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Dear All, we hope your winter hasn't been too arduous so far; the cold water in the bucket doesn't help though. Glaze making journey with found materials with Andrew Carran First we started with a very busy clubnight which was very informative with lots of glaze samples, soil maps of the greater Christchurch region and lots and lots of information, so much to take in. Six of us and Andrew got together to work on our own glaze projects. We had soils, sands, loess and clays from the harbours to Gore Bay and all the way to the Craigieburn Ranges. We started with preparing our particular base material by breaking it up and siveing it into very fine particles. Lunch was a wee outing to a lookout overlooking the Canterbury plains. Andrew shared stories about the old brick works in town, where the raw materials came from and clay works in a number of different locations in the distant foothills of the Southern Alps; a highlight of day one. Then it got pretty messy, with measuring, mixing, adjusting our glazes and glazing many test tiles. We are now in the process of firing our glazes to Cone 5/6, Cone 7/8 and Cone 9 before we potentially adjust them some more to desired outcomes. Can't wait to see all out test tiles. Photographs of the work, so far, are attached. We'll have the test tiles and other work some time in the near future. Wood firing with Mt Pleasant and Halswell potters group on Sat 27 July Schedule leading up to the Saturday July 27 Make pots now. Wood firing with Halswell pottery group on July Saturday 27 at 8am Mt pleasant group bisque firing, leave work in our rooms in the wood firing box to be bisque for Saturday 13 July. Your work will be in the rooms for glazing, 2 glazes will be available a celadon and a shino glaze. Deliver to Halswell on Friday 26th at 10am for loading the kiln (or someone to do it for you). Halswell potters bisque firing to be organised Firing the kiln will be on Saturday 27th 8am start; all pots in the kiln will require a 2 to 3 hours of firing time from the pot owners. The firing cycle could be up to 10hrs so be prepared to do the time please, bring along a shared lunch if you are on the lunch time duty. Tea & Coffee supplied. Firing times: please let Shona know claytech1@gmail.com or fill in the time you would like to play with smoke, dust and fire. The schedule will be on the notice board in the club rooms, Friday 10am: sorting the shelves and props, kiln washing then sorting into sizes and loading the kiln. This will take a while; 3 to 4 hours depending on the work sizes. Firing schedule for Saturday: 8am to 10am 10am to 1pm 1pm to 3pm 3pm to Finish This last time is important as we want to soak as long as we can holding the temperature to get heat work done, settling the ash on the glazes, etc. Four people on the fire boxes, two people collecting the wood for them means a total of six people on each shift. You can stay as long as you like; all day if you want. This is a fun learning day all pyromaniacs together. This firing is open to all members of Mt Pleasant and Halswell potters groups. Any questions please email Shona claytech1@gmail.com or ring 0226797729 Classes In an attempt to provide a sense of progression for our students, we are changing the nature of some classes to achieve this aim. Alex's Wednesday night class in terms one and three will be 'Beginners Handwork' classes and terms two and four will be 'Beginners Wheel' classes. All the other classes will be mixed ability classes. Our real aim is to have all our students progress to attending Tuesday club days where you'll meet other club members and spread your pottery wings. All classes are full for term three. Alex is running Slip and Glaze courses on Saturdays, 3rd and 10th of August. Prices yet to be determined. Renate also runs advanced throwing classes on the last weekend of the month; three hours on a Friday and again on Saturday. This program is run as two five session semesters, February to November. Exhibition 2019 Calling on all potters, new and old, to start your exhibition project early.
