Sussex Harvest Course
Celebrate the season from harvest to oven! We will make a charming miniature Sussex clay trug filled with tiny, hand-shaped autumn vegetables. Then, we move to the kitchen, with a classic small batter bowl and a sponge-printed baking dish—absolutely perfect for autumn apple crumbles.
5 Weeks | £185
• w/c 19th October – 16th November
Tuesday or Thursday evenings, or Wednesday afternoons
Register HERE
TUESDAYS 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Gluggle Jugs: 30 June – 7 July
Bells: 14 July – 21 July
WEDNESDAYS, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
5- week Course: 1 July – 29 July
THURSDAYS 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Mugs: 2 July – 9 July
Cats: 16 July – 23 July
Students in the February course made Gluggle jugs. Have a look at their brilliant work. Yes, they do Glug-glug-glug!
Slip ware is particularly British and I love it. Feathering dates from the mid 17th century and was produced primarily in Devon and Staffordshire. It transformed rustic country pottery into ornamental pieces. Sadly, the technique was replaced by industrialisation and died out by 1900.
Not to worry, now you can make your own Feathered masterpiece in the May course. We’ll be making a cylindrical vase or lamp. It is fun to do and the results are reliably lovely.
There is an additional £10 fee for the lamp fitting which you can pay in class. You’ll also need to find your own lampshade.
This is a hybrid of coiling using sprigs, stamps, and coils. Beginning in the centre you’ll build up concentric rings of pattern and colour – bringing order and harmony to the cosmos and we’ll forget all about Donald Trump.
Have you heard that this year. for the first time in its history, the Chelsea Flower show is allowing Garden Gnomes. Apparently, King Charles likes them. We made gnomes in a short course shortly before Christmas last year. The student’s made characters ranging from artists to fishermen to body builders. You can make one of the more traditional wheelbarrow sort or create somebody else. I’m going to make King Henry the Eighth (I hope Charles isn’t offended).
The Green Man symbolises nature, rebirth, and spring – and Spring is nearly here. He is a, mysterious figure in British folklore, typically depicted as a face made of, or surrounded by, leaves.
Made with stoneware clay, slab, sprigs, stamps and modelling. Finished with a chrome oxide wash
This project combines the functional with sculptural. You’ll convert a large pinch pot into a mythical figure.
A mixture of pinch pots, slabs and modelling. White earthenware clay decorated with underglazes and crackle glaze
A more upright form will show off your texture. Vases, urns and bottles are great but a straight-sided bowl can work too. The great thing about coiling is that things don’t have to be round. Maximum height is 20cm (but it can also be shorter).
This is a bit like using an icing bag to decorate a cake except you’ll use slip instead of icing.
Other ways to add texture is by removing (or adding) clay with a tool or modelling with your fingers as you’re coiling.
We’ll use my Stoneware glazes (the glaze used on my mugs) which break beautifully over texture. Layering the colours can give some groovy results and applying them over black slip gives a whole other dimension of groove. These examples show how glaze enhances the texture (although I may not have all of the same colours)
Gluggle Jugs, Moths and People Planters. Take a course to get through the last weeks of winter and get ready for Spring. Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Wednesday afternoons. All are welcome, from beginners to more experienced potters.
The January course is decorating terracotta mugs, dipped in white slip. It can be left duo colour, (white and the reddish-brown of terracotta). Or, coloured underglaze can be applied with either a brush or a sponge.
Imagine a design or look online or in books for ideas. One thing to keep in mind….the surface is quite soft, and it’s not really possible to sketch out the design before-hand. So some degree of spontaneity is required.
I decorated my mug. Here’s a step by step guide for one way to do it.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
love and pottery,
Julie
I put symbols about our household into my design. Tulips (my husband is Dutch) Growing out of a pot (that’s me) and we have a lovely pigeon couple living behind our house (named Mr and Mrs. Stubbs).
You can find ideas on the internet and on my Pinterest Page. When you’re learning, it’s okay to copy. Your version will always be your own.
The tile is 17x17cm and this is the size for your full-size drawing.(tracing, baking and printer paper are all okay.) If you’re using an irregular shape, keep it roughly this size. (It can be more narrow but only 3 cm taller).
