Saturday, May 28, 2011

Pottery is very serious business

Olga-and-Robyn
A few recent snaps from a quick video we put together. May be able to upload that soon as well...

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Recycling Clay

Izac-recycling-clay
This is the beginning of what I hope to become a collection of insights into what happens on an average day in the Pottery Studio. I hope you enjoy!

Izac (an Aussie friend visiting) came in yesterday to find out a bit more about what happens in the studio and ended up recycling a whole lot of clay. He couldn't help but break the clay pieces with true percussionist beat and a hammer in each hand. I think it is so wonderful that broken greenware can be salvaged and given a 2nd chance. It is also excellent to see JustPotters working hard to minimise waste in all areas. For anyone not familiar with the process:

Recycling-mixing

1. Broken greenware* is collected in bags according to clay colour
2. Once fully dry, broken pieces are broken down even further into small shards and fine dust using a hammer (or two)
3. Broken clay pieces are placed in a large bucket and water and a little vinegar is added
4. Clay mixture is mixed thoroughly with a paint stirrer type attatchment on a drill until mixture is smooth (sometimes it's necessary to get your hands pretty dirty to confirm this...)
5. Slushy clay mud is then poured into a plaster batt lined with a cloth (allowing water to evaporate) and left to sit and harden for 1-2 weeks depending on the weather.
6. Clay is bagged and labelled and can be used to create new pieces!

*Greenware I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is ceramic ware or clay that has not yet been fired.

Recycling-mud-pies

Izac loved the slurping sound the mud made when mixing. It's a little like making a cake really, the ultimate mud pie!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Making crosses

tools
cutting-crosses
cross-designs
finished
On Wednesdays I have been volunteering at the pottery studio which is home to JustPotters to help out where I can. My husband and I are new to Vancouver and while settling into the neighborhood and looking for work I wanted to keep myself a little bit useful. I have wanted to work with porcelain for a long time, and had looked into doing a short course in the past, so this has been an absolutely wonderful opportunity and I have learnt so much in a short time (there is SO much more to pottery and ceramics than I imagined). I have been making ceramic crosses which will be glazed and re-fired and sold to support the Just Work social enterprise - Just Potters. This such a fantastic initiative, born out of a desire to help the people of East Vancouver in a practical way - through employment opportunities. Stay tuned for pictures of the glazed crosses. Sharolyn

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Update in progess

We are currently updating this blog. Please be patient while we sort a few things out and stay tuned for some exciting new developments!