Ceramic artist Jon Williams muses on the many collaborative tile projects he’s facilitated in Primary schools in and around the West Midlands.
Pottery in schools
As an artist working in education, I get to work in a variety of different ways. Sometimes, I’m engaged to work with just a handful of children, exploring a certain aspect of the curriculum eg language and communication. The outcomes here are usually a set of photographs or notes documenting the children’s learning whilst they interact with the clay.
Commemorate
On other occasions, the Flying Potter is employed to work with the whole school to build a commemorative work of art. The school might be celebrating a special anniversary or want to illustrate school values. These whole school projects, often take place in a single day and involve hundreds of children getting hands-on with the clay.
Collaborate
The idea, each child makes a small piece of the whole so when these pieces are displayed together, they reveal a composite form. It might be individual feathers on an owl…or scales on a fish. Floor space inside school is a premium. If I’m commissioned to make 3D sculpture, it’ll generally end up outside in the school grounds. If I’m asked to facilitate an interior piece, it’s usually in the form of a tile panel or ceramic frieze.
Leaves on trees
In 30 years of working with schools I’ve designed many different tile panels. Trees are always popular, (acorns to oaks & all that!) and quite easy to do. The shape and size of the tree is dictated by the number of leaves produced by the children so minimal pre-planning necessary.
Bespoke designs & logos
On other occasions, the school requests a particular shape. It might be a character from a book, animal or school emblem. These projects demand a little more preparation and planning. A scale drawing is produced and then divided up, jigsaw style into smaller sections. These are turned into templates for the children to make their individual tiles. I’m a keen advocate for children to have complete ownership of the making and are encouraged to do all the rolling, cutting and decorating of the clay tiles.
Workshop sessions
On the actual day of the practical clay work, it makes sense for me to be stationed in one place. This is usually the school hall or similar space with a hard standing floor. The day is split into five or six separate workshops with each class visiting the clay area for a ¾ hr session. At the end, the clay tiles are crated up and carefully transported to Eastnor Pottery.
The ceramic process
The tiles will need to dry thoroughly before being loaded into the kiln. Wet or damp clay will crack and explode if fired too soon. The tiles have two firings and are in the kiln for a total of x4 days. What with the drying, care-taking and glazing, it can take up to x6 weeks before the finished tiles are ready for installation. Although I can mount the tiles on boards ready for hanging, I encourage schools to save this extra cost by doing it themselves. Most schools have a member of staff or know a parent with a DIY passion who’ll be prepared to undertake this simple but time consuming task.
Although it’s the responsibility of the school to collect finished work from Eastnor Pottery, I’ll endeavour to personally deliver if I happen to be passing – usually on my way home from another school project.
If you would like Jon the Potter to work with your school or have an important anniversary you’d like to commemorate in clay, please get in touch using the website contact form:
