January 2022
ISSUE #016
Hello Potters
Happy New Year!
We are still officially closed for the next few days, but if you’re like me I am ready to kick off the new year with some pottery madness, starting from Tuesday 4 January when the club re-opens. See below for Qld government club attendance rules.
If you haven’t renewed your membership don’t delay it any longer – there are lots of good things for members in the works. There’s a link to the Membership Renewal Form here and also below in the club news.
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.
Ed Trost - newsletter editor
club email: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com
Hi Everyone and welcome to our January 2022 edition!
We are starting this year off with a fresh feel in the Club’s shed. Over the break our volunteers cleaned all the shelves and tools, hosed out the rooms, re-organised the bat and tool shelves and made a lot of new sacrificial plates to put under glazed items for firing (this saves the kiln shelves if they run during firing).
The rectification works in the side room will re-commence at the end of January. Hopefully that will be the last of the works needed and then we can make that space usable again… perhaps taking on some of the great suggestions made by members at the AGM at the end of November, including having glazes stored at a better height for use.
I hope you got to enjoy spending time with family and friends over the festive period, along with having some time to play with clay at home. Show us your creations! Email them to us at: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com to have them featured on our website or on our social pages!
Cheers and happy reading!
Tamara Vitale – President, SPC Inc.
Tuesday + Wednesday + Thursday
+ 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
January 1st is upon us. The firing shelves are almost empty as kilns kept firing over first week of the holiday. A Thank you Gus for the dedication. A few things left are on bisque and midfire spaces. Shelves, tables and tools are cleaned and ready and waiting for the burst of members‘ creativity to come with the new year.
Please, make an effort to keep them clean and tidy. I hear comments from people that they have to wash tools and bats etc. before they can use them so as not to contaminate their work. So let us make a resolution to clean everything before putting away. And remember to wipe your shelve space down periodically. Members will be appreciative of your efforts.
CHECK the kiln room shelves for unclaimed pottery. If not claimed by end of the month it will be disposed of. So be sure and duck back in for your creations.
Look forward to seeing you all in the shed as we come back refreshed (or exhausted) from the holidays and ready to relax and play with clay. And of course socialize.
Happy New Year to all.
Gus, Linda, Catharine 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
Membership Is Now Due
Remember you need to be a member of our club to use the facilities and have first access to join the workshops.
Membership Renewals for 2022
Last year has flown by and your membership is due. Being a member allows you to continue to enjoy the use of the club facilities, buy clay at discount prices, have access to club glazes and firing, and attend a variety of our workshops. This year the club has grown in membership and this strengthens our support base. We have plans to keep offering new and exciting things in the coming year.
The fees are remaining the same, but we are streamlining the process using a digital format. This format will make it so much easier for the membership secretary and will make the information in our database more accurate.
Please fill in the online form on our website:
www.shorncliffepotteryclubinc.com.au/membership
Select your payment method on the form (via direct deposit into the Club’s bank account, or via Square when you are next at the Club’s shed) and hit ‘Send’. The form will then be automatically emailed to the membership secretary.
Alternatively we have a PDF form we can email to you, which you can complete and email back. Please make a request for the form to:
shorncliffepotteryclubincmembership@hotmail.com
Ann Gillespie – Membership Secretary
COVID–19 NOTICE
VACCINATION CERTIFICATES REQUIRED
From Friday 17 December 2021, the Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc. complied with the Queensland government public health and social measure COVID-19 rules, and we will continue to follow these rules when we re-open to members on Tuesday 4 January 2022.
Only vaccinated members will be allowed into the Club’s shed, with QR code sign-in and proof of vaccination shown to the volunteer on duty.
If you are an unvaccinated member who wants to continue to ‘Play With Clay’ at home you may designate a vaccinated person to drop off or pick up your firing pieces during our open hours. (The designated person must QR code sign-in and show proof of vaccination to gain entry.) Please contact the Club’s management committee via email to discuss your options.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT: SHORNCLIFFEPOTTERYCLUBINC@HOTMAIL.COM
Workshops 2022
As we have gained new members recently there have been requests for more structured workshops for beginners and the committee is in the process of organising this for members. See the newsletter for more information on these as they become available.
In 2022 the committee is looking to extend and explore new ideas in clay and will be approaching tutors to run workshops in much the same format at this year. Our current arrangement of casual tutors for new members will still be available.
