September 2021
ISSUE #012
Hello Potters
Happy 1st Birthday to the SPCI Newsletter
– it has come a long way since the first issue and your contributions have made it special.
But look out, it’s less than 2 months to go to Expressions 2021 in October, that’s right – so there’s no stopping for a party – time to get those pots into the kiln. We are still looking for help with the running of Expressions, information is below in the Club News section, so if you can lend a hand in any way, please let us know. Plus there are some useful pottery tips further down that may make your creative pottery life much easier – so read on.
We really want to see our talented members’ work, so upload your pics to our instagram or facebook page, or email them for inclusion on our social media sites.
Ed Trost - newsletter editor
club email: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com
Hi Everyone and welcome to our September edition!
Well spring is here and I hope with the change of season it gives everyone a renewed burst of creative energy so you can all get cracking on your entries for Expressions next month, I know that’s how I’m hoping to spend my September - busily creating and playing with clay.
Expressions exhibition - 22 to 24 October
The Expressions sub-committee has been very busy organising this year’s exhibition, it’s not a small task and I am grateful to the management committee members, Ann Gillespie, Clare Houston and Linda Rosenthal, along with club members, Jenny Kingdom, Margaret Pettit, Heddy Shears and Jean Smith, who volunteered to assist. I also send thanks to Marie Smith, from SAS Art, who joined us for our first meeting to offer assistance from SAS Art members.
There is still quite a lot to organise however I am pleased to announce that we have finalised the entry form for the exhibition and it is available to everyone via the club’s website! Links to the entry form can be found on the Expressions page and the Events page and also below in the Exhibitions section. We can’t wait to start seeing entry forms coming in.
www.shorncliffepotteryclubinc.com.au/expressions
www.shorncliffepotteryclubinc.com.au/events
A FaceBook events page has also been created to keep you up-to-date with all the news regarding Expressions 2021: https://fb.me/e/3I2UnETtW
4017 Bayside Open Studios - 23 - 31 October
If you haven’t heard already our 4017 area is having its own Open Studios event in October, over two weekends, and the opening weekend will be linked with our Expressions exhibition.
The SPCInc shed will be open on the second weekend of the event, Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October, and we’re seeking members who would be interested in having some of their pieces on show at the shed, and/or who would like to provide demonstrations on the pottery wheel or with hand building on either or both days.
Please let us know via email if you have a piece or pieces you’d like to display on the second weekend or would like to provide a demonstration - shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com.
Be sure to like, follow and share the 4017 Bayside Open Studios’ Facebook page and Instagram page to see all the fabulous local artists/studios who are opening their doors, and to get the word out to the wider community!
As you’ll see in the article further below we have hashtags we’re promoting to help push both Expressions and the Open Studios to the wider community, please use these if you post about these events.
Cheers and happy reading!
Tamara Vitale – President, SPC Inc.
Tuesday + Wednesday + Thursday
+ Friday + Saturday Mornings
9:00am—1:00pm
Thursday Evenings
6:00pm—9:00pm
SESSION FEE — $7.00 per visit, payable either in person using your debit or credit card or by EFT to the club’s bank account.
Account name: Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc.
Bank details: BSB 064124
Account number: 10518225
Please let us know via email if you are intending to come to the club so we can maintain COVID-19 regulations on numbers within the studio.
From the Kiln Corner
This is important for the longevity of the kilns and more importantly the successful outcome for your fired pieces:
Please keep note of what clay and glaze name you use to ensure they both match the firing temperature you are putting your work into
Please completely fill out all information for firing with a visible “maker’s mark” on your work.
Further to that we will be getting busy in the lead up to Expressions so get your work in quickly to avoid disappointment. The next couple of firings will be interesting packs with the works coming from Adrian’s workshop, opening the kiln to new art is a great experience and the next few loads should be spectacular.
The clay situation has not improved but we are getting moderate supplies of the regular clay or similar in other brands.
Happy potting.
Greg, Linda, Catherine and Gabriel
Do you know anyone that shows an interest in your pottery?
If you do, why not invite them to come and try pottery for themselves. The first session is free and you know that once you have made something with clay… you’re hooked!
REMINDER
October is membership renewal time.
Remember you need to be a member of our club to use the facilities and have first access to join the workshops.
We will send an email to all current members later in the month (September) with details of how to renew your membership. If you have any questions in the meantime please send an email to:
shorncliffepotteryclubincmembership@hotmail.com
Promoting Expressions +
Bayside Open Studios
The use of social media and our existing contacts will play a big part in how Expressions and Bayside Open Studios are promoted.
The setbacks of last year’s cancellation of Expressions due to COVID, the change of location and the lack of local newspaper support ,means that everyone in the club needs to be active in promoting the exhibition. Due to all of these factors there will be people and supporters that may have been lost along the way.
