Bug Houses at Hellens Garden Festival 2020

by Sarah Monk | Jun 23, 2020 | inspiration, News, Outside

How could I resist?

When Hellens Manor invited me to provide a piece for their sculpture trail I just had to say ‘Yes!’ The Manor has been described by Country Homes Magazine as ” The jewel in the crown of Herefordshire homes”. It’s a privately owned Tudor house set in atmospheric grounds and I have enjoyed many happy visits there.

About Hellens

Hellens Garden Festival hosts an annual fund raiser for two charities: St Michaels Hospice and Back to the Wild. It takes place over a weekend and showcases the best of local growers, producers, makers and foodies. Speakers, interactive demonstrations and music make for a very engaging event. Very well supported locally, the event has an enjoyable and celebratory atmosphere. I’ve had loads of fun running free pottery workshops under the guise of Eastnor Pottery for years!

The Festival aims to celebrate the natural world and has an educational approach to local and global issues. The inspiring title forthis year’s event is ‘Together We are the Seeds of Change’.

slipware ceramic bug house by sarah monk ceramics in white with cobalt blue dots on a shelf in front of a green plate

holding a wet clay slipware bug house in the studio of sarah monk ceramics

eastnor pottery studio shelves with slipware bug houses by sarah monk ceramics

Inspiration

To begin my designing, I looked at the gardens: the ancient orchards, woodland trees. Hellens Manor has a team of dedicated gardeners concerned with conservation. I felt strongly whatever I was going to create needed to be functional in some way…. it needed to be caring! Clay is the perfect material for this project, it’s abundant and it comes straight from the earth.

My initial thought was to make a bird house, so I set about making a clay maquette (a small scale prototype). I discovered the small scale had a charm and an intimacy all of it’s own. My thoughts turned to the smaller creatures of the forest….. creepy crawlies!

The results ended up as a series of little ceramic houses. Insect dwellings which I’ve filled with hay, tiny twigs and seeds. Small hidey holes for bugs to dwell or hibernate. They’re designed to hang in trees or outside spaces. My intention is to display them in a tidy row, like houses in a street. Each house has been decorated differently in surface and colour. The idea that we live side by side in a world where we are able to protect each other and the world around us is a good one:

‘Together We Are The Seeds of Change’.

five pottery bug houses hanging on a branch with dappled sunlight

close up of three sarah monk ceramic bug houses hanging in the garden with leaves behind

brushed sea green bug house on a white shelf

When?

Hellens Garden Festival runs on the 22nd & 23rd August 2020 and is situated in the village of Much Marcle near Ledbury. Details about the Sculpture Trail here. They also have a Facebook page and Instagram.

Contemporary Ceramics Centre

by Sarah Monk | Jun 9, 2020 | Exhibitions, News, Pottery Studio Life

Throwback to June 2018, I was dragging a suitcase of my most recent slipware across London…

Contemporary Ceramics Centre had invited me to exhibit and I was excited to meet the staff again. ‘Ceramics Centre’, as it’s also known, is run by the Craft potters Association (CPA) of which I have been a member for over twenty years. It’s the only retail gallery in the whole of London that specialises in British Studio Ceramics.

sarah monk delivering her work to contemporary ceramics centre with a wheelie suitcase

a selection of sarah monk ceramics on a display table at contemporary ceramics centre

I was taking part in the makers rotation, which changes every three months. This is such a great idea as there is an ever changing selection of work by CPA members. It was a great opportunity for me to showcase and develope a whole new range of breakfast ware that I had been developing. I wrote all about it on the Contemporary Ceramics blogspot.

Here are a few pieces I selected to send at the time!

Photo credit: Kirsty Pye

slipware hand thrown slipware cheese dish with cheese and fruit

hand thrown slipware colander bowl with fresh peaches plus a slipware pottery spoon oin blue and white

a stack of three slipware bowls in white and terracotta slipware with some fresh radishes

I have been invited back January 2021. It’s a fab gallery with longstanding, friendly & very knowledgeable staff, it’s well worth a visit! The Gallery is opposite The British Museum on Russel Street!!

They can be found on Instagram Facebook & Twitter

HeyClay 2020

by Sarah Monk | May 13, 2020 | News, Pottery Studio Life

This is the time of year when Eastnor Pottery is usually gearing up for HeyClay, a natioanal event organised and promoted by the Crafts Council and Get Creative UK. Last year we ran three days worth of FREE potter’s wheel classes, it was really popular and we were full to the rafters! This year is rather different of course. So, as an alternative solution, HeyClay has become an online event #GetCreativeAtHome . Me & Jon are delighted it’s still going ahead, seeing it’s the 6th time we have taken part (so it’s very much part of our yearly calender). We’ll be hosting live tutorials, studio tours and insights into our making across our Eastnor Pottery social media platforms. I’m doing a live stream about how I make a slipware slab built soap dish too! HeyClay 2020 is running from the 15th -17th May

Slipware soap dishes.

by Sarah Monk | Apr 23, 2020 | inspiration, News

I have been obsessed with designing and making soap dishes of all shapes and sizes for quite a while. Originally I made one just for me. A change to soild shampoo to reduce plastic waste was my motivation and I needed a soap dish of some kind.

The little circular ceramic soap dishes in the featured image above are the first designs I produced. These are the perfect size for my favourite shampoo bars and soild conditioners which I purchase from my favourite store, Lush . I have a row of these little dishes on a wooden shelf in my own bathroom and they work fabulously!