Ann Gillespie – Membership Secretary
Lilley Volunteer Grant Success
Last Year our Vice President Ken Bull and club member Caecelia Skipsey submitted an application for the Lilley Volunteer Grant, through the office of Anika Wells MP for Lilley. Due to covid-19 and a succession of delays in parliamentary funding, we had almost forgotten that we had applied for the grant.
However, the great news is that the application was finally successful.
The small funding will go towards improving the membership payment procedure and to reimburse our stalwart volunteers who until now have donated their vehicles as well as their time.
Hopefully this is the start of a new stream of income for the club as Ken and Caecelia endeavour to secure more grants in the future. Well done!
Being Respectful, Feeling Safe
The club’s Code of Conduct was written to guide the safety and respect of members. Developing friendships, being co-operative, sharing ideas and skills as well as being respectful to each other in words and actions is something in which the club takes great pride. When members are working in the SPC Inc. studio or interacting with other members via electronic means, everyone has a right to feel safe and not harrassed.
The Code of Conduct can be found in your membership documentation or you can request a copy from the Membership Officer here or you can read it here.
Club Clay Options and Details
These are the current clay bodies that we generally 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.
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 for 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.
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.
$101.91
thank you!
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 3 hours, but could be less dependent upon session length. From this, the club will take 20% commission. All payments must go via 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
Six Week Wheel Workshop
with Clare Houston
Commencing Wednesday 12 January 2022, the club will be offering wheel throwing classes. These will run in a block of 6 weeks, with up to 4 participants with 3 participants minimum for the class to proceed.
These will be conducted on a Wednesday evening, so that participants and tutor have the club to themselves. If there is continued demand for these sessions, more will be offered in the future. We have been very fortunate to be able to engage club member Clare Houston as tutor.
Clay experience:
Clare completed an internship of three months duration at Windmill Pottery in 2019. This involved participating in all processes of a working pottery, including making clay, assisting with classes as well as throwing on the wheel, trimming and finishing to create objects from bowls, mugs, lidded vessels and teapots.
Clare also completed a three month internship at ceramic production company Made OF Australia.
Clare has completed ceramics classes at the Brisbane Institute of Art and is currently taking classes with Bill Powell at Ceramx, School of Clay and Glass and tuition with Jackie Gasson and the Sunshine Coast Clayworkers.
She was recently awarded First Prize in Wheel throwing at Shorncliffe Pottery Club’s “Expressions” exhibition, 2021.
Teaching Experience:
Clare has experience in tutoring one on one and in small groups in her previous career as a Chef for 28 years and Chef Trainer at the Edgwarebury Hotel as part of the Regal Hotel group in North London, UK.
She also holds a Graduate Teaching Diploma from Griffith University, Brisbane.
Clare says “I'm really enjoying my journey learning ceramics and pottery, and I'm looking forward to passing on skills and knowledge to other club members.”
The program will include clay preparation, throwing a cylinder, a bowl, an altered cylinder (eg. vase or similar shape), trimming, turning and preparing pieces for firing.
Start date: 12th January, 2022.
Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm
Cost: $200 for a 6 week block, payable in advance. (The usual $7 club entry fee is included in the price.)
Please notify the club of your intention to be part of this workshop series on this email shorncliffepotteryclubincmembership@hotmail.com Payment instructions and confirmation will be emailed to you.
Mega-Bat Charity Success
Jenny Kingdom’s Expressions Bat exhibit was a huge success in many ways. Jenny sold out her collection of bats over the exhibition and even had orders for more to be made. Not only did it bring attention to the plight of our endemic mega-bats but it also raised enough money to purchase a ‘Curadle’ incubator machine for the organisation: Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD. The Curadle is used to rehabilitate bats and orphaned pups and will come in very handy for the wildlife organisation.
A little note from Jenny: Please remember any bat alone during the day is in trouble, please ring Bat Conservation and Rescue QLD on 0488 228 134 to seek assistance. This phone is answered 24/7.
Kiln you believe it?
The Great Pottery Throwdown is coming back. If you have access to Channel 4 in the UK the series will start airing on Sunday 2 January at 8.00pm. So no doubt it will be shown on Foxtel here not long after that. There’s a new face – comedian Ellie Taylor who hosted for Siobhán when she broke her leg at the start of the series. We will keep you notified as to the Australian air dates when they are released.