We are asking each of you with a social presence to spread the word. We have written a short piece below as a guide for you to use. You can adapt this to suit your own situation or cut and paste as it is, into your Instagram or Facebook posts. For consistency in reaching our audience please use the hashtags at the bottom of the guide. It provides extra promotion if you use these hashtags for any of your artist related posts.
Guide:
I am very excited to be part of the Expressions Exhibition this year. The new venue is the Callan Centre in St Partrick’s College, Shorncliffe, which is the location of the original Shorncliffe Potters Studio. For the pottery club it is like a homecoming. The Expressions Exhibition to be held from 22nd to 24th October, is also the opening weekend of the 4017 Bayside Open Studios event. This is the first time an open studios has been held in the district.
Hashtags:
#expressions
#expressionsexhibition
#expressionsshorncliffe (note the double s)
#shorncliffepotteryclubinc
#4017baysidesopenstudios
#4017sandgate
#sandgate
#shorncliffe
Help Please
Since incorporation Shorncliffe Pottery Club has been running with a core committee of seven. Within this committee the members have multiple roles. These roles are necessary for the smooth running of the club. There are also opportunities available to the club, but we need more assistance from our members to make these happen.
In the day to day running of the club, Gus and Linda are doing a great job. Some help in these daily operations of the club would be greatly appreciated. Maybe you could do the first Thursday or Saturday of each month to allow these hard workers some time off? Contact us on the email below if you can do something like this.
Big thanks goes to both Christina Allen for opening the club on Friday mornings and to Catherine Bennett for opening on Wednesday mornings.
Tamara our president is currently also doing the role of treasurer. We are urgently seeking a member to take on this role of treasurer. The accounting system we have is very simple – no specialised software is involved. If you can help please let us know.
Thanks also goes to Caecelia Skipsey who has volunteered to help write Grant proposals. So if you hear of any Grants, email the committee to let them know.
It has been a yearly and much anticipated event for the Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc. and SASArt to hold the Expressions Exhibition. To be able to continue to hold exhibitions, the committee seeks members to add to the sub-committee to manage the Expressions Exhibition and exhibitions into the future.
If you think that you can help in any way please contact us on the club email. shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com All help gladly received.
Zillmere Library Display
The display at Zillmere Library was showcased throughout last month and proved very popular with even a sale of one of the pieces. Thank you to the potters who displayed such a wide range of ceramic artworks. We definitely have some talented artists in our midst. A HUGE thank you goes out to Linda Rosenthal for organising, transporting and setting up the display.
Club Clay Options and Details
These are the current clay bodies that we have in our store. If you have another clay that you prefer, speak to Gus or Linda to see if they can get it in for you.
BIG thanks to Clare Houston for putting this comprehensive list together.
Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc. has signed up with Containers for Change - a simple recycling system for cans and bottles. It’s easy to do. Take your recyclables to a Containers for Change site and use our unique Scheme ID number to allow the money from the recycling to go directly into the Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc. bank account.
Club’s Scheme ID number: C10465553
If the Scheme ID isn't working (argh technology!) and you get cash instead from the recycling machine, just pop the money in the tea jar in the club’s kitchenette.
There is a Containers for Change recycle site directly across from the Club entrance. It takes deposits so if you don’t have time to recycle personally, you can put the cans and bottles into a garbage bag, write our Scheme ID on the bag or on a tag, and leave it at the door of the Containers for Change building in Kempster St. next time you come to pottery. They also have depots all over the city – just check their website.
Each month in the newsletter we will update the amount generated from the recycling. So don’t throw out those cans and bottles – recycle them for the benefit of the club and watch the dollars grow.
$57.70
thank you!
Sculpture Workshop Review
Great workshop Adrian! Thank you so much!
On Sunday 22 August, twelve club members participated in a workshop lead by club member Adrian Coles. Adrian generously donated his time and experience to guide this workshop, giving members a lot of handy tips and new techniques, or refining techniques for those with more experience.
A range of small, and not so small, animals were created by our members including lizards, snakes, octopuses and a few fantasy creatures.
Adrian likes to work on a large scale and incorporates animals and sea creatures into his works. You can see more of his work on his Instagram page - adrian_coles_pottery.
Adrian demonstrating his owl technique
Here are some of the creatures produced in the workshop
Club Tuition for Members
by Members
Tuition could be in wheel throwing, handbuilding and glaze making. The rate is $35 per session for up to three hours, but could be less dependent upon session length. From this, the club will take 20% commission. All payments must go through the club.
The club entry fee of $7 will apply for the learner member, but the tutor will be admitted as a volunteer for that session.