If unsure contact the convener (Renate) on 0211336620 Kiln operation The last few weeks have been a bit of a shambles; huge disappointment in the operation of the kilns and subsequent adjustments and slippage of the firing schedule. Unfortunately kiln 1, having just been repaired, has had a meltdown and will be out of action for a little while. This makes the following more important: Kiln scheduling, for club members, will now become the responsibility of Shona and Hilary. What this means is: that if you require some work to be fired, it must be put into a box, labelled with your name, firing type and the date (your phone number might also help in case there is a need to contact you). All the items in the box must have your mark on them. If any of these parameters are not met, the items will not be fired. If anyone has any issues with what is being asked please get in touch with Shona, Hilary or me. Drying shelves These are a wonderful asset and put up at some effort to provide us with a facility for drying our pots. They are not a storage facility. Items for bisque firing should not be there any longer than a week; then they go into your box, labelled and ready for firing. Items that have been glazed, ideally, shouldn’t be on the shelves at all. Think about it, get the glaze on and get them into the box with their label ready for Shona and Hilary to get them fired. So, if you have any wares on the shelves that need firing, do the decent thing and get them done. Collecting your fired items Bring some cash with you! We can’t do EFTPOS and you know you have to pay for the firing of your pots. Prices are on the notice board. This has been a bit-of-a-rant, but none of this is new. These rules have been in place for longer than we’ve been at Phillipstown and your pots are your responsibility. We'll send out a notice when No1 kiln is back on line and we also intend to put another controller onto kiln No2; this will give some more flexibility regarding firing programs. Your Committee We are delighted to advise that we have two new members on our committee; Hilary Cowburn who will be assisting with the supervision of the firing of the kilns and Jackie Negus who will take over the writing of this publication. We welcome them aboard and their input into the successful running of our club. CLUB DAYS & CLUB NIGHTS Club Days are on Tuesdays, 10am to 3.30pm and 7 to 9pm. Club Demonstration Nights are on the second Tuesday of every month. We are hosting guest speakers and demonstrators who will be sharing their knowledge and expertise on a wide range of topics relating to pottery and ceramics. A $5 donation please. To get most out of our Demonstration Club Nights please get in contact and let me know which topics you would like to know more about. I will try and make it happen! Renate 021-1336620, rgaletzka@gmail.com Saturday Club Day, 1st Saturday of the month, 10.00am till noon Saturday Raku Club Day with Leigh-Ann… July Tuesday, 9th, 7pm Club Night: Printing on Clay demonstration evening with Shona Clarkson Printing on clay, a special way of making a small personal screen to print on your work. A sat workshop will be available to make your own small screen. As we need to order materials for each person attending the Saturday workshop will be later in the month. On club night date and workshop details will be advised to those who would like to attend. One day workshop Make your own screen for printing on clay Price to be advised August Saturday, 3rd and 10th 9am to 12noon on each day Glaze and Slip making with Alex Learn the basics of glaze and slip making and a variety of application techniqhes Price to be advised Tuesday, 13th Club Night: Everything Glaze Materials Bring all your unanswered questions relating to glaze making. Our very own expert, Ken, will have an answer for everything! Like: What’s Silica?.. Why did that glaze run?.. Why is that glaze stuck to the bottom and what can I do? What makes my glaze blue or white or red or..? September Tuesday, 10th Club Night: Topic to be announced … Make a suggestion, txt Renate on 0211336620 Possibly Weekend workshop with Yi-Ming Lin – Sculpture. Please txt Renate on 0211336620 to gauge interest October No Club Night Saturday, 12th Annual Exhibition Submission and Selection Day, 10am Friday/Saturday, 18 – 19 Exhibition At Mt Pleasant Community Centre Hall All hands on deck, please volunteer for all the jobs large and small that will help make our exhibition a success November Tuesday, 12th AGM and world famous auction End of Year Party Day outing to Birdlings Flat with Action Firing (pit firing) and picnic at the beach. Bring family and partners, this will be fun fun fun! Date to be announced closer to the time, with consideration to tides. If total fire ban should be in place event will be postponed to autumn 2020. Watch this space. (This has got to be a fantastic opportunity for something really different - Graham) Whew, I'm fairly sure that we've covered all the important subjects for this month. Matariki at the Hub on Saturday the 19th June for a hangi, you'll need to contact Viviana for a ticket, 03 379 3256. Happy potting - Graham On behalf of your committee.  