possibilities before settling on a simple eye-ball motif. I plan an orange background on the curved body, black matt on the handles and interior, and unglazed sides scraped back to reveal the textured nature of the sculptural clay used for this pot (anticipating that the plan comes together of course).

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The Eye-ball pot continues its journey. Three coats of a basic engobe has been applied to the eyes in an attempt to provide a ground that will help the glaze colour to stand out. Starting to enjoy reading glaze recipe books now (it is a worry I know) and thinking about possible colours/combinations/effects etc for the work.

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A great suggestion from Penny was to create some smaller versions (maquettes) of the work so that they could be used as test pieces for glazing etc (making maquettes BEFORE embarking on a large scale work certainly makes a lot of sense, especially if you have a particular colour/texture in mind that you have never tried before or you are using a different clay body). After making and bisque firing two double-sided test pieces, I now had four sides on which to test different approaches to colouring and texture. I have started by adding iron; cobalt; manganese and nickel oxides to the base engobe recipe already applied to the eyes and brushed this into the recessed lines, wiping any excess off. I have used the same engobe to delineate the handles from the body (which I still hoping will be a matt orange – research suggests easier said than done). The images below are a series of test tiles from my recent attempts to source a textural orange. Fired to 950C.

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Eye-ball pot has made its way back into the kiln for a firing of the black arms, sides and relief lines. Unfortunately, issues of kiln efficiency meant that I ended up firing to 1160C (rather than the intended 1120C). The outcome is a glossier surface than I had wanted, but needs must. I am coming to accept and appreciate that it is best to simply make the most of what I can learn from every decision I make. Armed with this knowledge, and with increasing skill, I might return to, and repeat, a past form, with a greater ability to predict and control an intended outcome (while still of course appreciating the element of surprise). With this result, no longer sure that the orange test will work, as seems too intense. The clay itself has undergone a transformation at 1160C, producing a warm light orange colour. Will continue to give some thought about whether to continue with my plan to have green and blue eyes.

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Taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape, clay forms and torn clay strips were draped over a plaster slump mould to create a textured surface on the inside of a bowl form (did not know exactly how this would look until the bowl was lifted from the plaster). Experimenting with oxides such as manganese, red iron, cobalt and copper will hopefully provide some idea of how to reveal the surface texture of this work.

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With a growing understanding of working with hard slab (rolling, drying, handling, joining), we are moving on to start building a small body of work. To anchor this work, we have chosen a theme (mine is the Waiheke sea bed at low tide), captured and selected a number of images, drawn thumbnail sketches to isolate an aspect of the image, and then used this in the construction of a hand-built slab object.

The small body of work is growing very slowly, but I am hoping to chose three images from each of three locations on Waiheke Island and respond in some way to these. I did find that trying to think about what each finished piece might look like was tough. Drawing a small thumbnail of a part of each image has been helping to narrow down my focus. Starting with a basic square has helped me to again narrow down my ideas and work on adding simple textures and lines as a reference to place, rather than overcomplicating the work and making it too obvious. Penny did suggest that there might be some element of the location that could be included in the piece to give a reference to place? Will need to go and spend some more time there and see what jumps out.

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What is also great about working with very experienced and established artists such as Penny Ericson, is that they have amazing libraries, with some of the older books no longer available, but just as relevant now as they were when first printed. Some lovely inspiring works in this text.

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Week One of the throwing module began with a lesson on wedging – kneading the clay to remove air bubbles, aligning the molecules in the clay and creating a uniform consistency (homogenous). We are concentrating on the spiral technique (lots of practice required I think). The resulting clay cone should then be placed point down on the wheel as it is less likely to trap any air between clay and wheel head.

Centering the clay is the fundamental first step when throwing any round uniform objects on the potter’s wheel. The wheel should be rotating at speed and the clay kept wet while one hand steadies and the other works against the centrifugal force to create a conical shape that runs true (no wobble). This is known as coning. Consider the height of your intended work when coning, as low/wide objects (plates) should start with a low dome and higher objects (cylinders) start with a taller, narrower dome.

