Under normal circumstances, The Flying Potter would be meeting thousands of you today at the brilliant and ever popular COUNTRYTASTIC event at the Three Counties Show Ground.
Understandably, the event has been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Fingers crossed, everything will be ok for COUNTRYTASTIC 2021 and we look forward to getting creative with clay with you all then. In the meantime, here are a few choice photos from our unicorn themed pottery sessions at the show last year.
Looks like the Flying Potter has a busy few months ahead! Just look at all the lovely events and festivals the mobile division of Eastnor Pottery will be hosting clay workshops over the Summer. Hope to see you at one of them! :)
4-9 June Makershack, Cheltenham Science Festival. Come and make a clay brick using traditional clay brick making techniques for our collaborative sculpture. FREE event 10am – 5pm daily. Late opening on Friday 8pm-10pm
14 June Royal Three Counties Show Three Counties Showground Malvern. Jon will be there with his potter’s wheel entertaining school groups on the Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire stand.
5-7 July Childwickbury Arts Fair, Hertfordshire. Take a spin on the potter’s wheel the take your clay pot away on the day to paint at home. 10am – 5pm
13 July Brockhampton – come and play with clay in the orchards making insect homes and pots on the kick wheel. 10.30am – 3.30pm
20 July Berrington Hall More brick making! Contribute to a collaborative interactive installation. Make and decorate one for the art work and one to take home as a keep sake.
21-25 July Eastnor Castle. It’s the annual Flying Potter residency! You’ll get the chance to make a dragon head or dino scull to take away and paint at home.
26-27 July Black Country Museum. Adult and family workshop sessions exploring various pottery making techniques and themed on the colourful ceramic world of the art potter Ruskin.
8-11 Aug LAKEFEST! Right here right now, (well in a couple of months anyway!) Once again we’re venturing across the A438 into the deerpark to offer punters the chance to throw a pot on the potter’s wheel at this relaxed and family friendly music festival.
The West Midlands contingent of The National Farmers Union visited the Pottery in October for a spot of team building and creative play. The group spent an hour or so meeting in the Potting Tent (a unique conferencing suite if ever there was one!) before joining us in the studio for the main pottery event.
The group made a ceramic crest, a clay coat of arms depicting agricultural aspects of the five counties. There were two representatives from Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, each sub-team charged with a separate section of the crest. There was also ample time for everybody to throw a few pots on five potter’s wheels we’d primed for the occasion.
New skills discovered and everybody feeling relaxed and refreshed, the team headed back to their Telford HQ.
Last week we headed into Shropshire to deliver their ceramic masterpiece to be hung in their office – a permanent reminder of what can be achieved through teamwork.
We’ve been busy of late transporting clay, tools and Flying Potter magic to educational settings all over the West Midlands.
During the first part of the Autumn term we worked with the following schools, exploring a range of curricular themes and topics in clay.
‘Secret Garden’ inspired outdoor terracotta sculpture at Suckley Primary.
Whole school tile panel in the shape of school logo at Broadwas Primary.
Individual ‘Owl Babies’ with Nursery and YR R at Old Church Primary.
Potter’s wheel workshop with YR4 at Glascote Primary
‘Fire of London’ houses with YR2 at Woodands Infants.
Iron Age huts with YR4 at Finstall First School
Pinch pot Diwali lamps with KS1 at Leominster Primary.
We welcomed Ledbury Young Farmers to the Pottery the other evening and guess what they made out of clay? ;)
