December 2024
DECEMBER 2024 | ISSUE #051
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Hello Potters
From the President
Thank you to everyone who attended the general meeting, participated in the discussions and voted. It was a great turn out and very productive.
Barb, Melina, Claire and myself are pleased to be joined by our new committee members: Sandy Roveda (treasurer), Laura Ogden (Secretary), Rebecca Mason, Kylie Smith.
A number of changes have also been made for the 2025 memberships so please make sure you read the email you should have already received.
A new sub committee was created to manage the future of our home, many thanks to: Ann Gillespie, Tamara Vitale, Melina Wales, Ken Bull
Membership renewals commence on the 1st December and new memberships will reopen on 1st February 2025 with plenty of interest already.
If you have any questions about membership renewal or issues with Helloclub please pop down to the studio on Saturday 14 December between 10:00 and 12:30. Otherwise email shorncliffepotteryclubinc@gmail.com
The studio will be closed for the Xmas break as our hardworking kiln and supervisor teams will be enjoying a very well earned break. Last session is Thursday night 19 December and first session back Tuesday 14 January.
I hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable Xmas and we look forward to seeing you all rested and excited to create more pottery in the new year
Happy potting
Suzanne
2025 Membership Due
Your annual membership is due by the end of this month, December. If you don’t want to continue please let the Membership officer know on this email. You have until 1 February 2025 to pay your membership before it is forfeited and the membership gates open for new members. That’s only 60 days, so don’t put it off.
Here’s the link to HelloClub to renew.
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 studio or interacting with other members via electronic means, everyone has a right to feel safe and not harassed.
The Code of Conduct can be found in your membership documentation or you can request a copy from the Membership Officer here or read it here.
Critical Members Meeting Report
The rain didn’t dampen the good attendance at this important meeting. It might have been hard to hear everyone with the rain pelting down on the tin roof, but many items were discussed and resolved. A huge thank you goes out to the exiting team members Rose, David and Amy for their contributions over the past 12 months.
A new Treasurer was appointed, as was a Secretary and also 2 general committee members. So welcome aboard to Sandra Roveda, Laura Ogden, Rebecca Mason and Kylie Smith. Your participation and experience will definitely help the club through these turbulent times. A Vice-President wasn’t appointed so if anyone feels like they could contribute, contact the committee on this email.
Volunteering was discussed as it seems like the same people turn up for volunteering each event. The workload obviously needs to be shared more evenly throughout the members. Some new members are unaware of how much volunteering is a part of a community club. So to rectify this, it was decided that volunteering would be recorded for each member per calendar year, with an opt-out fee for those who can’t make the required hours. This is to be instigated next year to see how it works.
Memberships are required for updating as of 1 December 2024. You have 60 days to update otherwise as of the 1 February 2025 your membership becomes void and you will be competing for places [if any] with all of the new members who also want to join.
Firing costs are going to be increased by 50 cents. This is the first time since early 2023 that they have been increased. We still have the lowest firing costs in Queensland, possibly Australia. However, there are some members who use the kilns for commercial production firing which is not a community pottery activity. To combat this a limit of 200kg per year per member [most members average 100kg pa] for firing will be set at the beginning of each year. More than the 200kg of firing by the member and their firing rates increase for the service.
The long term location of the club and its current position with PCYC was also touched on. A sub-committee was formed to directly target the relevant council and/or politicians and thereby uniting energies for the common good.
The toilet situation continues with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) hearing coming up. Ken has been working hard to cross all of the T’s and dot all of the I’s in the reams of paperwork that this process requires. Hopefully a positive result will be the outcome and we will have a disability friendly facility to use in the near future. A disability task force from BCC visited our shed a few months ago and were shocked with the current non-disability facility offered by PCYC. So hopefully something positive will come out of all this.
It’s late notice but the results from the recent survey as to what members would like to do for a xmas get together indicate that having it at Bluenose Betty in Sandgate was the best choice. They have a large beer garden out back so that should accommodate everyone. So pencil it in your diary for a big get together.
Bluenose Betty
4:00pm Saturday 30 November
OMG That’s tomorrow!!!
