The Great British Pottery Throw Down

I'm very excited that the next new show to hit our TV's is 

'The Great British Pottery Throw Down'!

For all you pottery lovers out there (including me) this will be great to watch, and for those of you have never given it a go! It will give you an insight into ceramics and the different processes that are involved, no doubt as with the Great British Bake Off we will see tantrums, complete and utter disasters and of course no doubt some beautiful ceramics.

I can't wait! 

There's a very interesting article in The Guardian, have a read.

If your fingers get twitching at the thought of having a go yourself come along to one of my workshops, I can personalise a workshop session just for you or why not come along with a friend. For more info please visit my website or get in touch!

www.katherinefortnumceramics.com

If your a ceramicist / a potter, would you dare to enter yourself into the competition? I would love it, challenging yourself to do things you thought you'd never attempt 

...minus the fact your on TV live for millions of people to see! 

Autumn Walks in Laughton fields

Its Mid October its my favourite time of year, the leaves starting to fall from the trees, the scatter of conkers, the autumn chill in the air, so peaceful!

Its the perfect time for making use of the great outdoors and do a bit of foraging!

Laughton fields are picturesque and you can hear the animals, its surreal how quiet it is, it takes me back to when I visited there as a child.

We went out searching for chestnuts but we came across these lovelies, Sloeberries ...I think some sloe berry gin is in order and it will be ready just in time for Christmas too!

I think we were a little too early for chestnuts ... they were so small and shriveled! It should be peak season October - November but maybe the seasons are running late this year ...I guess we'll try again in a few weeks.

They were very prickly!

The poor shriveled chestnut ... 

It wasn't a wasted journey though, its always nice to walk in the picturesque fields and I got lots of nature inspiration to try out some new ceramic ideas!

                             

Addicted to glazing!

Glazing is my absolutely favourite part of ceramics, the making process is fun but I just find glazing itself so relaxing! I'm not much of an academic person but there's something about doing all the calculations, testing this and that, take a bit away, add a bit of something else.

  I always practice safety in my ceramics workshop, I wouldn't have it any other way! Apron, gloves and mask are an essential part of work wear safety when working with hazardous materials.

As you can see below, I use digital scales, precision in weighing is key, I have the sets of scales;1 for large quantities, 1 which measures to two decimals and another which measures to 3.

My latest testing unintentionally turned out to be smiley faces!

As you can see ...I never get enough of testing! 

So many glazes so little time!!!

Christmas Ceramics Workshop

This November I'll be running a large group Ceramic Workshop, in which we'll be creating a handmade Ceramic Christmas decoration. 

If you have any questions or would like to book a place please contact Katherine

at Conservative Club Function Room, The Conservative Club, The Lilacs, Fairfield Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England, LE16 9QQ

*You don’t need to be a Conservative club member to attend the event, feel free to invite friends & family!

To check out some of the decorations made in our previous workshops please visit the Facebook event page!

https://www.facebook.com/events/604318426383233/

Made with Katherine Fortnum Ceramics Workshops

Craft & Gift Fair, Lamport Hall, Leicestershire, October 10th & 11th 2015

This October I'll be selling my handmade ceramics at the historic Lamport Hall, it should be a fantastic weekend full of handmade goodies, gifts, food & drink!

There's lots of lovely things to see so make sure you come visit! I'll be in the stables so come say hi!

Once again the Gift & Craft Fair returns to Lamport Hall.

With over 80 stalls showcasing jewellery, decorative glassware, jams, chutneys and fudge, and other gifts, visitors are able to browse a variety of indulgent treats for themselves or seek inspiration for some early Christmas shopping.

The fair has been a yearly fixture for over twenty years, and is sure to be a great day out for all the family. 

Refreshments including coffee, mulled wine, mince pies, hog roast and more available. Parking is free. 

£3.50 for adults, £3 for concessions, and £1.50 for children aged 11-16

Lamport Hall, Lamport, Northamptonshire, NN6 9HD

New Creations!

I felt a bit stuck in a rut keeping making the same old trusty home wares, the usual ...coasters,vases. So I decided I'd stretch my imagination and try something I'd never made before.

So as I sat at my sketchbook I began designing, fingers twitching to get making asap!

I've seen them everywhere and they're so pretty, luminaries! There's just something so magical about the way it illuminates the room, the patterns dancing around creating shadows.

Ceramic Luminary in process Greenware Stage, Hand built White Stoneware, Katherine Fortnum 2015 , photograph by Katherine Fortnum 

So the process began with a slabbed vessel then I used a variety of specialised ceramic tools to cut out holes, the beginnings of a pattern began to emerge...

The full process of creating the finished piece took all day, here's the finished piece (at green ware stage) ...far from over but its looking good!

Ceramic Luminary Greenware Stage, Hand built White Stoneware, Katherine Fortnum 2015, photograph by Katherine Fortnum 

Fresh out of the kiln, the colour transformation in the clay body becomes much lighter as the moisture has been removed from the clay during the drying process and the bisque firing.

Ceramic Luminaries, Hand built White Stoneware, Katherine Fortnum 2015
photograph by Katherine Fortnum 

I'm so pleased with how they turned out I'm tempted to keep one for myself! 

I had a really busy next few weeks with preparing stock for upcoming (dare I say the word!) Christmas fairs, it took me nearly a month to test them out! Here's the finished pieces in all their glory!

The way they illuminate the patterns around the room is just magical! I'll have a variety of different patterned handmade luminaries to purchase at my upcoming Christmas Fairs, I look forward to meeting you there :)

(upcoming Christmas fairs listed on my website)

Ceramic Luminary, Hand built White Stoneware, Katherine Fortnum 2015
photograph by Katherine Fortnum