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cheltenham 6th former does work experience at eastnor pottery in herefordshire

cheltenham 6th former does work experience at eastnor pottery in herefordshireSay hello to Mac!

Mac, a 6th former at Bishop’s Cleeve High School in Cheltenham spent his work experience week with us in February.

We loved having him around the place and his enthusiasm and good nature made for a brilliant experience all round. At the end of the week we asked him to write a short review of his Eastnor Pottery experience. This is what he had to say:

After being informed by my school that we were expected to find a work experience placement, at first, I was lost for ideas as to what I wanted to do. I searched for weeks to find something that interested me, and ended up sending around twenty e-mails to various different businesses, all of which either rejected me or did not bother to reply, the process of finding something ended up being a stressful and demoralising one. That’s when I decided to send an e-mail to Eastnor Pottery and had a good feeling about it. A day later, Jon replied and immediately came across friendly and enthusiastic about the idea, which really put my mind at rest, and I was exited when everything was sorted out for me to spend a week there.

Before I arrived, I was initially a tad nervous, which is the way I feel when being placed in an unfamiliar environment, however as soon as I entered the building, I was immediately put at ease. Everyone I met were so kind and welcoming, and I settled in very quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and any task I was given, I took on with a smile plastered on my face, from washing and cleaning the studio to glazing finished pots, loading the kiln and even being able to make  my own products, it was a pleasure to work in such warm and bright surroundings with people who evidently love what they do, which shows clearly through the workshops they offer, which I observed closely and would recommend to anyone. Furthermore, it has given me a new interest in ceramics, which is something I’d love to extend beyond my work experience placement. Finally, id like to offer my deepest gratitude to Jon, Sarah, and the rest of the team at Eastnor Pottery for providing me with an amazing experience, in a studio I would love to potentially return to one day, this time as a customer, to use the skills they have taught me to use! 

I think we might be seeing a bit more of Mac in the future. :)

clay castle made from individual bricks made at the cheltenham science festival by lots of families and school children

families making clay bricks in the makershack at cheltenham science festival 2019

It was fab to be back at the Cheltenham Science Festival last month.

We’ve been involved in the Makershack since its inauguration in 2017. This 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 2020.clay castle made from individual bricks made at the cheltenham science festival by lots of families and school children

school children enjoying hands on making clay bricks at cheltenham science festival 2019

Hereford YR10 work experience placement at Eastnor PotteryWe are firmly committed to offering young people opportunities to develop their life skills and creativity.

Each year we welcome to the Pottery at least one or two YR10 students from local high schools, looking to experience what it’s like to be a creative practitioner. This year we were joined by Naima from Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School.

Naima packed kilns, wrapped customers work and helped with the day to day running of the studio. She approached her tasks with maturity and willingness enabling us to offer her more and more responsibility as the week progressed. The placement culminated with Naima coaching teachers and educationalists on how to use the potter’s wheel at an Artists in Education event in Birmingham!

Well done Naima and we look forward to seeing how your career in the creative industries develops.

Eastnor Pottery offers YR10 work experience placements to local high schools

 

terracotta koi carp made by Regency High School and Eastnor PotteryJon entered Regency High School, Worcester on a mission to help students and staff make a shoal of terracotta clay fish.

They managed to construct five Koi Carp, Jon working with each class for an hour or so. Although the fish looked amazing and everybody was proud of their collaborative efforts, Jon was even more excited about the clay work produced by the students who approached the making of scales in their own, unique way.

“I’m continually staggered by the variety of new and creative approaches to clay innovated by adults and children with Special Educational Needs or disabilities. You think you’ve seen it all and then somebody does something with the material you’ve never seen before – amazing and inspiring!”

clay fish scale made by student at Regency High School in Worcester