Ceramics
Perfect your pottery at this new workshop
We had a blast trying to throw pots last term. The laughter coming from the room of pottery wheels was testament to this (see this blog post for evidence).
Anyone who missed it, or who wants a refresher of the basics, can now get their chance.
Angus is teaching a new weekly pottery workshop on behalf of the Cairngorms Learning Partnership next month. He’ll be covering the basic skills, including using the wheel, handsculpting and glazing.
The class will run at Grantown Grammar School every Thursday night (from 6-8pm), starting from May 11, for five weeks. The cost is £65.
More information on the course and how to book is available here on the CLP’s website.
March 29: Finishing off
We’ve nearly made it to the end of another term – one of our busiest. This week we’ll be trying to finish off any outstanding work from the past few weeks – or if you’re supr-organised, starting something new.
Last Wednesday night, there was another opportunity to see your designs on bangles. And we also got our hands on our photo-ceramic transfers for blank mugs. Here’s a few wee pictures.
March 15: Tutoring
A chance to work on any ongoing projects you have – whether painting, clay or pastel.
For those doing clay work, you can have a go at glazing. But Angus is also offering the chance to have your drawing turned into a wee transfer for sticking to your ceramics. These are really effective in adding something extra to your piece.
They work brilliantly when they are a simple drawing so if you don’t have anything ready for tomorrow, you can have go during class.
However, these need to be sent away to be printed by a specialist so they need to be finished by the end of the lesson.
Blank ceramics will be available to those who have not made anything in the past few weeks, at a small charge (£1 per piece).
Please remember money for glazed ceramics (£2 per piece).
And there’ll be a selection of Cairngorm-themed images for inspiration.
See the pictures below for some examples of Angus’s use of the transfers.
Another week at the wheel
More time with the clay this week. We’re still not at the stage of firing our pots but there was plenty of work to do to get them ready.
Some of us trimmed, others pinched and hand-built. And a few had another go on the wheel.
Pretty sure all of our creations will be awesome!
March 8: More clay
A chance to continue the clay work started at the previous class.
Angus showed us an example last week that we might try to emulate. He had cut tree shapes out of the sides of his dried pot. With a tealight inside, this would create lovely shadowy effect.
Time to get your thinking caps on?!
The Spey Art Group Clay Fest
Working with clay is always a highlight for the group and Wednesday night (Mar 1) proved no exception.
There were the usual whoops of delight (?) as members got to grips with the range of potters wheels in the art department.
While we are probably not ready to join the ranks of the BBC’s current series of The Great Pottery Throw Down, everyone loved having a go. And there were only a few jokes about Ghost.
Elsewhere, the mood was more sedate as people worked on wee pinch pots, which were harder to construct than Angus made them look.
Everything is now drying off in preparation for a firing. Get ready for more pottery work next week!
March 1: Clay and candles
It’s back to clay work this week. Angus will show us how to use white clay and recycled glass to make a lovely tealight holder. And there will be a Cairngorm theme to link in with our exhibition plans.
Also, the Consequences exhibition at Eden Court Theatre has come to an end and Rona will bring the works to class from 6.30pm for members to collect them.
See you all then!
Mugs
Wednesday night was mug night. Everyone had produced some lovely illustrations and they looked fantastic on the mugs. Is that Christmas shopping taken care of??
JC
Just a wee reminder
We’re printing on mugs and stuff tomorrow night and I’m looking forward to seeing your designs.
For those who would prefer a beer stein, there’ll be a few of those available, along with water bottles, latte mugs, and espresso cups and saucers. Get a price list by clicking here.
There might be a bit of a wait while I’m scanning and printing so bring some work to be getting on with.
Check out the picture, which shows some super-organised people who handed into their lovely drawings last week.
See you at 7pm…
AG
Products for printing
I promised to list available products for printing in advance to keep things simple. Rather than ordering lots of wee bits and bobs I put in a large order for a small range of products. The printed cost is listed below. Pictures of the products are available on the website www.angusgrantart.com
Beer steins £8
Aluminium water bottles £7
Cups and saucers £6
Mugs £4
Tall latte mugs £6
Spey Art Group 