This talk, by Andrew Carran, is the beginning of a project for members to gather soils from around Christchurch / Canterbury to make glazes. Andrew is a retired geologist who has worked in many countries around the world and he likes to make glazes from soils that he finds around Chc. Halswell and Lyttelton, to name a couple, were on display. The project goes from here; members, who have signed up, will spend the next two weeks looking for appropriate soils. Much of the soil around Chc and up on Banks Peninsula is Loesse; this soil is approximately 50% silica, 25% aluminium and the remaining 25% is various oxides, carbonates and trace minerals. Mud flats, of a sticky, muddy nature, are also a good potential source of 'interesting' soil. Any soils gathered will be dried and where possible ground down to small particles ready to be made into a glaze. First we started with a very busy clubnight which was very informative with lots of glaze samples, soil maps of the greater Christchurch region and lots and lots of information, so much to take in. Six of us and Andrew got together to work on our own glaze projects. We had soils, sands, loess and clays from the harbours to Gore Bay and all the way to the Craigieburn Ranges. We started with preparing our particular base material by breaking it up and siveing it into very fine particles. Lunch was a wee outing to a lookout overlooking the Canterbury plains. Andrew shared stories about the old brick works in town, where the raw materials came from and clay works in a number of different locations in the distant foothills of the Southern Alps; a highlight of day one. Then it got pretty messy, with measuring, mixing, adjusting our glazes and glazing many test tiles. We are now in the process of firing our glazes to Cone 5/6, Cone 7/8 and Cone 9 before we potentially adjust them some more to desired outcomes. Can't wait to see all out test tiles. Photographs of the work, so far, are attached. We'll have the test tiles and other work some time in the near future. What a day, What a fire, What a result! Only three of us went out to Rangiora which was a shame; we were welcomed by a good number of their folk. Stacking of the kiln began when Les Freeman, Chief Salt Kiln Operator, arrived with some fire wood. There is a special technique when stacking this type of kiln because the gas flow is to be made turbulent. Different shapes of pot are placed near each other to accentuate the variation in the gas flow. The were too many pots for everyone to get all their pots fired, so we made sure that everyone got at least one fired. Lots of pots with no names, so hope you didn't miss out. The firing is started using wood; this is to heat the fire box to the point where the diesel / air mixture will ignite. The kiln was set alight at 10.00am on a beautiful Nor'wester day; lots of smoke to begin with as the heat-up continued. The roar of the diesel/air mixture is a bit like a Boeing 747, but the sound of the roar varies during the firing and all fire adjustments are made based on the changes to the roar. The kiln is a double skin, dry stack type and as it heated the flue obtained a slight lean; nothing to be concerned about apparently. The nature of the build enables keen viewers, like us, the opportunity to see the kiln heat through dull red, bright red, brighter red with a touch of yellow and then with a touch of white; absolutely fantastic. Then, we got to throw the salt in. A cup of salt is wrapped in newspaper, the is dampened with a quick dunk in a bucket of water, then the projectile is thrown into the fire box with the aim of reaching a far back as possible. There were a few "drop-shorts" but generally all the salt got into the kiln and did its thing. The clouds of white/grey smoke are the result of the salt under combustion. The firing stopped and the kiln was closed up around 4.30pm. The Nor'wester was given as the reason for the shortest firing they've ever had. The photographs below show some of the excitement of the firing and also some of the results. The price for getting a pot fired is $10.00 (that's the RPC standard fee), so Ill be around collecting over the next week - ten days. There is talk of another salt glaze firing in six to eight weeks time; I highly recommend it. Commit to the whole day and get involved; at the risk of repeating myself, its absolutely fantastic. Regards - Graham, Jon & Robin Dear All, Happy Easter, Happy holidays,
We hope everyone had a good / fabulous first term of the year and have raised the bar for term two or the next stage in your pottery life. There is an extra class on the list now; Wednesday night with Alex as our tutor. Our Monday and Thursday classes are full with good attendance booked for Wednesday day and night. Our Tuesday club days are also well attended; wonderful chatter going on along with the occasional tip on a process, glaze or technique. WIFI in our room: this has been requested by our tutors, so pending final sign off for the funds we will have WIFI soon. It will be ideal for viewing You Tube films of potters showing their wonderful skills. Kilns and Firings The controller for kiln No3 is on its way home from being repaired; it will be in place this coming week. If anyone has key to the kiln shed (that they're not supposed to have) would you please hang it back on the hook in the club room? Kiln shed keys should only be away from their hook for a couple of days at most. If you're in control