Looking forward to new glaze tests for the last few bags of Clee Hill clay…..

Posted on November 3, 2017November 3, 2017 Posted in Clee Hill Project, WorkTagged Clee Hill, PlaceLeave a comment

I’m down to the last few bags of my hand-dug Clee Hill clay…. although I’m still hoping I’ll find someone else in the village who’ll let me did some more, or perhaps someone will decide to dig a new set foundations for an extension, or a septic tank and I’ll be able to get a small lorry load….. fingers crossed.

In 2016 I carried out glaze experiments with the dhustone rock dust from the quarry on the hill, wood ash and the clay, working through a very simplified triaxial approach to glaze testing – with some beautiful results. I also have a few bags of samples taken from the soil heaps from the coal workings and some lime rich deposits from the limestone outcropping further down the hill, and so I want to push the experiments a little further over the next few weeks.

Here is a small test bowl with a 75% / 25% mix of wood ash and clay, and the picture I now use as my logo, which has the full set of test bowls and a pancheon with the rare blue chun glaze outcome that I achieved for a few firings…… I find it almost impossible to recreate that effect (the more recent chunning has been more grey than blue). I’m guessing it must have been something to do with the type of timber that I burned in my stove – because nothing else changed? Or did it?

Sense of place:

Posted on November 2, 2017November 13, 2017 Posted in Ceramics and related work, Clee Hill Project, Local: The Plough and the Pint Project, Soil Hill Project, Uncategorized, WorkTagged Clee Hill, Ockeridge, Palimpsest, Place, Soil HillLeave a comment

A central theme in my work is the focus on place; on the landscape, the environment, the economy and culture and from this – the connections between people, locally available materials and function (for example, tools / buildings / fuel etc.). All human activity has an impact, and yet over the centuries, it seems as if there were occasionally systems that established some kind of balance between the natural world and our actions. Take the countryside of the British Isles for example, where until the development of more industrial approaches to farming following the second world war, the fields were characterised by species diversity – of plants, invertebrates, birds etc. I’m not suggesting this was a panacea – something usually has to give. Some kind of balance also seems to have been established in the management of woodlands for coppicing, creating fuel for firewood and early industrial activity. The coppiced woods created opportunities for a wide range of flowering plants such as bluebells and wood anemones and particular butterfly and bird species – whilst also creating a carbon neutral source of fuel.

Whilst it may seem almost impossible to re-create these systems to serve a world with a growing population of 7 billion people, it does inspire me – and the whole concept of sustainability deeply underlies my work. How could these more balanced systems inform our future actions and innovation? It also means that as I explore landscapes, with ceramic materials in mind, I know that I need to think carefully about the relationships that I will have with both people and place, if I am to stay true to my own values and commitments.

Looking south-east over the “dhustone” quarry

The site of Isaac Button’s workshop, just after the flattening of his old kiln

Palimpsest Landscape – Soil Hill, 2015

Cross section through clay from Shay quarry, Soil Hill, August 2015

Titterstone incline, Clee Hill

Foam on Newport beach.

Clee Hil: flooded quarry

The quarry North West of Clee Hill village

Stormy beaches – exposing clay….

Clee Hill – winter visit….

Posted on February 13, 2017November 2, 2017 Posted in Clee Hill Project, Collecting clays and glaze materialsTagged Clee Hill, PlaceLeave a comment

Last Friday I revisited Clee Hill, for a quick walk with Dougie, and to drop off a couple of mugs that I had made from Neil and Karen’s clay (over in Oreton). It was good to see them and to discuss what future possibilities there may be for some clay sourcing linked to ditch digging, excavation of foundations etc. It would be great to help someone out with the removal of some extracted material – but the quantities available will be critical, as if I can get over a tonne or 2 – then it may be worth hiring a vehicle for transportation of the clay to a clay manufacturer up in Stoke for processing….. It’ll all need checking out again if the opportunity arrises – but fingers crossed…..