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.

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.