of a firing you must come back to the kiln shed the following day to confirm the cycle has finished and then switch off the kiln. You'll need to hang on to the key for that period to get back into the shed to carry out the switch off routine; hang it back on the hook asap afterwards. Club exhibition this is being planned for October, 2019. Full details coming soon. At our June club night Renate will discuss what we need to consider when producing and submitting works to our, or to any exhibition, so start putting your ideas together. Club Night in May Glazes—starting at ground level, with Andrew Carran A Tuesday Club night preliminary In this session Andrew will outline two Sunday afternoon sessions (26 May, 2 June) in which we will make glazes from local materials and fire them. The evening session will give information on where to find materials and prepare them as well as covering some glaze history and local geology and should be of general interest to all - not just glaze makers. There will be soil maps and samples to look at as well as pots with local glazes and a discussion about how the glazes, we can make here, relate to classical Chinese glazes. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in how glazes are made, from the ground up, to be with Andrew Carran as he goes through the whole process. Not to be missed, no matter what level Andrew would like a rough idea of how many people would approximately be attending the evening. If you are possibly thinking of coming along, please give Renate a quick txt (0211336620) Good potting, everyone – Graham and the committee A wonderful demonstration by a master of his craft; Ly-Ming's use of thumb pots and coils had many of us thinking how long it had been since we had done work using these methods. Ly-Ming began the evening with three large balls of clay and some examples of his small heads and an egg (ceramic of course), then proceeded to show how simply he could make them. (see heads 4 and 5 in the photo's below). Ly-Ming even brought his class notes from when he was a student in Dunedin many years ago. Quirky might describe the style of the heads Ly-Ming makes but his demonstration of his thumb-pot technique in producing them was delightful. Then it was onto coiling; beginning with an oval three or four coils high, then he formed it into a loose figure-of-8 shape and pressed out two slight bulges; another two or three coils and some tidying-up saw the bottom of a torso. (Enlarge the group photos to see the beginning of the torso) Ly-Ming had a steady stream of information for us and answered questions as he went about his work. For those who came away inspired to attempt some hand work, Ly-ming has agreed to hold a weekend workshop later in the year. A wonderfully inspiring evening shared by 14 of us. We would love to see more members at the monthly demo evenings. Brenda ran a class for children over the school holidays; here are some photographs of the class. Hello All, best wishes again for the year ahead and all your pottery endeavours. As the current scribe for the club I thought we might send out a newsletter after each month's committee meeting in an attempt to keep you all informed of the subjects being discussed and decisions made. On that basis we hope that you will want to make contributions / suggestions on our club, facilities, classes, library, etc. I look forward to the full mail box.
From our January committee meeting:The response was that perhaps the Hub Board could take over the financial running of the facilities including receiving no funding from them. We have received a letter stating that this will increase our annual rent, in fact, more than double it. We are awaiting the final discussion between the Hub board and Dept of Education. There is to be a gala day at the hub on the 23/30 March a meeting to discuss this is on Friday, the 8th Feb at 5.30. None of our committee members can attend so will ask to be informed of any relevant details. There has been an enquiry from a visiting potter, John Summerfield, from UK, asking about presentation / demonstration opportunities in NZ pottery groups. He might be available for possible inclusion in our club night program. We had an invitation from Mt Pleasant community Centre for us to participate in their Saturday market late last year. We will approach the and request some more details. Class numbers are good and we may get another beginners class on Wednesday night: details to be confirmed by Leigh-Ann, soon. Leigh-Ann is going to split the large bags of clay into smaller weights, especially for beginners who may not get to use all the clay in a large bag. Details at your first class. Tuesday club days: Graham will open in the morning (it might be a little after 10.00am); pop over to the office and ask Vivianna for the key if I'm late. Ken will open in the evening. If you're the last one in the room, please make sure that the lights are off, windows are closed and the place is tidy before you close the door. Go to the office and ask Vivianna or Mary Ann to set the alarm code. Subscriptions were due after the AGM, so, if you've put off paying them until now, please do so. $65.00. Renata is running an intensive wheel throwing class which is nearly full on a Friday and Saturday once a month. Details are on the web site; one place, Saturday and two places on Friday are still available. Be quick as this is a wonderful opportunity to develop better skills in a small class environment; practising what you've learnt between monthly lessons. We are planning to approach Halswell club again to have a wood firing this year and we've been in touch with Rangiora regarding a salt firing; see the club program on the web site. The Hub has advised that we can have free WIFI in our room; we will get a router and set it up soon. Brenda said that Wifi and youtube were an asset for tutoring the children during her holiday program. Good potting - Graham (Secretary) Hi Potters,