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Week two challenge was to throw 8-10 even walled finished cylindrical forms that would be ready for turning and firing the following week. Did manage to throw a reasonable example on my first attempt and then it was all downhill from there, until the last cylinder which again was not too bad (if I do say so myself). Maybe after the next 200 I might be able to produce cylinders of the same size/quality. Using the same weight of clay each time and keeping the base the same diameter does help to produce cylinders of the same size.

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Cylinders, cylinders and more cylinders. As many thrown forms begin with the cylindrical form at its heart, probably a good idea to get some practice in. Have started with a basic cylinder and trimmed rings of clay from the exterior walls to begin changing the form (a nod to the work of John Parker). Another variation on the theme was to join two cylinders together, both to add height and vary the form again. Using a set of callipers certainly helps to guide the diameter of each cylinder, in the hope that they will be the same diameter and fit together well. Flaring the rim of each cylinder also helps with joining, and can be removed when trimming, if a straight wall is desired.

Have been learning the hard way over the last two weeks about the importance of wrapping incomplete works well to avoid drying beyond the point at which you can safely trim (especially if you are not returning to the work until the following week). Do not keep on a bat as this draws moisture away. Place work on plastic and cover completely or perhaps place in a plastic airtight box awaiting next steps.

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From cylinder to bowl. A Baber/Bridgford collaboration/commemorative piece (thanks for bringing it back from the brink of collapse Hayley, and for all the support you have given us over the course of this module). Starting with a 1.5kg (or thereabouts) wedged ball of stoneware clay, a cylinder is thrown with sufficient height to allow the walls to be progressively pressed out and formed into a bowl. Using a wooden kidney helps to create a uniform shape that is able to be repeated, and contributes to a smoother inside surface. The form is trimmed at the base and separated from the batt (but not removed) using a wire toggle. Leaving to dry overnight.

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Trimming the base and exterior walls of the bowls provides for a foot ring and walls and base of uniform thickness. This helps to reduce cracking as the vessel shrinks at the same rate as it is drying. A foot ring not only creates a more refined base to the bowl, but allows you to glaze the base, adding strength to the bowl when finished. Trimming takes a steady and supported hand as very easy to let the loop tools catch and dig out a chunk of clay that can take some work to remedy.

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After leaving this bowl to dry for 24 hours, it had dried just enough to allow me to remove it from the bat and turn in over onto the wheel for trimming, supporting its own weight and keeping its shape. Trimming softer clay has both advantages and disadvantages. Less pressure required to remove clay but very easy to dig in too deep. The softer clay did allow me to reform it into another shape (was trying for a waka and ended up with a seed pod form?).

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Attempting to trim a platter when not dry enough for the rim to support the weight of the base is another lesson one learns the hard way. No coming back from this one, except to throw another one. Onwards and outwards.

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The whanau (my sons Brendan and Logan) trimming their first father/son creations.

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Playing around with cylinders joined together allow for more height to this form.

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Getting in some cylinder/bowl throwing practice. Base of one of the bowls was too thin to trim so have joined then to create an ovoid form (at least I think its an ovoid?).

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One of the positives that come from not yet being able to get your thrown forms thin, is that at least the coffee will stay hot for a while, as we know how long the work takes to cool down once it is heated.

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A number of completed pieces from this first throwing module.

Exploring the Materiality

Paper clay is, as the name suggests, a combination of paper and clay. We have been using a 30% (can be as low as 5%) paper (newsprint or tissue)/ 70% clay (white) combination to explore how this medium can be manipulated. It has been suggested that paper clay will allow us to construct larger works than might be possible with clay alone, without sacrificing any strength. Dry forms can be joined with perhaps more success using a slip of paper clay, due in part, to the presence of cellulose fibres in the clay. Cellulose and clay shrink at the same rate according to Rosette Gault.

A paper clay pioneer, Rosette Gault has published a book (Paperclay: art and practice Gault, Rosette 2018) that explores this medium in depth (well worth a read in my opinion and includes some great images). In this text she explains that ‘each cellulose fibre …resembles a water-absorbent, tapered drinking straw’ and that cellulose has a ‘spiral structure made up of tightly-wound coils, which flex, stretch and compress with surprising tensile strength in many directions’. Over the next 5 weeks will be trying out a few techniques using paper clay in the hope that we can learn about some of the advantages of adding paper to clay.

