Blending In

I've been blending up another batch of clay for making ancient pottery replicas, this one is a mixture of some old recycled clay, some found locally in Upwey and a bit of new commercial earthenware clay - with added special ingredients of some sand from Hengistbury Head, some fairly coarse hand crushed fired clay (grog), some crushed flint and a pinch or two of iron oxide. I have used it to construct by hand some replica Glastonbury Ware bowls, which I hope will come out looking OK.
I had a shock to find that the test pot that I made using the clay dug in Coombe Valley Road - which I'd fired in my electric kiln - had started to disintegrate because I had not removed all the small chunks of flint and they had taken a few days to take in some water from the air resulting in an expansion and conversion to a powdery nodule. I just hope that the seiving I did with the next batch of clay removed all of that troublesome stuff, otherwise I have waste a good few hours recently! The next batch is currently swinging in a farmers shop bag drying out in the breeze.

I am getting ready for next weekend - I am making pots as part of the Ancient Wessex Network team at "Spring Tide", run by the National Trust at Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock. It looks like the weather may be better than forecast a few days ago. www.spring-tide.org.uk

Last Saturday I went to a meeting of the Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group, hosted by Wessex Archaeology at Salisbury - it was a fantastic opportuinity to handle some real pieces of ancient pottery and talk to the archaeologists about it. They were also very kind about the pots of mine I took along - although, as expected, they prefered the slight seconds and firing rejects to the glazed pots I shown them.

Glastonbury Wares

I've been experimenting recently with the shapes and decorations of "Glastonbury Ware" - an Iron Age pottery type that has a distinctive shape and incised decoration, which has an echo of the swirling "Celtic" designs. This one may well be a design inspired by gold neck rings made of twisted metal strands with large globular ends.
This was thrown on the wheel, but I will also try making some by hand out of rings of clay joined together.

I have also been playing mud pies again, the local farmer dug some trial trenches next to my father-in-laws house, I guess to explore putting in some drainage. That threw up a load of fairly good clay which I selected some from. I have broken it up and left it to soak, then thinned it down to a slip which passed though a kitchen seive to remove the small flint grains. Now it is being dried out in plaster molds ready to be blended with sand and used to make more ancient replicas.
Take a look at the webpage to see some more details.

Throwing Away

I've started throwing today - a large batch of small globes for use Raku Firing during the Upwey Potters show which starts in a month's time and also for the Dorset Art Fair at Kingston Maurward. I really enjoyed getting back on the wheel after what seems like months spent hand-building the ancient pottery replicas. It brought home to me how productivity can be increased by using equipment and skills learnt over a long period of time, rather than working without tools and not a sufficiently long period of practice!

Having said that, I am very pleased with the urns I've been making by hand for the Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre.
This one shows off the decoration applied by pushing a piece of rope into the damp clay.
I have come to the conclusion that I will use the Wood fired kiln to fire some of these - just taking them gently up to 900C, to turn them ceramic and perhaps get some effect of the wood burning.

Creativity In a Nutshell

Back from Creativity In The Bronze Age Conference - a mixed bag of offerings, as usual with these sort of events some good and some not so good, from my own perspective. I'm not sure it delivered "what it said on the tin" about the creative process, but as that was a very tall order perhaps I should not be surprised. However some very thought provoking ideas were being kicked about - some useful concepts and ways of looking at how we operate as makers, but some ideas were knocked senseless.

Now back to getting ready for the workshops at Hengistbury Head next week, spent today preparing some more clay and making some more beakers and a larger collared urn that is needed as an example. Looks like over 50 people will be turning up over the 3 days to come and play!

Conference Calls

I'm currently in Cambridge at the start of the CinBA conference, all about creativity in the Bronze Age. Very hopeful of an interesting and instructive couple of days - mixing with archaeologists and makers. Slightly worried about how my attempt at engaging them will be received.

Telling It Like It Is

I've spent a good few hours compiling bulk email news alerts - so that all the fans and admirers of the organisations I work with get to hear about what is happening this year.
I use the Mail Chimp system, which seems to work very well for this sort of communication on the internet. Most folk seem happy to be told or reminded about activities.
Take a look at the Artseeker Mail Chimp News Alert.
I've also set up some of this year's events on the Ancient Wessex Network Website.
It looks like I will have a busy summer..... 

Down My Way

I've had a great couple of days making and firing pots at Down Farm, as part of the project I am doing making replicas for the new visitor centre at Hengistbury Head. I was being recorded on video to be shown at the centre on a loop as part of the display.
We had some reasonable successes, several pots survived the firings and we made a very good large collared urn.
Thanks to Mark and Jennie for their help and encouragement.
I have posted a report on my website at this link.