It’s time to dust off ya pots and Raku…. Hope you have had a great break Raku firing is planned for Saturday 2nd February - 10am start. Bring along; 1. Any bisque pots you want to Raku 2. Any combustible material you want to use – paper (especially the junk mail coloured leaflets), saw dust Glazes will be available to use – both crackles and our new Raku glazes I do have a number of metal containers to use – but bring some along if you can Shared morning tea $5 for the day – this covers the glazes and gas Any issues or enquiries – please contact me leighanno@gib.co.nz No firing in March as I am away Looking forward to catching up with everyone – even if its only for a coffee. Cheers - Leigh-Ann MP Pottery Club Programme for 2019 CLUB DAYS & CLUB NIGHTS Club Days are on Tuesdays, 10am to 3.30pm and 7 to 9pm. Club Demonstration Nights are on the second Tuesday of every month. We are hosting guest speakers and demonstrators who will be sharing their knowledge and expertise on a wide range of topics relating to pottery and ceramics. A $5.00 donation, please. To get the most from our Demonstration Club Nights please get in contact and let me know which topics you would like to know more about. I will try and make it happen! Renate 021-1336620, rgaletzka@gmail.com Saturday Club Day, 1st Saturday of the month, 10.00am till noon Saturday Raku Club Day with Leigh-Ann… February Tuesday, 12th, 7pm Club Night: Make your own stamps, tools and stuff A hands on evening with our very own Ken and Renate. We will have a number of work stations set up where you will be able to make your own stamps, sprigs, durable cutting wire, shaping and scoring tools, turning tools and more. Some materials will be supplied. Please bring ball point pens, spare old credit or supermarket cards, scissors, some of your own hand tools, towel.. If you would like to offer an additional station, please just get in touch with Renate, 021-1336620 March Tuesday, 12th, 7pm Club Night with Les Taylor on Salt Firing A must attend evening if you want to participate in the upcoming Salt Firing with the Rangiora pottery club. Les will introduce us to the unique process of salt firing, what clays, which shapes, which slips and décor, how does the glaze develop, all the do’s and don’ts in preparation of the firing itself. April Tuesday, 9th, 7pm Club Night with Yi-Ming Lin Demonstration evening with internationally exhibiting sculptor Yi-Ming Lin. Yi-Ming who is originally from Taiwan, trained ceramics at Otago Polytech, and now lives in rural Canterbury. Yi-Ming is an expert in large sculptural pieces, multi-piece construction and assembly. He effortlessly brings together technical know how and aesthetic style. Check out some of his work on ceramic.co.nz May Tuesday, 14th, 7.00pm Club Night with Andrew Carran on Glaze Project Sunday, 26th May, all day Glaze Project with Andrew Sunday, 2nd June, 2 to 3 hours The Glaze Project with Andrew is designed for us to learn about the materials that may be used in making a glaze; The club night talk will give an insight into the materials and processes, the all-day-Sunday event will enable us to mix glaze materials we have gathered with more traditional minerals to make glazes and the third session will be a round up and discussion on our endeavours. Project
Intensive Throwing Pottery Class By Renate Galetzka Monthly Wheel Work Intensive, Project based Time: third Saturday of the month, 9:30 to 12:30. 10 sessions per year, two x five class semesters Max number of students: 6 This has proven to be very popular and we now have nearly enough applicants for two classes; two places on Friday's class are available. The classes will run run on consecutive days, being the last Friday and Saturday of the month, beginning February 22nd & 23rd. Be in to win! The course price is $130.00 per semester, two semesters Target group: Beginner/intermediate to intermediate potter Prerequisite: Basic centering and throwing ability of small pots and basic form Course outline Understand vessels: what makes ie a good mug, bowl or plate (proportion, handle, foot-ring, weight, ease of glaze-ability, etc) Experiment with shape and form, find your own preferred shape of dish Learn and practice how to achieve repeatable form Intro to sketching and basic technical drawing Understanding shrinkage and how to work it Basic understanding of clays and their qualities Structure of the year We will work on approx. 3 projects this year. The group will decide which vessel shape they will all be working on for the next 3 months period. My vessel suggestions are:
Session outline
The AGM was held in our club room, at Phillipstown Hub, 13th November.
