Members were treated to a very informative talk by former Head Teacher of the Ceramic Design Studio (TAFE NSW Gymea) Marian Howell, at our June meeting.
Marian is recently returned from a tour of Korea. Our own Flo S. brought along some fine examples of Korean pottery to illustrate Marian's PowerPoint presentation.
Our thanks to Marian for a very informative evening.
The Journal of Australian Ceramics has published an article about our Legacy Poppy Project which was undertaken with the help of 3 other pottery groups.
See the Tab above - A Town and Country Collaboration - for more details on the making...
Check out the article in the November issue... don't usually get it?
Here is the link to buy yourself a copy: JournalofAustralianCeramics_Vol62_No3_November2023
It is also available at many galleries and pottery suppliers around the country.
Members are invited to bring along examples of glazes they like, recipes to share and any questions about where to buy particular commercial glazes.
Anna will be bringing along raku glaze recipes given out by Ted Secombe at the Spring Fever Conference in Qld and suggest an innovative idea with decorating with glaze by Mary Wallace at the conference too.
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| Ted Secombe from Victoria brought his Rohde raku kiln to demonstrate his glazes |
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| Mary Wallace of Spiral Studio in WA demonstrating at the Spring Fever Conference in Maleny Qld. |
A couple of years ago when she finally let go of her beloved wheel and the last of her studio equipment, our group helped her to find a buyer.
She is remembered fondly by those who knew her as an active potter.
My association with Marie O’Brien goes back to the mid 1990s when we met at Gymea TAFE where we played with clay. Marie had a gentle and friendly persona and had a passionate interest in pottery.
One of my favourite memories of Marie is when a group of us, very keen potters, would attend weekend workshops at Mudbrick Pottery in Killcare where Hildergard Anstice and her husband, John, would open up the pottery, and their home, to us potters. As a group we would take our husbands along and spend the weekend in a nearby motel which was very social. Marie’s husband John, was such a fun person to be with and all the men thoroughly enjoyed one another’s company as well as pitching in with our preparations for various firings , stoking etc. Marie was a talented potter with great ideas. Helen Blayney
We have delivered the first half of our contribution to the Tamworth Legacy 75th Anniversary installation of 1000 crosses.
The installation will be part of celebrations being held in Tamworth 1st to 4th July 2023. They will be placed around the Waler Memorial Pond in the heart of the town. The celebrations will include a lantern parade by local schools at the installation on 3 July and the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay parade through the streets on 4 July.
Seen here is our project organiser, Anna Ryland handing over our first batch to Greg Roese, President of Tamworth Legacy.
Three other groups are also contributing by making a share of the poppies. They are Barraba Potters, Gunnedah Potters and the potters of Tamworth Craft Shed. A great team effort.
Some of our members are helping to create a portion of an installation happening later in the year in Tamworth NSW.
Tamworth Legacy will not only celebrate their 75th anniversary but will also celebrate Legacy Australia's 100th anniversary. This will culminate with the arrival of the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay which starts in Pozieres, France on April 23rd and arrives in Tamworth on July 4th 2023
The focus of the event in the town centre will be an installation of 1000 white crosses around the Waler Memorial Pond as part of the “Pond of Reflection” ceremony. Each cross will bear a red ceramic poppy to signify the ultimate sacrifice paid by our veterans.
Three other pottery groups are helping to spread the work load involved. They are the Barraba Potters, Gunnedah Potters and the potters of the Tamworth Craft Shed.
Clays and glazes have been tested. Special cutters have been produced along with stamps to texture and shape each flower.
Here is a little of our first production batch.
More, much more, to come in the months ahead.
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| the first batch made |
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| two of our volunteers, Jean and Janet at our first making day |
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| Our first glaze firing |
Members and visitors are invited to join us for discussion on our electric kilns and the firing of kilns that are shared by members.
Discussion and inspection of our newest kiln from Fired Up Kilns and the differences with our old Woodrow kiln.
From props to cones and packing shelves.. all welcome.. bring your questions or share your own firing experience with our newer members.
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| Props |
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| Orton Cones |
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| Packing a Kiln |
Please note the change of time... to 6:30pm (from 7pm).
We will be continuing with making little dogs and perhaps some dog bowls which will be sold to support the Assistance Dogs charity..
Bring some underglaze and some brushes with you.
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| Members at our August meeting enjoyed making little dogs. We appreciated Janet showing us her method. The dogs will be coloured with underglazes at our September meeting. |
Dear members
Your August meeting will be held at the pottery studio, Hazelhurst Arts Centre on Sunday 7 August at 1pm.
The meeting will be a clay activity to make items to benefit the charity, Assistance Dogs Australia, so come along ready to have some fun.
We hope to see finised examples of the raku firing that members enjoyed in July.
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| Ray's raku kiln packed with member's pots - July 2022 |
Members are reminded that our July meeting will not be at Cronulla but will be at Hazelhurst Pottery studio this Sunday 10 July at 1pm.
