February 2025
FEBRUARY 2025 | ISSUE #053
Is this email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser
Hello Potters
We’re back. The shed has re-opened. The kilns are cranking. Bring on 2025.
From the President
After a well earned break the studio is back in full swing with some fabulous pieces already coming out of the kiln. We love seeing your creations so please upload a photo to our members facebook page. There are also photo albums for club glazes and the new commercial glazes which make great inspiration. If you are interested in the new commercial glazes check out the orange cabinet in the back room.
Have you been thinking about joining the fun at the club? Memberships open on the 1st February so head to the SPC website and click on the link to sign up using helloClub. Then book into an induction session on the events page in helloClub and start or continue your pottery journey.
Our creative education coordinator is loading a number of workshops into helloClub which will suit both new and experienced potters so keep an eye out for them. Book in quickly as they fill fast.
The club’s AGM has been booked for Saturday 22nd February at 12pm at the club. This meeting includes a club update, committee voting and a chance for members to ask questions and provide feedback. Following the AGM will be Potters Trading Day - bring any tools or materials that you no longer use and sell them to a fellow clay lover. Also bring a small plate to share for a social lunch. Members please sign up via helloClub.
Do you know what a cookie is? It’s a special piece of clay which the kiln team put under each item in the kiln so that if the glaze runs off it will damage the cookie instead of the kiln shelf (fyi expensive). To cover the cost of replacing the cookies a damaged one will now cost $2.
Happy potting
Suzanne
Refer to helloClub events page to sign up
February
1st - memberships open for new members
2nd - intro to clay and basic hand building workshop
2, 4, 8, 11, 13 - induction sessions for new members
7th - SAS Easter exhibition entries open
22nd - Shorncliffe Pottery Club AGM 12pm
23rd - Throw bigger and higher workshop
March
8th - cleaning bee 1pm ( volunteer opportunities)
22nd - committee meeting
30th - Easter Sunday Social
April
7th - SAS Easter exhibition entries close
18th - Bluewater festival club stand (sales and volunteer opportunities)
17th to 19th - SAS Easter Exhibition
Introduction to Clay and Basic Handbuilding
Come along to learn about working with 2 different types of clay, which includes inspiring introduction to handbuilding techniques such as pinch potting, coil rolling, kurinuki and joining techniques.
Sunday 2 February 2025,
09:30 – 13:30
Shorncliffe Pottery Club shed
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wheel Workshop
Throw BIGGER and Higher
Prior wheel experience required.
Come along for a 5hr immersive workshop dedicated to big and tall!
You’ll be guided through essential techniques for managing larger amounts of clay, centering effectively and pulling up taller walls with stability and control.
Demonstration, followed by hands–on and personalised feedback.
Sunday 23 February 2025,
09:30 – 14:30
Shorncliffe Pottery Club shed
Here’s the link to HelloClub to enrol
“Material Girl” (2023). All images © Annie Duncan, shared with permission
Ceramic Sculptures Expand the Modern Feminine Experience
Oversized mascara tubes, razors, rings, perfume bottles, and droopy flowers resemble the familiar surface of a cluttered vanity or overcrowded bathroom countertop in Annie Duncan's ceramic assemblages.
What objects are associated with femininity? Male-dominated art historical eras point to more traditional motifs such as flowers for fertility and dainty, domestic accoutrements like lace and porcelain. A more contemporary perspective might include everyday items from the drugstore, such as disposable shaving razors, claw clips, and lipstick.
From centuries past to present day, do these objects ultimately embody similar messages about femininity that withstand the test of time? This overarching question is a catalyst for San Francisco-based artist Annie Duncan. anniegduncan.com
text courtesy This is Colossal
click image to see larger version
Current Clay Types in Stock
We have a large range of clay in stock, all at great prices. Just ask your supervisor next time you are down at the pottery shed.
Blackwattle Cone 6 White
Blackwattle Terracotta + Grog
Blackwattle White Stoneware Paper Clay
Feeneys Buff Raku Sandy
Feeneys Buff Raku Trachyte BRT
Feeneys Fine Blend FFB
Feeneys Raku Gold
Feeneys Red Raku
Keane Mid Fire Lumina
Keane White Earthenware 37
Keane White Raku
Northcote Clayworks JB1 Porcelain
Walker Stoneware 10
Walker White Handbuilding EW / SW
The Great Pottery
Throw Down Book
20 Projects to Create at Home
The Great Pottery Throw Down book is a practical and beautiful guide to creating in clay at home. Accompanying budding potters on their creative journey, this book teaches the basics of both handbuilding and throwing techniques before taking you through 20 projects inspired by the show's challenges. The projects are aimed to build on your skills as you work through them starting with an egg cup or mug and working up to a jug or teapot.