We had 16 members present and everyone got involved with the proceedings. The highlights of the meeting were: the election of our officers and committee and 'Farewells' to those leaving the committee. Chairperson: Anne Goddard Secretary: Graham Maguire Treasurer: Ken Doidge Minute secretary: Brenda Benge Class co-ordinator: Leigh-Ann Smith Club room: Lorraine Jansen Shona Clarkson, Genevieve, Allan Mauger and Bill Bromley have left our committee and special thanks were offered to both Shona and Genevieve without whose effort the club would not be in existence today. Allan Mauger proposed the club invest Shona with Life Membership; this was unanimously seconded by all. A fitting tribute to a wonderful stalwart of Mt Pleasant Pottery Group. The meeting closed with a reminder of our Christmas get-together on Tuesday 11th December at the pizza oven at the Hub; starting at 6.30pm. All members and partners welcome; bring your favourite pizza toppings. We are holding our AGM on Tuesday 13th November at our club rooms, Room 7, Phillipstown Hub, 39 Nursery Rd, Phillipstown. The following reports won't be read at the meeting but questions arising from the reports may be tabled. The agenda is at the bottom. Mt Pleasant Potters Secretary’s report for 2018. It has been a busy year for our club, Our three classes have been full thanks to tutors Allan Mauger and Shona Clarkson. Michael Michaels did a Wednesday stint, Amy Michaels ran the children’s holiday classes with Brenda filling in the last school holidays. These classes are very important to us as they help with the growth of our club. School holiday classes were aimed at 12 to 16 years old we had a reasonable response for that group. Membership is getting stronger: with about 100 members, this will fluctuate a little each year, but most continue to use club days and night. Kiln usage is high, they are well used by the members with just a few rules to understand the process and bookings which we are updating to keep it simple. Kiln repairs: with the EMC programmers being sent to be repaired, fixing the probes, the kiln work is ongoing as the kilns are in constant use, we all need to monitor and write down any changes in the firings, anything that goes wrong power cut off etc. Maintenance has been work in progress during the year with the library now at the end by the outside door displaying our collection, shelving is around the west side giving us more space. The glazing area is tidier, as the chemical shelving and moulds are all now on the east side. The kiln shed has been strengthened, new locks on the kiln doors, gravel for Raku kiln, a pathway for the winter wanders to the kiln shed and the red table lifted up; this all makes the rooms much more usable, thanks to Rudi Jensen and the maintenance team for their smart thinking and hard work. Phillipstown Hub The potters have a representative meeting with the hub once a month to discuss the running of the hub with the other eight to 10 groups, who are tenants of the hub; we are all involved. We are working through an insurance plan with the hub for our group; this will be in action soon. The potters take part in hub activities when we can; we are working through collaboration and working together to make it a permanent place. Tiles for the pizza oven were made and plate decorating for the communal loaf held in Labour weekend are two recent activities, the plates were decorated with some of the holiday club children and used in the evening bread making meal. On gala days we have open pottery day where people can play with clay. Weekend workshops we have had several of those, a slip workshop, making your own glazes, The raku club is ongoing with Leigh-Ann. 1st Sat of the month club days with Anne, all these activities are worth attending to gain a more little knowledge. Wood firing with Halswell potters group was very successful; we will continue to run these workshops and other days with your ideas. Clay buying: this is a privilege for members to buy; please check that your clay numbers correspond with the book and follow the guidelines in buying. Web site is constantly being hit with class and club enquiries, this web site will grow as we utilise it fully as a club We had a successful constitution change in May this now has been updated to the year 2018. We have had donations of glaze materials & books from Genevieve Forrester & Barbara O’Donnell. These will be used in the making up of glazes etc. The books will be stamped with our logo and incorporated into the library. The books are to be reference only just until we get them all catalogued. It has been a good year for our growth as a pottery club in the east side of town we have the full support of the Phillipstown hub and the Linwood, Woolston, Phillipstown community council. Shona Clarkson 2018 Raku Club Report A small gathering of Raku enthusiasts, supported by Mt Pleasant Pottery meet around the first Saturday of the month. This was a new initiative that started in July, with our final firing for the year on November 10th, so we have embraced five months of fire and smoke. We now have a great collection of Raku glazes – white