Immersive yourself in the art of the potter
Our longest and most immersive potter’s wheel experience is our weekend course. Not only do participants get to sample the sheer joy of throwing wet clay on the potter’s wheel, but on day two they get to refine and paint their pots.
Leather – hard
Saturday’s pots are left overnight to dry to a consistency known as ‘leather hard’. At this stage they are still classed as being ‘wet’ or ‘green’, but have lost all plasticity. If you try to squash a leather hard pot, it will crack rather than mould to your will.
There are many advantages of working with leather hard clay, for one, its structurally strong. Pots can be attached to the wheel and excess weight trimmed as it spins – similar to working on a lathe. Small pots can be joined to make larger vessels, handles/extrusions can also be added at this stage.
Lets get creative
Perhaps the most creative aspect of working with leather-hard clay on day two is participants have the opportunity to paint their work with coloured slips and underglazes.
Approach to colour
We love the way course participants tackle the decoration – so much imagination and variety in approach. Some participants dedicate time to painting minute detail with a very fine brush onto a single piece. Others prefer to a adopt a freer approach, literally splashing colour onto the surface, treating each pot the same to create a co-ordinated ‘range’.
