Pottery News

Adopt a Potter!
Join our unique, new initiative and help to fund a Potter’s Apprenticeship.

Adopt a potter I believe is a simple idea, a way of helping to secure the future of studio potters.
The idea came from a tea break conversation with a work experience graduate potter Kate Haywood and myself. It had occurred to me some time ago that the sale of mugs goes towards the stipend wages I pay to apprentice potters while they train with me.

Adopt a potter takes it a stage further. If we can ask people not only to support us by keeping mug sales going, but also to get further involved by donating money directly to help fund apprentices I could further develop our current scheme of training. If the scheme was successful, then we could offer other potters funded apprenticeships so they can pass on their skills.

This is an example of how it works currently.
The faithful mug is an ideal form for apprentices to improve their repetition throwing skills. They learn about form, volume, handle making, raw glazing and many other skills including humility!

Many pots are thrown, and thrown away, for sometimes months. All in a day’s work amongst all the usual day to day workshop duties, clay preparation, glaze making, kiln packing to name just a few of many tasks. After some months we are able to see those pots through the kiln, apprentices are then involved with the sale of their pots as part of Maze Hill’s functional range, another important skill to be learnt and practised. As you may have noticed the mugs do vary from apprentice to apprentice, the shape is followed faithfully in the beginning, as time goes on the spirit of the potter shows through. I don’t aim to clone potters at Maze Hill but send apprentices off with an individual spirit.

My thoughts on how I see Adopt a potter
I realize as we go further down the line things will almost certainly get more complicated, but I would like to keep to the initial simple idea and spirit as closely as possible.

It will develop through advertising, gallery promotion and direct contact, asking patrons of the arts, collectors of pottery, and the pottery and ceramics industry to secure the future of studio potters, by making donations to a charitable trust that will go towards approximately £4000 - £5000 a year to pay for a very basic survival wage for training. Each patron will be kept up to date with a twice yearly news letter of their adoptee. We would also approach some sponsor‘s who wished to be involved to act as outside mentors.
At the end of the apprentice’s training a piece of work would be offered to the patrons as a thank you for their support.

What I have done so far
I have already had a post card produced testing the water so to speak featuring my current apprentice’s mugs and giving a brief statement and quotes from past apprentices and a prominent collector. We have had an encouraging response from visitors to our stand at Ceramic Art London and some offers of pledges in the future when we have set up a system. I have also approached a few galleries I work with to ask for their support in advertising the scheme. So far, I have had very positive feed back.

I have also spoken to Jill Block who is secretary of the Leach pottery Support group, and has spent the last 18months working for the leach pottery project. Jill has over 20 years experience of charity and voluntary sector administration in education, funding and public involvement across all sectors. She is a great supporter of the training of student potters and is interested to be involved in possibly co-ordinating the marketing and administrative needs of the scheme. Jill has agreed to review assisted funding opportunity’s that might be available to match the donations from the scheme supporters.

Phil Rhodes an accountant and past MD of Workspace PLC amongst other businesses has offered to help and to provide accountancy advice.

I have also referred to adopt a potter in an advert for our open studio event, in May 2008, in Ceramic Review

What I aim to do in the near future
The launch is scheduled for July 2008. In the mean time I plan to continue to put out leaflets at ceramic events, and mail out to our mailing list. Ceramic Review will be giving us some editorial coverage in their July August Issue and the web site studiopottery.com will be providing space to help with more publicity.

A firm of solicitors are free of charge already working on setting up the charitable status for the trust, a process which is being overseen by Graham Jenner, a professional tax specialist and a lifelong collector who has volunteered his services.

Please not that if you are interested to donate when we have the charity set up, please register your interest by email. mazehill.pottery@virgin.net

Apprentice News
Adam Frew apprentice to Lisa Hammond- September 2004 to September 2006

I graduated from the University of Ulster in June 2004, like many graduates, I needed to gain experience. I met Lisa in art in clay at Hatfield. Her assistant had recently left and Lisa suggested a trial period with her. I accepted and stayed for two years.

I had a great deal to learn and Lisa was pivotal in my development. Maze Hill Pottery gave me an excellent grounding, allowing me an insight into being successful as a maker.

Two years along side Lisa were inspirational, responsibilities were wide and varied and the reality that dogged determination and hard graft which she instilled in me would go hand and hand with my passion, if I were to be successful. Accompanying Lisa to fairs and exhibitions, meeting through her acknowledged potters and a visit to Japan were all inspirational.