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Resources

Very early on in our exploration of paper clay (both in liquid form and as a more plastic material) it was obvious that a plaster batt was an essential resource for any potters studio. Plaster draws moisture away from the clay and allowed us to make sheets of paper clay after pouring a layer onto the batt and allowing it to dry enough that it could be handled. While learning the art of mixing plaster (first batch an absolute disaster as I used the ‘looks about right’ method instead of measuring accurately and following manufacturer’s instructions) I did also make a concave plaster mould to help with the construction of convex/concave forms.

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Paper clay sheet and concave mould

From Moroccan lampshades and the mesmerising shadows they cast, to a love of the ocean surrounding Waiheke island where I live, and the stainless steel works of Virginia King https://www.virginiakingsculptor.com , came an idea to create a ceramic form that might cast shadows of wave forms in motion. I started by pouring liquid clay onto a plaster batt to dry out until I could pick it up and cut it into strips. I decided to create a circular wire armature the diameter of my concave mould (this might help when the form is suspended) and applied several coats of paper clay to this and allowed to dry. Corrugated strips of paper clay were laid into the mould and attached to the armature with paper clay slip. Once bone dry (could support itself) I removed the form from the mould and repeated to process without the wire armature, joining the two concave forms while the second was still wet, effectively joining the two together.

Lots of problem-solving with what I am calling my LightWave work. Paper clay strips have been separating from the steel outer ring (not enough paper clay encasing the steel?). When moving the work, the steel is flexing and causing the strips to crack and even break in half. One of the advantages of paper clay is that you can join sections of dry together more successfully than clay alone, and this does seem to be the case (luckily). As not confident that the form will stand on the steel ring, and worried that the strips do not have sufficient strength to support the weight of the work, the question of how to fire it needs some thought. Knowing that the steel armature in my Marine Form was unaffected by the bisque firing, I thought I might make three steel supports that will sit around the outer ring and see if this works (outcome to follow).

With steel supports too unstable, kiln props unable to sit sufficiently below outer ring of work, and worried that the paper clay strips didn’t have the strength to support the entire weight of the piece, back to drawing board. Plan B – construct 4 clay supports that should fit securely around the outer edge when placed on kiln shelf (might be back with Plan C).

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We have been very fortunate to work alongside Peter Collis (and his lovely wife Julie of course), in his Birkenhead studio over the last few weeks. Here is a link to their website https://collisstudios.co.nz. Really interesting to spend time in a working studio space and to have an opportunity to observe him in practice and talk about all things ceramic (and other cool stuff as well). Inspired by their time in Bora Bora and Polynesian design, Peter uses paper clay to construct beautiful waka that reference both his experience there and our Pacific identity. I have constructed my own small waka to remind me of our time together. A couple of images in its greenware state. Thinking about using Egyptian paste (as Peter does) with perhaps a blue/green glaze underneath? Will post an image when completed (currently in a bisque firing).

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Below is the current look of the waka with a cobalt/copper oxide below an Egyptian paste. I was hoping that the oxide would combine with the paste much more than has happened. The increase in temperature has also impacted on the stability of the waka slightly so may be best to call it a day on this version and plan another for 2020 (I may be tempted to add a coating of oxide on top of the paste and re-fire, just out of curiosity).

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Below is the final outcome after adding another application of a cobalt/copper oxide blend. More copper and less cobalt (percentages unknown). Has certainly toned down the overwhelming whiteness of the Egyptian paste.

Below are the final images of my first attempt to create the Eye of Uenuku. The plan for next year is to re-create the eye with a porcelain paper clay and fire to a higher temperature. Hopefully I will remember the challenges from this first attempt and see if I can make changes that will improve my joins and eliminate the cracking.

Thanks for joining me!

Over the next two years I will be documenting my journey as I navigate the Otago Polytechnic NZ Diploma of Art and Design Ceramic Level 5. The image below was the final collaborative work produced by some of the amazing young people who were part of our Shining Start ECLC whanau, and myself, who fulfilled the role of Atelierista (a Reggio Emilia inspired approach). A kiwi taking yet more tentative steps along the path, that of the life-long learner.