If this is something that you would like as a tutor or a learner please contact the committee using the club email : shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com
The Great Pottery Throwdown
If you have access to Foxtel or Foxtel Go, or know someone who does, the new series 4 of The Great Pottery Throwdown from the UK is airing. It is on Thursday evenings at 8:30pm, repeated Friday mornings at 9:00am and Sunday evening at about 5:30pm, on the LifeStyle Channel. It still has Keith Brymer Jones judging but it also has a new judge (Richard Miller, the kiln manager from previous seasons) and presenter Siobhán McSweeney (best known as Sister Michael from Derry Girls). Start watching for all sorts of clay capers, chaos and challenges.
Unfortunately Spring Fever 2021 has been cancelled due to the Covid situation, but promises to be back next year bigger and better.
The Zillmere Festival has postponed the event until 27 November 2021
due to the current Covid situation.
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.
American Pottery Smashes Record With USD$1.56 Million Jar
The hammer for the Nineteenth Century enslaved Black potter Dave Drake’s stoneware jar fell with gusto at Crocker Farm’s recent sale. With premium, the four–handled jar sold for USD$1.56 million to an American museum.
The jar was discovered 50 years ago by folk historian Dr. John Burrison. Crocker Farm called it “among Dave Drake’s greatest known works.” They qualified the statement writing, “Several factors – its size, form, glaze, and most importantly, inclusion of an incised poem – define it as such.” At 62cm high and carrying 94 litres, the extra handles were necessary so that two people could lift it when full.
As the work was too large to be dipped, the alkaline olive-green glaze was instead poured over the piece, giving it an aesthetic not seen in many works by Drake.
Among the most alluring features of the jar was the poem incised by the potter: “A very large jar which has 4 handles, pack it full of fresh meats - then light candles.” Less than 35 of Drake’s poem jars are known and they are considered the most important examples within his body of work, given that enslaved African Americans, were not taught or allowed to read and write during this time. The poem is believed to be a reference to its intended purpose as a meat jar and the practice of sealing the lid with candle wax.
courtesy of www.antiquesandthearts.com
To all our valued members who are having a birthday this month, we hope you have an exciting day and are spoilt rotten by your loved ones:
Angela Anderson, Catherine Bennett, Jenny Chirnside, Tara Cross, Kym Donaldson, Gabriel Knauth, Isabella LeCole, Rebecca Mason, Karen Roberts.
If we have missed anybody, our sincere apologies – drop us an email so that we can include you next time!
2021 Siliceous Award Entries Open
The $7,000 award will be given to the artist who best presents a work of ceramic excellence in any format. There is also a $1,000 people's choice award generously sponsored by Queensland Electrical Solutions. The 2021 Award is open to ceramicists across Australia and the winning entry will be acquired by Ceramic Arts Queensland for its permanent collection.
Entries close 3 September 2021 – hurry up!
Opening Night: Friday 22 October at The Butter Factory Arts Centre Cooroy
Download the entry form, and submit to info@ceramicartsqld.org.au
Yes, only 7 weeks to go till Expressions 2021
Any help will be greatly appreciated even if it is only to distribute flyers to businesses in your area, every little bit counts. Contact the club to lend a hand, now.
Use the button above to download the Expressions 2021 Entry Form pdf
A FaceBook events page has been created to keep you up-to-date with all the news regarding Expressions 2021: https://fb.me/e/3I2UnETtW
4017 Bayside Open Studios,
23 – 31 October 2021
25+ artists, opening their studios in Brisbane’s beautiful northern bayside suburbs
to share their passion for art in all mediums!!
(Including our own pottery studio – Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc.)
Wrap Your Edges!
Thinner, or completely surrounded by air, edges are a vulnerable area where fast or uneven drying can cause warping and cracking. To protect thin edges, tear up plastic strips and place them on the rims of still damp pots, thereby slowing the drying process. Pottery with a level rim can even be inverted to rest on its rim, effectively turning the whole piece into an edgeless closed form (though this can obviously be hazardous for very delicate, unbalanced forms, or not-quite-level rimmed pieces).
Tips for Drying Your Work Evenly
1. When drying pottery, place a plastic cover over your pots.
2. Uneven drying causes tension that can crack handles and rims.
3. Wrap handles and rims with plastic to help equalise drying.
4. Dry pots upside down if you can to even out the drying process.
courtesy of ceramicartsnetwork.org
How To Keep Clay From Drying
While You Work
images courtesy of wikihow.com
President: Tamara Vitale
Vice President: Ken Bull
Secretary: Caroline Schleimer
Acting Treasurer: Tamara Vitale
Committee Members: Gus Saunders, Linda Rosenthal,
Clare Houston & Ann Gillespie
Newsletter Editor: Ed Trost
email: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com
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