Pottery Archives | The British Craft House

Posted on 17/08/202130/05/2023 by Sally Jane Originals — Leave a comment

Creative Ceramic Handles

This curly handle technique is demonstrated by Bill van Gilder from Maryland, USA in a YouTube video …

The Magic Shop (Mary & Shelby Ulibarri) from California, USA make these looped handle mugs … more of their work on their Instagram page … https://www.instagram.com/p/CNx1D-GD61c/

Natalie Weinberger Ceramics, based in Brooklyn, New York, USA created these stylish ribbed handles … see more of her work on Instagram … https://www.instagram.com/p/v3zDD9oW8_/

Ninon Choplin was born in Paris and now lives and works in Los Angeles, USA, creating fun, coulourful ceramics … I really like these ‘noodle’ handles … see more of their work on Instagram … https://www.instagram.com/p/BRez2oylSTf/

These volupuous ‘Chub Mugs’ are made by Minneapolis potter Erin Lynn Smith. They look so tactile … see more of her work on her Instagram page … https://www.instagram.com/p/BUm4yAfgtkb/

Posted on 08/07/202130/05/2023 by Sally Jane Originals — Leave a comment

Pottery Slump Moulds

Slump mould? This is an obvious term for a hand-building potter but may raise a few eyebrows in the uninitiated. I will first explain, then I will share with you a cheap & cheerful method to make a home-made slump mould.

Slump mould

This is a concave mould, like the shape of the inside of a bowl, intended to take the clay inside the curve of the mould.

Usually in a pottery studio, a slump mould is made from plaster of Paris. The clay can be put into the mould as a rolled-out slab or as balls, spirals or strips of clay.

: Commercial plaster slump mould

The inside surface of the slab form is exposed, allowing it to be decorated with underglaze, slip or impressed marks

The outer face of the slab is in contact with the mould, which will shrink away from the plaster of Paris as the clay dries.

Homemade slump mould

This is my version of a homemade slump mould …

You will need a strong cardboard box & a sharp knife (plus of course your clay!)

Draw the shape of the rim onto the box – in this case I am going for an oval rim – and cut aound the shape with a sharp knife.

: Homemade Slump Mould (1)

: Homemade Slump Mould (2)

: Homemade Slump Mould (3)

Then place a rolled out slab of clay over the cut-out opening …

: Homemade Slump Mould (4)

Pick up the box and drop it from about 15cm away from the table, the clay should slump slightly into the hole … keep dropping it until the clay has reached the depth you want.

: Homemade Slump Mould (5)

Finally, trim the excess clay from around the rim …

: Homemade Slump Mould (6)

Ant turn out the completed form onto a board to dry.

: Homemade Slump Mould (7)

My next blog will be about a homemade hump mould …

Posted on 02/10/202030/05/2023 by Sally Jane Originals — Leave a comment

CPWF studio open again!

Yesterday Kelly & Sarah, the directors of Cardiff Pottery Workshops Foundation, received confirmation from the Welsh Assembly Government that CPWF is able to remain open to all customers from all areas of South Wales including those in local lockdown areas. This is the result of being an educational facility with high quality classes alongside promoting and supporting mental health and well-being, and is deemed a ‘reasonable excuse’ under local lockdown rules.

I am so pleased for Kelly & Sarah that their business can resume.

Posted on 25/06/202030/05/2023 by Sally Jane Originals — Leave a comment

Back in the studio … slowly & carefully

Back in March, none of us could have anticipated how long it would be before we could come back to the studio; the Welsh Assembly Government has taken things more cautiously than Westminster so things are just starting to open. But all credit to Kelly & Sarah, the studio directors, for their hard work in preparing the studio for reopening with full Covid precaution compliance – new protocols, signage, one-way system, extra tools, rearranging work tables & wheels, hand sanitisers, online booking system – the amount of work they have completed is phenomenal. From next week members of Cardiff Pottery Workshops Foundation can book in to restart creating, seeing things that have been fired while we have been away, start making & glazing new work and settling back into our community. Watch my shop for a gradual release of new items …

Posted on 14/04/202030/05/2023 by Sally Jane Originals — Leave a comment

The new ‘normal’ …

Well who’d have known a couple of months ago that we would all be in this predicament?

The studio had been reopened for 6 weeks, I was starting to get into the rhythm of making again, stuff was starting to go through the kiln firings, sales were beginning again after the post-Christmas slump …

Still, life is never predictable and many, many people have it far worse than I do. I have a comfortable home, a garden, a loving daughter who willingly shops for me and the company of my mother who is sharing lockdown with me.

I have discovered new ways of doing the things I love – speaking to a good friend every evening; a weekly quiz with my badminton group; twice weekly group exercise classes; daily prayer services led by our Rector; weekly sharing of recorded music clips by our church choir; and most importantly for my creative self, the studio is meeting three times a week to pot together! All by the medium of Zoom, an app I had never heard of before lockdown, but such a boon in these isolated times.

The numbers of pieces I have made with the studio group and independently is growing, carefully dried out and packed away in tissue paper until such a time as I can return to the studio to get them fired. I seem to be loving making birds at the moment, probably inspired by the garden birds that I am taking more notice of now, more than ever before.

I’m not sure how much longer this will last. Some days are more difficult than others. Today is difficult. But I’m trying to focus on one day at a time … one … day … at … a … time.