My first ever Green Man!

I've been teaching ceramic workshops for a few years now, teaching many things from plaques to vases, children's workshops to Christmas decorations. The most popular is always making a Green Man.

I've never made one before, I never spend the time to make things for myself so I indulged! This was back in May 2015, I was and am still so happy with how he came out! 

I made him using White Stoneware Clay using a wide variety of hand building methods to achieve the design I set out for. Once the body was finished I decorated with a variety of different coloured handmade ceramic slips. 

Green Man Greenware stage, Stoneware, by Katherine Fortnum, 2015, photograph by Katherine Fortnum

I always put my own explorations on the back burner and put work first, its been a busy year with workshops, commissions and making new ceramics for craft fairs; so he was made in May 2015 and only bisque fired before Christmas 2015!

The New Year is here and I've finally glazed him and I'm extremely happy with how the colours have transformed, its exactly as I had planned! And as all ceramicists know ...that rarely happens!

What do you think? Please let me know :) 

Green Man, hand built, White Stoneware, Katherine Fortnum, 2016, photographs by Katherine Fortnum 

Organising my Ceramics workshop!

I love saving all my favourite images all neatly listed in folders on Pinterst (as everyone does) ...dreaming that one day I WILL BE ORGANISED and have a beautiful ceramics workshop, where I knowwhere everything is!

Well I decided it will happen!

It all started with a sketch, I will regain some storage room!

I already had heavy duty wooden shelves in my workshop but I wanted a way to hide away all the stuff whilst orgsanising and utalising space, so I decided I'd add deep wooden doors to the shelves and store things in them!

Once tested they fit well I had to take the doors off again as it was proving fiddly to get things attached while vertical!

I designated a space for each tool ...well as many as I could fit on at least! 

Soo many tools!

The finished door all hung up, that's one side down, door 2 to go!

New Workshop is finished!

The new extended workshop is now finished! ...on the outside at least!

I've given it a few coats of paint so it matched all over, you'd never know they were two separate!

I absolutely love seeing solar lights in gardens they are so pretty and make any garden more homely and welcoming, so I brought 30ft long solar lights to reach the length of my workshop. I think it looks quite pretty during the day as well!

As a little finishing touch I got a path joining from the patio to my workshop. Its a lot more practical than walking over the grass; especially if its raining! 

My Nanna calls it the yellow brick road!

New extended Ceramics Workshop

My current workshop was very cosy but it was quite small, which is quite a big problem for a hoarder! My workshop is for my ceramics only but my collection of tools, various clay's; continues to get bigger every day! Plus as most creatives do, they spread! A 20ft table would still be insufficient!

So here it is, the beginnings of my new large workshop, I extended my current workshop, it came delivered very handy in flat packed form ready to join onto my current workshop.

My lovely dad and brother were kind enough to construct my workshop for me.

Below images show the end of my old workshop has been taken off so the new part of the workshop can be joined on the end.

(The pole in the middle is holding up the ceiling so it doesn't collapse whilst being put together)

Side views of the construction. You can see the old and new sections from the colour difference.

The end is now being added on after the sides were put up. I was so excited, seeing the size of my new workshop, I knew I was going to be in heaven working away in my (not so little) workshop! 

Just a coat of paint so it matches the other side and a lot of work on the inside to go!

*Next post I'll show you the finished studio!*

*So keep posted!*

Meet Katherine Fortnum Ceramics Workshop ...in the beginning

My workshop is like my second home, I love it! My own little get away where I can create and indulge myself in clay! I first started planning my own studio whilst I was at uni, saving little by little out of my student loan; eventually that added to a bit of savings came my workshop. I had a lot of help my wonderful dad putting it together, insulating, making me shelves and other bits n bobs.

I started to add little touches like adding solar lights to the roof, they lit up lovely all multicolored at night time, lighting up like a fairy house! I take a lot of pride in my little workshop, saving up and planning it for so long, I loved organising...well at least trying to organise all my tools and glazes, it hard when you end up accumulating so much!

This is how my little workshop started out, there's a long bench down the other side that fits 3 chairs for making. As I'm only just starting my blog, I'm showing how I initially set my studio up and all the bits along the way. So keep popping back for more, I cant wait to show you my new workshop!

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

Hello!

This is my first ever blog post, I'm not sure how this works yet so bear with me!

My names Katherine I'm a ceramicist based in Leicestershire, England. 

I create functional and sculptural ceramics inspired by delicate structures in nature. I run fun ceramics workshops for both adults & children teaching a wide variety of items & techniques!

In my blog I aim to share my knowledge of ceramics, making techniques, getting to know my studio, hints & tips and share my work with the world :) 

Thanks for reading my blog!

Keep popping back for exciting updates!

Katherine

http://www.katherinefortnumceramics.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KatherineFortnumCeramics

https://twitter.com/KFortnumCeramic