Saturday 7 December
Join in the fun and festivities as the suburb celebrates all things Sandgate at this family friendly xmas event. There will be all sorts of activities for the kids as well as food stalls and a street parade.
Head to the top of Sandgate for a Christmas Street Market to end 2024. All stalls are undercover, to keep everyone sun-safe. Running from 8am – 12pm, you’ll find all your locally handmade Christmas gifts and decor. Grab a coffee or smoothie and shop ’til you drop.
Where: corner of Fifth Avenue and Brighton Road
When: Sunday 1 December
Time: 8am – 12 noon
Shop local this Christmas on Sat 7 and Sun 8 Dec from 9.00 am – 4.00 pm
Treat yourself and those you love to a special gift this Christmas. Buy direct from the maker with more than 80 stalls over the weekend. Enjoy yourself at QAGOMA Store’s beautiful design market and take the stress out of Christmas this year!
Sandgate Creative Trail
The first weekend of the Open Studio was such a success with selling our wonderful pottery that we had to quickly restock, so that visitors during the second weekend had something to purchase.
The second weekend was just as successful with loads of pottery being sold to the hungry crowd. Congratulations to all potters who made sales.
Keep up the good work.
We have popped all of the published tips, hacks and techniques onto the ‘Tips’ page on our club website so that you can refer to them easily.
Kneading Clay
Most commercial clays are pretty much right to be used straight out of the bag, however a lot of potters believe some kneading of the clay is essential to prepare it for use. Particularly if you have an older block inherited from somewhere, have some soft and harder lumps or have reconstituted some clay, you will need to take steps to make it ready.
The first step in preparing your clay for use is to knead it. This activates the clay and aligns the clay particles so that it is easier to work with. If the wedge is a bit hard you can spray it with water and knead that into it. Following are 3 methods of kneading. Don’t bite off more than you can physically manipulate, a good size to start with is roughly the size of a small loaf of bread.
The number of wedges and the time needed varies depending on the state of the clay that you begin with and what condition you want your clay to result in. Clay from a recycle bucket will most likely need more wedging than brand new clay straight from a factory. Don’t leave your clay partially kneaded, try to finish the kneading process and wrap your clay in plastic ready for use.
stack and slam
This method comprises of cutting the slab into two using a wire and repositioning the two pieces so that the cuts don’t join. Then on a sturdy table or even on a clean floor, slam the joined pieces onto the surface. Using your wire again, cut the slammed piece in two across a different axis, reposition the pieces and slam again. Continue this until there are no air bubbles present when cutting and the clay has become more pliable. This can be rather a noisy process, as you can imagine, so be aware of your fellow potters or close neighbours. It is a particularly useful method if you don’t have strength to knead the clay by any of the other ways. It is also an excellent source for releasing stress.
ram’s head
Start by rocking the clay up towards yourself and press the front of the top end down into the block’s middle. Repeat this rocking and pressing until all air bubbles are removed (use your wire to check) and the clay is one consistency. This process should result in a lump of clay with circular patterns on each side and a ruffled centre, like a ram’s head.
spiral
Spiral wedging is more advanced than ram’s head wedging as it allows you to wedge more clay at one time. It takes practice to master but like all things with pottery, it is worth the effort. Take your clay lump and like in ram’s head, rock it towards you and then with your dominant arm push the lump forward on the bench. Keep repeating this motion until you have removed all of the air bubbles from the clay and your clay has formed a spiral conical shape. Use this method for clay that is old, recycled, or reused as it can have hard or soft spots in it. If you are mixing two different clays you often want it to be mixed seamlessly. Spiral wedging is great for producing an even consistency of the clay.
Our Committee
President: Suzanne Bell
Vice President: vacant
Treasurer: Sandra Roveda
Secretary: Laura Ogden
Committee Members:
Barbara Fletcher, Clare Houston, Rebecca Mason, Kylie Smith, Melina Wales,
Newsletter Editor: Ed Trost
edtrost1961@gmail.com
email: shorncliffepotteryclubinc@gmail.com
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…Until next month…
HAPPY POTTING!