Lisa acted as teacher, mentor and employer during my time in Greenwich and I still keep in contact with her and value her judgment. The mentoring aspect -through the apprenticeship and work experience undertaken- has been crucial in my personal and creative development. It has provided me a sounding board and access to skills and networks, which would have been otherwise difficult. Along the way I also had a great deal of support from family and friends and I continue to make the most of my contacts.

One of the most significant opportunities for me to date has been my acceptance on the Craft Northern Ireland’s “Making It” business start up programme. Based in London at the time of my application, the scheme enabled me to move back to Northern Ireland- something I had been thinking of doing for a while. Although I gained a tremendous amount of experience with Lisa, I was at a stage when I wanted to start progressing my own business. Initially I wanted to base myself in Belfast, however my love of architecture and the natural world took me to Flowerfield Arts Centre (located in the inspirational setting of Portstewart).

I have been working there as artist in residence since October 2006 and have been using the time to develop a new body of work and to teach at the centre.

Further information is available on the Flowerfield Arts Centre website www.flowerfield.org, on the County Down Craft website www.countydowncrafts.com and on the Craft Northern Ireland’s Directory www.craftni.org


Yo Thom ( originally from Japan )
Between 2000-2002, I was fortunate enough to work for Lisa as a full-time apprentice.
I have learned so many other things together with pottery skills, such as promotion skills, financial skills, networking, and planning and juggling, which are all as fundamental as production skills. Also, Lisa’s approach to the apprenticeship is very constructive and supportive. She gives you many opportunities to challenge yourself and to prove yourself, and build up your confidence gradually but surely.

I believe that Lisa is one of the best and the most dedicated studio potter in UK now, and I feel so lucky that I knocked on her pottery door 10 years ago! You cannot get these first-hand experiences at college and that is the greatest advantage of being an apprentice. I feel strongly that an apprenticeship gives you a whole angle of experience and makes your path much clearer for your future career.

I have now set up my own studio in Dalston Hackney. Due to my new environment (3rd floor in the middle of Dalston Junction!), I had to abandon my familiar techniques with a gas kiln, which I learnt at Maze Hill Pottery, and changed to using an electric kiln.

It took me a while to leave my passion for reduction firing behind and settled down to my new style, however, the new functional range is receiving well at many shows and exhibitions. Also I have started sharing a wood firing with an anagama potter, John Butler.

In the wood-firing, I still use my old Shino glaze, which has an even more rustic and traditional look to it. I am very lucky to have such a generous friend who lets me share the firing. I produce mainly one-off pieces and teabowls in the wood-firing, which include fairly large scale pieces too!
You can see my updated work and exhibition schedules on my website.
www.yothom.com

I also work at Ceramic Review magazine part-time as a production assistant. Although sitting at a computer using Photoshop instead of at a wheel making pots, I still involve myself with ceramics in the office. I enjoy this work as I get to see many different ceramic works from all over the world, which is beneficial in many ways.

Another occasional occupation is a translation work for pottery events. I have a degree in English and my Sociolinguistic study in the past has benefited me in a very unexpected way. My first experience was the interpreter job for Ken Matsuzaki at both Brookhouse Pottery Workshop and Aberystwyth International Ceramic Festival 2005, which was a great success. Aberystwyth asked me again in 2007 to interpret for Tomoo Hamada, Tea Ceremony Ladies, and Genya Sonobe. I am scheduled to do another translation for Aberystwyth 2009.

Katya Nosrevera (originally from Russia)
Katya completed Her MA in Visual Islamic traditional Arts this summer and is just about to start a PHD at the Princes School of Traditional Arts in Old Street.

I visited Katya’s MA exhibition and was stunned by the beauty and the quality of her work , her work has been chosen to take part in a touring exhibition which started in America last week and was opened by Prince Charles whilst on his US visit

Katya is just about to leave for Uzbkistan to undertake research the relationship between geometry and Islamic Architecture.

Katya is still working with clay, and has a commission for tiles and panels for a palace in Jordan.

Paola
I completed a PDD in fine art ceramics on the 2004.
My work is figurative, handbuilt, thrown and altered.
On the Autumn 2004 I set up shared studio in Iliffe yard London where I had 2 open studios and a group exhibition in Naples (Italy) in November 2005,
"There is a note on Ceramic Review March/April 2006 about the exhibition with picture of my sculpture".

I have recently moved studio to "the Great Western Studios" near Westbourne Park,
At moment I am preparing a solo exhibition for a gallery "Mani Design" in "Naples Italy" the exhibition start 19th May till the 2nd June.

I am also setting up my web site, which will be live soon, www.firedpot.com
Project for the near future, building a wood and gas kiln near Reading, "Purely on Thames" with two other fellow potter (Roy Snell, Will Hamilton).

E-mail paoladicelmo@yahoo.co.uk