Pottery events for the whole family ( See all details below the calendar)

Tuesday 13 April, Club activity night - Burnishing and Terra sigillata

Burnishing and the application of Terra Sigilata. Bring along small pots or other items that have reached the "dry side of leather hard" to the club and learn about burnishing with or without terra sig. These pieces can then dried and bisque fired to 900*C to retain their shine. On the 8th May we have a pit firing that will alter the colour of you ware in magical ways.

Club Night with Susan Blackburn

On burnishing and Terra Sigillata in preparation for our Action Firing with the Halswell Pottery Group. You will need your own pots to work with. For details please see Susan’s instructions attached.

What to bring for Terra Sig
·       Dry pot with untextured, smooth flowing surface  (I use  fine white clay for best colour results but terracotta clay also gives an interesting result)
·       Brush 4cm wide & 1/2cm thick (Pastry brush this width ok) if you have one
·       Soft cloth or chamois for buffing (old thick t-shirt material fine also sweatshirt fleece material) , I am using hubbies old moleskin fabric (yes he has finished wearing them...)
Terra Sigillata slip will be supplied for one small pot per participating person
What to bring for burnishing
·       Pots to the later stage of leather hard but not completely dry
·       I will also show the results of painting a slip onto the surface before burnishing & this can also be tried in the workshop 
·       Polished stone or spoon (the latter sometimes leaves marks if trying to get into small areas), smooth crystal seems best
·       Plastic bag for final finger burnishing (if time allows)
Burnishing pots takes a while & your pot may not be completed in the workshop time span & you will need to finish at home. 
Please note when I am throwing my forms I always finish off running a flexible metal rib around the pot to smooth the surface as much as possible!

New Content: Coming Saturday May 8, 2021

Pit and Drum Firing with the Halswell Pottery Group To be held at their club rooms 9 Candys Road, Halswell.

In order to participate you will have made some pots suitable for this type of firing and have attended Susan’s workshop. We will have a special (low temp) bisque firing the week prior, in preparation for this event.

This was postponed due to fire and pollution level restrictions; now in September.

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Club Night 11 May - Foot-rings demonstration by Renate

The evening begins at 7.00pm. Contribution is $5.00. Please sign in on arrival:

Renate will demonstrate the art putting foot-rings onto pots, bowls etc.
How hard is leather hard? What happens when it’s too soft, too hard or there’s not enough clay on the bottom of the piece?
Come and watch a most enlightening demonstration.

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Club Night 8 June - Slab building technique by Dot

The evening begins at 7.00pm. Contribution is $5.00. Please sign in on arrival:
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​Dot Moulton will demonstrate building using the slab technique.
For those of us who have difficulty sticking two pieces of clay together, this is for you.

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Glaze Making Days with Shona, Wed's 30 June & 7 July

Shona will be conducting this series of workshops. 
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 or where to go; this is for you. Requirements from you would be: you buy your own materials, glaze ingredients and equipment. Making about 20 or more bisque test rings before the classes, these will be used on the day to dip our test samples. They will be fired during the week.
Contact: Graham for details on what you'll need gjmaguire@xtra.co.nz 

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Club Night 13 July - Kilns and thermocouples with Liam

The evening begins at 7.00pm. Contribution is $5.00. Please sign in on arrival:
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​Liam will be discussing and answering questions on all aspects of electric kilns, in particular, the thermocouple.
This would be a wonderful opportunity to understand the vagaries of our kilns and why they need to be operated by experienced people.