crackle, an update blue crackle (Mt Pleasant special), copper penny and a naked Raku slip. In October we tried the Obvara method (Baltic Raku) and this will be further explored in 2019. Some great results were achieved, and thank you to all the members who came along and participated, helped, laughed, and revelled in the flame. I am happy to continue to facilitate this event in 2019 and reiterate that it is open to all. Even if you have nothing to fire it is a great morning and good coffee and cake is always welcome! Have a safe and happy Christmas Leigh-Ann FACEBOOK Report As for end of October 2018 - 132 followers - 50 more than in January 2018 with an average 100 interactions per month. I am keen to get as many pictures as I can to post on the Facebook page - Classes, club day, club night, works of students (with their agreement). Members can send the picture to the MPPG Group on Messenger with informations about it and I will publish them. SATURDAY Morning Since we started to open the Studio on the first saturday of the month, we have had a few potters turning up which is great. We are now having rake firing most of the saturdays that we are open which is great. Would be good to reach more members if they want to practice their skills during the weekend. Anne Goddard MPPG 2018 Website Report We had to resurrect our website about 12 months ago and with the help of QPM Design we have a platform that is easy to use and a helpful provider when a little over-the-phone training is required. We have had a number of good comments from other pottery clubs and no complaints from members. Our total hits for October was 218, with 29 hits for ‘Club News’; it is gratifying to know members are using the site. Our Gallery page is a work-in-progress; the plan is to use the page to illustrate some of the significant pieces and potters we have in our cabinets. This will means some changes over time. I would also like to see some of our own member’s work go into the Gallery - don’t be shy! I’m also happy to receive articles from members, with or without photographs. If you have photo’s in your article, please send them as a separate file as it’s the only way I can get them into the page. Have a merry festive season. Graham Maguire Club Day Report Duty Person Bill Bromley Club Days every Tuesday from 10am to 2.30pm Between four and eight members use the rooms and their abilities range from beginners to intermediate, working mainly on the wheel and some handwork. At least four small bowls are made on the wheel by each potter. Shelves are available for storage and pots can be left in rooms for drying before trimming. The members are learning to load, fire and unload the kilns under supervision of an approved operator. Also members are attending courses to learn how to fire the kilns. Some members are buying their own chemical materials and mixing their glaze recipes sourced from our library or computer. Members are encouraged to read pottery books from our new library. Club glazes and brushwork are used to decorate these and some pots have been sold at Lyttelton market. The room cleanup and wet floor wash, with our new vacuum cleaner, is shared with members after each session. All the potters are making some very good pots and having a fun time. Agenda for AGM November 13th, time 7pm, at room 7 Phillipstown hub
Apologies: Jackie Foulkes, Megan Salole, Minutes from 2017 AGM and the special meeting in may 2018. Matters arising from the minutes of 2017 AGM. Matters arising from the special meeting in May, 2018. Correspondence: Secretaries report: Shona Clarkson Financial report: with Subs discussion. Election of officers: Chairman Anne Goddard nominated by Shona Clarkson 2nd Lorraine Jansen Secretary Graham Maguire nominated by Leigh-Anne Obrien 2nd Treasurer Ken Doidge nominated by Shona Clarkson 2n These are the committee members who are standing for 2019 collectively nominated by Shona Clarkson 2nd Brenda Benge, Leigh-Anne Obrien, Loraine Jansen Three more to join the Mt Pleasant committee; these can be co-opted during the year. General business Constitution was discussed at our special meeting 8th May and has been approved; this has been circulated during the year to members and will be resent again. Web site report: Graham Maguire. Face book report: Anne Goddard. Classes report: Shona Clarkson. Room club day: Bill Bromley. Kiln usage report: Shona Clarkson. Maintenance report: Club activities 2019: Renate Galetzka Phillipstown hub report: Club, end of year, Christmas: pizza oven at the hub, Tuesday 11th December 6.30 start. Members to bring pizza toppings, bases supplied. Members standing down from the committee: Bill Bromley, Shona Clarkson and Allan Mauger The committee would like to thank these members who have contributed their time whilst on the committee and wish them good potting for the future. Our Monday class and one from Wednesday... families there too, but food all gone! Some of the 35 plates decorated by some of our local children. Some happy children and some of their work at the recent holiday program. Hi potters, we have had a request from some members to do some glaze days.