Covering a range of topics from setting up your space and choosing the right clay to the basics of using a wheel and the three core hand-building techniques (slab building, coiling and pinching) – this is an essential guide to pottery. The projects include spoon rest, vase, dinner plate, nesting bowls, plant pot, teacup, animal figurine, salad bowl and more. Once you have mastered the basics, finesse your creations with expert tips on decorating, glazing and firing your projects.
Available from The Nile rrp $37.50 pre-order now - due out 20 February 2025
A member recently snapped a photo of the Coffs Harbour Library collection of pottery books... other peripatetic members are invited to do likewise.
"Coiled Pottery" by Betty Blandino was particularly good. It had a lot on history and techniques, including the building of quite large pots and urns etc. and "Carve your Clay" by Hilda Carr was excellent on carving and textures.
Clean Clear Plastic Jars Needed
If you have any clean clear plastic jars with lids, can you bring them to the shed and leave them out in the back room. Make sure they are clean thanks.
As part of a collective of ceramic artists from Brisbane and Moreton Bay I would like to invite fellow ceramic artists from your pottery club to the inaugural exhibition of the Earth Water Fire Exhibition.
Feminine facets of form is the debut group exhibition by Brisbane-based collective Earth Water Fire. The earthy, textural works are on display amid the evocative surrounds of Brisbane’s Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens. The exhibition showcases ceramics, photography and textile-based works by Queensland artists Stacey Morrison, Leila Davis, Susan Trimble, Julie Martin, Maggie Lipinska, Rachel Dool and Gabrielle O’Brien. The artists bring together a diverse range of practices in an exhibition that celebrates the natural world and connections created through art.
Exhibiting at the Richard Randall Art Studio in the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens from:
31 Jan – 3 Feb 2025
Friday 12pm-4pm | Saturday + Sunday 10am-4pm | Monday 10am-2pm
Join us for the opening night event on Friday 31 Jan 6.30-9.00pm.
Artist talks will take place on Saturday and Sunday 11am-12pm.
Visit our instagram page and follow along for the low down and updates.
We look forward to seeing you there.
The Sandgate Art Society Art Show is happening again this Easter. Cash Prizes will be awarded across 2D Art, 3D Art, Photography/Digital Art and Textile/Mixed Media.
The Grace Cross Memorial Textile/Mixed Media award has been established to honor the late Grace Cross. Grace was known for her intricate layered media textile artworks, incorporating elements like rusting fibres, paper, stitching, beading and/or embellishments. Submissions in this category can be either 2D or 3D and must incorporate stitch + mixed media. Spread the word and start preparing your entries.
17 – 19 April 2025
Entries open 7th February
We’re excited to announce that the Arts Trail is returning in 2025.
WHEN: 4 weekends in June (starting on Saturday 31 May) from 10am-4pm
WHERE: in various studios, galleries and art spaces across the Samford, Dayboro, Clear Mountain and surrounding region.
Artist Registration is Now Open: trails@creativesamford.com
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.
What is Kurinuki?
Kurinuki translates in Japanese 'to hollow' and is a traditional technique to make pottery from carving away from a single block of clay. Hollowing out clay in this way is a slow and meditative process that produces truly unique one-of-a-kind ceramics that can never be repeated.
At its core, Kurinuki is more than just a pottery technique; it's a philosophy that honours the uniqueness of each piece and the story it tells through its textures and shapes. The process is deliberate, allowing each scratch and indentation to become a testament to the artist's journey.
Since it's simply a method of building, almost the entire spectrum of shaping and texturing options are viable with kurinuki, including cutting, paddling, tearing, impressing, squeezing, stretching, and carving. You may use any kind of clay, from porcelain to chunky, groggy stoneware to terra cotta.
How Long Does It Really Take To Make a Mug
If you’ve ever wondered how much to charge for selling a ceramic piece that you have made, have a look at this short instagram to put it in perspective.
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
follow us on
website + instagram + facebook
…Until next month…
HAPPY POTTING!
