Ceramic Weekly Classes

Over the six week period you will produce one pinch pot, one slab built pot, a thrown pot using the wheel and will end the course with a raku firing!!!
Week 1
You will start the block with a brief introduction to different kinds of pots, coiled, slabbed, thrown with examples. Including samples of raku, stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, slipware.
You will then be shown a number of demonstrations simple pinch pot, coil additions and extruded coils.
This session will end with an explanation of coloured slip addition before wrapping ready for sgrafitto the following week.
Week 2
Starts with a demonstration of rolling slabs using rolling pins, guides and cloths, with an explanation of how and when is best to use slabs.
Demonstration of crosshatching (scratch and slip) for joining slabs, slab forms loosely wrapped for decoration and trimming the following week.
In the final hour you will take previous weeks coil pots out (leather hard) see a demonstration on kidney trimming and slip decoration, potentially burnishing, before tidying up your pots!
Week 3
Finish and tidy previous weeks slab pots and any remaining coil pots with demonstrations on scraping, tidying and sgrafitto.
By this point you will all have a coil pot and slab pot completed, ready for bisque firing.
The second half of the session will consist of a wheel demonstration showing simple cylinder (mug) and bowl forms with 1lb of clay.
You will be encouraged to come up with and start making a design using either slabs or coils or both to create something using the skills they practiced in the first two weeks of the course.
Week 4
While you continue to make your chosen ideas, each of you in turn will have a one to one session with Ben on the potters wheel where patience will be required to make something for the conclusion of the 6 weeks.
Week 5
By this point you will have 2 bisque fired items (coil and slab form) you will be demonstrated dipping and wiping glaze with explanation of temperatures, firings and glazing. Each of you will then dip and wipe your own pieces with glazing tongs.
Remainder of the session to be finishing any self directed pieces off they started in week 4 with assistance from Ben.
Week 6
To conclude the 6 weeks any wobbly wheel forms thrown by you in Week 4 will have now been bisque fired and we will spend the first half hour decorating them with Raku glazes which I will bring followed by an outdoor session doing a raku firing where by the end of the night you can take away your completed raku fired creations. Lots of FUN!!!

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