makershack at cheltenham science festival

girl making an octopus in makershack cheltenham science festival

Delighted to announce we’ll once again be expounding the scientific attributes of clay at The Cheltenham Science Festival taking place 6-11 June 2023.

We’ve been a  staple of the MakerShack since 2016 and worked with 10’s of thousands of participants getting hands on with clay in this marvelous, family friendly interactive space.

Just to whet your appetite, here’s a few photos from the MakerShack last year….and a lovely little video produced by the the organisers.

makershack at cheltenham science festival

terracotta pheasant made by hundreds of visitors to eastnor castle fun week

terracotta dalek from dr who at eastnor potteryOver the years, The Flying Potter has facilitated pottery workshops with oodles of festivals and events, many of which culminate in a collaborative terracotta outcome. The majority of activities often take place in temporary spaces, so the organiser doesn’t necessarily require the fired, finished masterpiece after the event has taken place. As a result, the final ‘resting place’ for many of our projects is our lovely garden here at Eastnor Pottery.

If you ever have the good fortune to visit us here in Herefordshire, please take a moment or two to scour the hedges and flower boarders – you never know what you might discover!

terracotta pheasant made by hundreds of visitors to eastnor castle fun weekcollaborative terracotta dragon made at eastnor castle by eastnor pottery and castle visitors

sarah monk ceramics including egg cups lemon squeezers and soap dishes

sarah monk ceramics including egg cups lemon squeezers and soap dishes

Sarah is super thrilled to be taking part in the Digital Craft Festival 26th  – 28th March 2021.

The online international event aims to promote the very best contemporary makers through an exciting program of talks demos and films. Visitors will also have the opportunity to buy direct from 150 selected artists working in all kinds of materials.

This is the first time she’s taken part:

“I’ve enjoyed this event lots in the past….. it’s so lovely! A fun filled weekend of craft demonstrations, interviews and workshops on InstagramFacebook and zoom.  The Digital Craft Festival is an opportunity I would ordinarily have to pass on, what with the 3.5k class participants that pass through the doors each year at Eastnor Pottery. As the Studio is currently closed to visitors I have had more time to focus on my own work. I’m launching lots of new designs in my shop especially for the event!”

As well as selling from her online shop, Sarah will be running a ‘make along’ zoom class.

“I will show you step by step how to make your own clay bug house and you can make along with me! No previous pottery experience is required. The pottery techniques I will be sharing with you are slab building and sgraffito decoration. Once you have made your wonderful clay house, leave it to air-dry at home.”

If you’d like to take part in the class you’ll need to purchase a ticket from her website.

 

childrens hands in wet squidgy clay at cheltenham science festival 2019

childrens hands in wet squidgy clay at cheltenham science festival 2019Under normal circumstances (remember them!?) we’d have been up to our eyeballs in clay at the brilliant Maker Shack as part of Cheltenham Science Festival.

We’ve been involved in the Makershack since its inauguration in 2017. Last year we encouraged visitors to make a press molded brick, using real brick clay from Coleford Brick and Tile Company based in the Forest of Dean.

The bricks were assembled into a giant castle and we worked with nearly 10,000 people over the x6 days of the festival! – that’s a shed load of bricks! The sheer volume of visitors meant we had to build a fresh structure each day, deconstructing the building at the close and re-claiming the material for the next morning.

Athough the Makershack was primarily aimed at Primary school aged students – (and man, there must have been very few Gloucestershire schools who didn’t visit the show), on Friday night grown-ups got to play with the technology in a special after-hours session between 8pm and 10pm.

Although it’s full-on, we love the #makershack and look forward to sharing the scientific benefits of engaging with clay, with festival visitors in 2021.

ceramic artists jon williams and sarah monk take part in the digital hey clay festival 2020
ceramic artists jon williams and sarah monk take part in the digital hey clay festival 2020
This is the 6th time we’ve been involved with this fabulous FREE event and usually we’re full to the rafters with lovely people having loads of fun on the potter’s wheel. As we’re not re-opening to the public until 1st July, we’ll be celebrating HeyClay by hosting live tutorials, studio tours and insights into our making across our social media. Here’s a timetable of LIVE events here at Eastnor Pottery and the Flying Potter:

Friday 15th May 2020

11am     Studio Tour (Insta) 😍
1pm      Throwing a pot with Jon Williams (Insta)🤩

Saturday 16th May 2020

10am     Studio Tour (Facebook)😍
11am      Throwing a pot with Sarah Monk (Insta)🤩
1pm       How to make a donut with Jon Williams (Facebook) 🍩
2pm       How to make a soap dish with Sarah Monk 🧼

We hope to see you there! 😀🌈