collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school children

collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school childrenAll this week Sculpture at Kingham Lodge has welcomed 3000 local school children for a sneak preview of the exhibits – some of which have been made by themselves.

Kingham Lodge has an ambitious vision to put art back on the school curriculum. As well as supporting artists’ residencies in local schools, they fund art clubs, art competitions, art materials, teacher training in 23 North Cotswold settings.  They reckon to give over 3,500 local children the opportunity to engage with art…which we think is pretty amazing!

As part of their artist residency program, Jon took the Flying Potter mobile studio into x4 schools, building  a collaborative terracotta sculpture with each. The results have been fired and delivered to Kingham Lodge where they can be viewed alongside the work of National and Internationally renowned artists.

The Exhibition runs 20 – 29 May 2023 and we definitely recommend a visit. Admission is FREE, but you will need to book your visit online.

Jon thoroughly enjoyed working with:

Bourton-on-the-Water Primary Academy

made these lovely air, sea and land themed collaborative plant pots.

 

Chadlington Primary School

made bees, bugs, butterflies and bee hive.

terracotta bee hive covered in bees made by primary school childrencollaborative terracotta butterfly made by primary school children

Enstone Primary School

made sculptural bird baths encrusted with garden birds.

three terracotta bird baths covered in garden birds made by school children

Stow-on-the-Wold Primary School

made the fabulous barn owl sat on a tree stump.

collaborative terracotta barn owl sat on a terracotta tree stump encrusted with bugs made by school children

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

pottery tiles made by school children arranged in the shape of an oak tree

pottery tiles made by school children arranged in the shape of an oak tree

As new leaves unfurl, we are reminded of all the lovely tree tile panels we’ve made with school children all over the West Midlands and beyond. This multi-coloured beauty was made with Cheltenham College Pre-Prep in the Autumn term of last year.

clay owl made with a bag of clay by jon from eastnor pottery and the flying potter

albert the albatross stuffed bird at worcester art gallery and museum

We always enjoy a clay sesh at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, especially as we get to see our old friend Albert the Albatross!

Albert was presented to the city’s museum collection in 1902 by a Mr Percy Pryce Brown, a refrigerator engineer aboard RMS Waimate! The museum curator and top notch taxidermist Mr W. Edwards preserved the bird while a custom-made display case was built by local carpenter W. W. Hunt. Albert has been admired by museum visitors for over a hundred years and is currently displayed in the activities room….which is where we get to work with pottery participants of all ages and abilities.

This time, Jon worked with a group of youngsters from a local nursery school exploring clay on the tables and potter’s wheel. Everybody had a fantastic time and the session just flew by, almost as quickly as a wondering albatross!

albert the albatross at worcester city art gallery and museumclay owl made with a bag of clay by jon from eastnor pottery and the flying potterclay pot made on potter's wheel by early years childrenclay spider made by child at worcester city art gallerywet pot made on potter's wheel by a very young child at worcester museum

pear tree tile panel made by bromsgrove first school in worcestershire with the help of herefordshire artist jon the potter williams

jon the potter assembling school project tile panel made with the orchards school in worcestershire

The Flying Potter Jon Williams from Eastnor Pottery worked with every single child at The Orchards School, Bromsgrove to make this fantastic pear tree tile panel.

On it’s website the school aims to: “develop a love of learning and the opportunity for each individual to achieve their full potential and to develop and explore their own interests in a secure and challenging environment” We reckon the clay project certainly fulfilled this aim!  Every child hand modeled either a fruit, leaf or branch covered in clay decoration depicting an aspect of school life they enjoyed or excelled at.

The tiles, all 268 of them were mounted on to painted and cut MDF boards and delivered to School ready for installation in the Autumn term. The panel will be hung near the reception area to be admired by children, staff and visitors forever more – a permanent reminder of what can be achieved when we all work together.

close up of orchards school project will herefordshire artist jon the potter williams