For those who are starting on their own glazing programme and not sure what to do, where to go,🤔 we might be able to help. We would like responses from you if you would like to take part in making your own glazes. There would be two Saturdays: October the 6 and 20, 10am to 12pm. Sorry this is short notice but if you get cranked up there is plenty of time; you can have your materials here in three days. Requirements from you would be: You buy your own materials, the glaze recipe is supplied below, materials may be bought from: BotPots, Nelson Pottery Supplies, Wellington potters, etc. Google pottery supplies and many suppliers will pop up. With these ingredients you will make up 4 glazes, half a bucket of each, with enough material left over to make up a small supply of coloured over-glazes. Ingredients to buy, for a clear or white or colored glaze firing to cone 6 to 8+. Kaolin (china clay) 2 kg Silica. 2 kg Wollastonite 2 kg Frit 4108 2 kg Potash feldspar 2 kg If these come in 2.5 kg packs that is ok as this might be a standard size; this is your base ingredients for a glaze. You may add these ingredients to make up a blue, green, white, or variegated glaze. If you have some strange colorants bring them along and we will discuss them. Zirconium 500 gm Cobalt carbonate 50gm Copper carbonate 50gm Rutile 50gm Iron oxide 500gm If you like you might like to buy any coloured stains like yellow, red, orange etc for your small over glazes. Containers and other stuff needed: Four 10 litre buckets with lids Kitchen scales Paper mask Note book (glaze book). Glass jars with lids at least 8 Felt tip pen Apron & towel If you have a glaze sieve bring that. Enrolments: please email to mtpleasantpottery@gmail.com The cost for two Saturdays $20.00, you can bring it on the first day but please book in to secure your place. CLUB NIGHT Tuesday, October 9th, will be glazing with Renate, splash, pour and dip. Ken will be demonstrating how to spray glazes on your work. Time: 7pm. This will be interesting to those who are planning their own glaze programme. Our September 11th soup and bowl exchange was very interesting. It was a fun night; the soups were excellent (recipes to come), the pizza oven got very hot, we tested it 500deg C, a bit too hot for bread, so we left it to cool???, Graham put his loaves at the front of the oven to raise with a tea towel on it, 10 minutes later the bread had that very dark brown look with no tea towel just the remaining fluff on the bread. We did bake a great pear cake which had a delightfully crispy base with a nice taste. A good pizza oven but like all potters that are pyromaniacs we are not patient 😄. hub garage sale 6 october 10 to 12pm bring along your stuff if you would like to take part email Viviana@phillipstown.org.nz to book a space. Raku day with Leigh-Anne October 6th contact her if interested leigh_ann.obrien@gib.org.nz Allan has interesting news about white clay; details to come. We have nearly completed the re-arrangement of our pottery room. When all the class work has been fired and the shelves are empty, we will increase the shelf space. The books and magazines in the "library" are for reference only; they are not to be taken from the room. If you want some details, photograph the pages and print them out at home. We had a little drama with our temperature controllers on the kilns; all is now in order and there should be no delays getting work fired. Those members not in a class, make sure you use the book to reserve a kiln (and follow the instructions, please). Happy potting, Your Committee |
Our Pottery Group is based in Christchurch and our potters range from those that are nationally recognised through to total beginners. Everyone is welcome to join our classes as well as casual potters and new members are always welcome.
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LOCATION & CONTACT |
USEFUL LINKSNew Zealand Potters www.nzpotters.com
Mount Pleasant Community Centre www.mpcc.org.nz Phillips Town Community Hub www.phillipstown.org.nz |