2022 Biennial North Queensland Ceramic Awards
ENTRIES CLOSE : 5pm, Friday 15 April 2022
EXHIBITION: 22 JULY – 25 SEPTEMBER 2022
The biennial North Queensland Ceramic Awards has long aimed to increase public exposure to a high standard of pottery from around the nation. A showcase for both well-known and emerging artists, this competition displays the diversity of ceramic art currently being produced in Australia.
The City of Townsville Art Collection Award of $10,000 continues to provide both opportunity for artists to become a part of one of the nation’s most significant ceramic collections, as well as ensuring the continued growth of this important subsection of the City of Townsville Art Collection.
Ceramic Artist: Mahala Hill, Armoured Mist Frog, winner 2020
The Shorncliffe Pottery Club Inc. were invited to have a stall at this year’s Jingle All The Bay festival, held in early December. This annual festival takes over the main street in Sandgate creating a cheery markets atmosphere for the public to do some Christmas shopping, eat dinner and enjoy the street parade that ends with Santa’s arrrival. See the Jingle all the Bay Facebook page for all the photos from this year’s event.
We send a HUGE thanks to Linda R. and Clare H. for setting up and running the stall. Sales were made and we had interest from people wanting to become members. As Linda said, it was a learning experience for how to set up and present merchandise for an evening markets. We hadn’t done this before, so next time we’ll be better equipped and hopefully have our own power supply solution.
Clare H. at the Jingle All The Bay 2021 stall.
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:
Jessica Barbaro, Gayle Bishop, Monica Church, Kathy Dawney, Clare Houston, Jessica Hurst, Rose Kelly, Monja Martin, Fiona Morgan, Alyssa Ryan, Rachael Terry, Camela Vosten
If we have missed anybody, our sincere apologies – drop us an email so that we can include you next time!
Artists & Crafters New Exhibition
2 & 3 April 2022
Brisbane Showgrounds
We are proudly holding our inaugural 'Heritage to Contemporary' Exhibition over two days in April. Featuring Independent Artists, Crafters, Teachers and Suppliers. You are invited to join this new Art and Craft community!
Come and meet, chat and learn something new! Shop for unique artisan items for yourself, your home or your loved ones.
Join the newsletter to stay informed at artisanexhibitions.com
Recycling Dried Clay Scraps
or Blocks of Clay
You will need a solid surface to work on, a hammer, eye protection glasses, a 9 litre bucket, water, plastic bags (about bread loaf size) and a bit of muscle for wedging.
Make sure the block of clay or scraps are totally dry. The clay can be current or even decades old, it doesn’t matter. Put on some eye protection and using a hammer, start breaking the clay from the edge into small pieces. If you are using clay scraps make sure the clay is from the same firing range.
Place the broken clay shards in the bucket and fill with water, covering the clay completely plus an additional 3cm of water over the top. In a day or two, once the slurry in the bucket feels smooth, remove the slurry to a drying work surface.
Spread the clay evenly to about 60mm thick and smooth the edges so that the clay will dry out evenly. Poke holes in the clay for faster and more even drying. Let it dry to the consistency you need for either hand building or wheel throwing. It could take hours or a few days depending on the amount of clay and the weather. If you have to leave the clay unattended for a length of time, place a plastic cover over the surface to slow down the drying.
When the clay can be pulled off easily from the work surface, remove it, and divide it into pieces for wedging. Tip: For ease of handling, size the clay into chunks to match your wedging strength.
Wedge thoroughly and place the clay in sealed plastic bags. Use multiple bags to make sure it is air tight. Store your clay in larger sizes so that it doesn't dry out as quickly – giving you longer time to use it.
If you fail at any of these steps and the clay dries out too much, don’t worry, just start again at the beginning ; )
original text and photos courtesy Lakeside Pottery - edit Ed Trost
President: Tamara Vitale
Vice President: Ken Bull
Secretary: Caroline Schleimer
Treasurer: Robyn Brown
Committee Members: Gus Saunders, Linda Rosenthal,
Clare Houston & Ann Gillespie
Newsletter Editor: Ed Trost
email: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@hotmail.com
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