My soap dish range has now expanded ….some designs are square, some rectangular, some are circular, others are small colanders. Soap comes in all shapes and sizes as do my soap dishes.

I have also added toothbrush mugs to this range, they look cool as a set.

My ceramic slipware soap dishes are slab built by hand in terracotta clay. I brush the surfaces with a lovely thick white slip and then add extra colours on top by either brushing or splatting (very fun indeed!!!). Some of the pieces have sgraffito, a pottery technique where by you scratch into the painted surface to reveal the clay underneath. I finish off most pieces with pie crust rim.

Every piece is covered in a durable shiny glaze and fired to earthenware.

My latest slipware soap dishes can be purchased on my website shop or by visiting my studio shop at Eastnor Pottery near Ledbury in Herefordhire.

Emerging Potters Magazine.

by Sarah Monk | Apr 17, 2020 | inspiration, News, Pottery Studio Life

I’ve been featured in a lovely online magazine! It’s called Emerging Potters and contains 35 pages of ceramic artists, gallery news and book reviews. Paul Bailey, the editor asked me six questions: how I got into ceramics, a bit about Eastnor Pottery, my influences, where I sell, how do I use social media and my observations of how pottery has changed in the last 5 years. Paul has put my answers into a beautifully wriiten three page article.

The feature can be found in the April to June copy, Issue 14 . The magazine is produced quarterly on the ISSUU platform. Paul is very happy to send a copy if you email: paulbailey123@googlemail.com

You can also follow Emerging Potters on Instagram here!

Paul has also asked for some extra images of my work to write an article for Clay Craft Magazine. Thanks Paul!!!!

Ceramic Rabbit in Puzzle Wood.

by Sarah Monk | Apr 17, 2020 | News, Outside

Making ceramic bunnies is not my usual bag I admit, but when Helen, from Puzzle Wood put a call out to local Potters to contribute to her Rabbit trail I couldn’t resist! Puzzle Wood is a magical ancient woodland in the Forest of Dean. It’s a great place to explore with the kids, as we have done many times with our own and is a popular TV and film location. Helen’s idea was to launch a kid’s trail over the usually busy Easter weekend.

I started making my contribution back in February, deciding to hand coil it. A technique I never ever use, but thought it would be fun to do something different. I used terracotta clay because it has a deep, earthy colour very fitting for a rich, earthy forest. Once built, I covered the whole rabbit in white slip and then scratched into it with simplified flowers and splatters of cobalt blue. I wanted it to be blue & white; a classic ceramic pallet that would stand out against a backdrop of forest green.

Unfortunately because of the pandemic, Puzzle Wood closed to the public. Helen decided to continue her plans in a different way and turned it into The Great Virtual Puzzle Wood Easter Trail!! Available to view on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

There’s a colouring competition too, with lots of great prizes, including a couple from us here at Eastnor Pottery!

Slipware Studio Pottery

by Sarah Monk | Feb 17, 2020 | Pottery Studio Life

I’m really into making slipware. I use terracotta clay because it has a deep, rich depth of colour and is a dream to throw with. It feels like melting chocolate through my fingertips.

I’m very interested in surfaces. When you brush white slip over terracotta it has a deep earthy quality. I work quickly on this, scratching into it (sgraffitto) with random scribbles and doodles. It’s an instinctive and intuitive process. I do not deliberate or labour over the surfaces. I like to mess them up a little too with a few random splats of coloured slip or underglaze.

It’s all about the human element for me, layering up surfaces, rather like a painter at a canvas…. mark making and doodling.

I finish off my pieces with a clear lead-free earthenware glaze. This makes them smooth to touch and also durable for everyday use.

My Studio at Eastnor Pottery

by Sarah Monk | Feb 17, 2020 | inspiration, Outside, Pottery Studio Life

I love my studio. Nestled below the Malvern Hills, on The Eastnor Castle Estate and just 2 miles from the charming market town of ledbury it’s the perfect location. The building itself has character. It’s a listed building, over 200 years old held together with blacksmith nails, wattle & daub, wooden beams and thick stone walls, made contemporary by painting the interiors bright white and vibrant blues. Eastnor Pottery was once a domestic dwelling, a quaint little bungalow comprising of 2 bedrooms (now office and kiln room), a living room (now reception room & studio space) , the outside loo (now the clay store), boiler shed (shop & extra studio space). The Eastnor Castle Estate Company kindly knocked a door through into an adjacent farm building to create our largest studio space which we call the Main Studio.

How I first got into ceramics.

by Sarah Monk | Feb 17, 2020 | inspiration, Pottery Studio Life

At the age of four my parents got a dog. I loved going on dog walks, strolling through the fields and playing in streams. I can remember finding clay, I took some home in my hand. I picked out the stones and played with the gritty clay.

Growing up, I was surrounded by ceramics as my Dad collected Antiques. We had glass fronted cabinets at home that would rattle and chink when I walked past. Piles of ‘Miller’s Guide’ books to look through. My Mum also collected a slipware, more commonly known as motto ware. Most of it was made by Watcombe. She had a collection of over 500 pieces adorning two pine dressers. I enjoyed picking them up, reading all the sgraffitto sayings and running my fingertips over the slip -railed patterns.

Doing a degree in Ceramics at Bath Spa University seemed like a natural progression for me. There I met Jon Williams, a fellow ceramics student and eventually my husband to be. We were hard working students and made the most of all the studio time provided.

Jon and I decided to set up a studio together. We settled for beautiful rural Herefordshire. An old redundant cottage on the Eastnor Castle Estate became available.