A large well organised workshop gives David and Margaret plenty of scope for their projects. David with his ability to throw on a grand scale can fill his surroundings with ease and he enjoys being engrossed in numerous pots at various stages of making. The clay body is mixed, from Devonshire ball clays and local silica sand, in a dough mixer and then passed through a de-airing pug mill. It is immediately ready for use and in such excellent condition does not need kneading at all.
Some of the thrown forms are distorted or beaten when leather hard. Rings are added for feet for the bowls, platter rims are cut and shaped. Extruded shapes are used for added feet, handles and lugs. Sometimes the surfaces of flatware are combed with wavy lines. This gives a rather nice texture with a fluid celadon glaze over it and can be seen through the decoration.
Many of David's big pieces are part thrown then allowed to stiffen and more thrown sections added then thrown up again on the pot. By this method David finds he gets a more continuous form to the piece. Care must be taken to keep the tops of the pots damp whilst the bases are stiffening by keeping them well wrapped.
When working on pots in sections it is useful to use several wheels. David uses the lower wheels as the pieces get larger. Clay pads, on the wheel heads, enable the pots to be moved from wheel to wheel.
All the work is thrown on bats to stop warpage and make pieces easier to handle. Pots are left to dry slowly in the workshop so that they dry evenly for turning.
Both David and Margaret are comfortable being immersed in their work and hope for long periods without interruption. Periods of concentrated effort get the best out of the clay but are not always possible!
The big pieces are left for several days to dry slowly before being carefully bisque fired in electric kilns.The kilns are warmed slowly overnight to prevent any losses and cooled slowly to prevent cracking.
Margaret moves between making stoneware individual ware, domesticware and individual porcelain. She enjoys the changes in disciplines and variety that it gives. Periods are kept for putting together extruded dishes and boxes. A cycle of about three to four weeks clay work is followed by a similar period of glazing and firing.
Glazing and decorating demands complete control with good workshop practise if one is to progress without many unecessary losses which are very costly. At the same time the mood needed to create innovative and exciting pieces demands the element of courage, risk taking and experiment. One has to walk the tight rope between being technically perfect and lifeless, and being free enough to allow the inspiration to flow and yet not being reckless. You can't throw paint at the canvass and expect it to stay that way during 1300 degrees or so!
We have been working on reduction glazes for quite a number of years. Most of the base glazes are celadons, blues, pale and deep greens, mainly made from cornish stone. Most of the glazes are milled for three hours or more. This gives the glazes a lovely waxy surface ,increases fluidity and reduces crazing.
Decorative techniques include wax resist with overglazing and glaze trailing. The hot wax is kept at temperature in a 'slow cooker' and may be left with safety all day. The brushes lie on the top of the pan and keep warm. The glaze trailers used are made by Daniel and available from Dangor Ceramic Supplies.
When approaching a firing we tend to get very tense. There is usually a deadline (always a day or two short) and no matter how experienced you are it is such an exacting science that there are no certainties. Creative work demands risk and there are so many variables when dealing with the earth's crust. A glaze just a little thinner than usual will not absorb the pigments and they stay dry and flat on the surface: alternatively too thick and they risk running and sticking. Application of several layers of pigments and glazes makes the bisque absorb water. This must be carefully controlled so that the bisque doesn't cause the glazes to bubble and cause crawling during the firing.
The glaze firing is by propane gas and reaches 1280*C over twelve hours. Reduction begins about 950*C and lasts about five to six hours with an oxidizing period at the end. The firing is carefully monitored with a graph, being checked every half hour to make adjustments to the damper, secondary air and pressure. Seger cones 8&9 are placed in the kiln and found to be very accurate.
We have found that by being in control of as much of the processes as possible we have learned to be it tune with the nature of the materials and at the same time give our work its own identity. The search for that integrity gives, hopefully, honest pots to be used and enjoyed.