July 2023 Newsletter
Wellington Potter’s Throwdown Recap & Thank You
Last month saw our first ever, and tremendously successful Pottery Throwdown Potluck - a night filled with friendly competition, tall towers, blind bowl throwing, twists, turns and great food. None of it could have been done without its leading coordinator James Dickman and his team of volunteers - Pip Woods, Heather Baltzley, Suzy French, Helen Barden, Kate Ford, Christine Winbush, Paige Jarman, Konny Reichert, Nika Reichart, Jade Valour, Antoinette Demurtas, Emma Fergusson, Carol, Mel Waite. A huge thank you as well to Mal Sole who served as the best judge for the night’s festivities!
We thank James for the dedication he put into this event and look forward to next year! Check out some highlights to re-live some of the best moments, and click below for the link to all original files!
Thank you to Mel Waite for taking event photos, you can view and download her photos below.
Club Notes/Updates
What Members Classes Do YOU Want?
We want to hear from you about what you'd like to see from WPA members' class offerings. Please take a few minutes and give us your thoughts on: what types of classes you’d like to take; and what days and times work best.
We also want to hear from tutors, if there is a class you would like to take let us know.
All who participate in the survey will be put into a draw to win one of two WPA Aprons + one of two $50 Hello Club credits to go towards the class of their choice.
Respond by 21 July to get your name in the draw.
Ceramicus update: guest artist & selector
We are excited to announce our guest selector for Ceramicus 2023 will be Sue Scobie.
As a previous WPA member, Sue will be a familiar face to some. We asked her to share her pottery journey and her hopes for Ceramicus 2023:
“I first started pottery with night classes when I lived in Sydney. I got hooked on clay, and also started a Diploma in Ceramics at Hornsby TAFE while enrolled full-time for MSc at the University of Technology. I moved back to Wellington in 1994 and got a 'real' job in the public sector, with ceramics taking a backseat for many years. I took night classes at Wellington High School with Rosemary O'Hara, and joined WPA about the same time.
When WPA offered the Otago Polytechnic Diploma in Ceramic Arts (2005?) I took the opportunity to shift my focus back to clay, before going full-time from the end of 2008.
I moved to Nelson in 2014 and work from my own small studio/shed at home. My work is all handbuilt and mostly unglazed. I tend to work in very small series of pieces, and all are somehow inspired by time spent in the natural environment.
It's a huge privilege to be invited to select work for Ceramicus 2023. I am really looking forward to seeing what Wellington potters/ceramic artists are making, seeing some old faces, and meeting some new ones. Putting your work forward for selection is always nerve-wracking, and I would say, if in doubt, just give it a go.
For more info see my website www.suescobie.co.nz and Instagram @suescobie_ceramics”
Mark your calendars:
Sunday 1 October: Receiving day & selection
Tuesday 3 October: Opening night
Wednesday 4 to Sunday 15 October: exhibition open
Expressions of interest: Pop-up Garden Market 7 & 8 October
As part of this year’s Ceramicus exhibition, we will have a pop-up pottery market in The Dell (next to the Begonia House). This will run on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October, from 9am - 4pm.
The Dell (Next to the Begonia House)
This is an exciting opportunity as the rose garden, begonia house and cafe are a popular destination. This weekend aligns with the final week of the World of Wearable (WOW) show, the first week of the school holidays and the first weekend of Ceramicus.
‘Stalls’ will be available at a rate of $20 per day, a 15% commission on all sales will be collected and paid directly to Wellington City Council.
New Potter in Residence joining us in August
Chris Dunn, our current potter in residence will conclude his three month residency in mid-August. Here are some photos of what Chris has been up to.
We are excited to announce that Marama Mayrick will be joining us from August-November. During her time with us Marama will spend her time throwing large bowls and will teach beginners throwing classes.
Marama currently lives in Ōhope, was an active member of Nelson Community Potters for four years and has done a residency at Driving Creek Railway.
We will welcome Marama into our pottery community at our regular Tuesday members morning on 22 August.
If you would like to express interest in future residencies, please get in touch with Kate via wellingtonpotters.events@gmail.com
Kilns
Reminder about kiln use
A reminder that kiln use is for members only. Your friend’s mug from four years ago, or your child’s five pieces from school, are not to be fired in our kilns. The exception: if your friend or child joined us in a “Friends and Family Night” – those pieces created at the event can be fired through to glaze. If you have any questions about this, please just ask.
Increase the likelihood of your piece surviving!
If the piece you want fired is difficult to handle or extremely fragile, be sure to put it on a biscuit, cookie, or some sort of prop that it can be fired on. This means LESS handling of your delicate piece so it is more likely to survive the kiln.
If your piece is deemed too hard to handle by the kiln team (too delicate, too much oxide, no way to stabilise it), your piece will be put aside for you to re-prop/place on biscuit/cookie and re-submit. The very last thing the kiln team wants to do is accidentally break your fragile piece while loading it!
Some examples:
Little dude – can be fired if propped on something stable (like a small clay box)
Wind instrument – can be fired if placed on a cookie/biscuit (otherwise the kiln team risks contaminating other pieces by touching it)
Spikey kina – can be fired if placed on a cookie/biscuit (will also help keep people from bumping it on the shelves)
Jewellery, Christmas decorations, and test tiles – can be fired if placed on a cookie/biscuit to reduce handling.
If you need advice on firing your piece, just ask!
Refresher training for private kiln firings
Testing of the new kilns is largely complete and the kiln team is still hard at work getting the backlog of pots through our club firings.
We are pleased to announce though that private firings will begin again from Sunday, 2 July. All kiln licence holders that have indicated they want to use the new kilns are eligible to attend a free one-off Kiln Refresher training course - check the HelloClub calendar to sign up.
In this short 1.5 hour session, Briar Sheerin will take you through how to operate the new kilns, tell you about some new processes, as well as demonstrate how to book the kilns using HelloClub. We will also ask you to review and sign an updated Kiln Room Code of Conduct.
The Code of Conduct is vitally important to protect our investment in these new kilns, and your use of the kilns will be monitored. Failure to adhere to the code of conduct is likely to result in cancellation of private firing privileges and potentially, payment of significant costs to cover damage to the kilns / kiln furniture.
As soon as you have completed the refresher training, you will be assigned a 2023 Kiln Licence and will be able to use HelloClub to book your kiln.
The full Kiln Licence training course will start in another month or so for other interested members. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more details.
Being a great club member
Volunteering is part and parcel of being a member at WPA and we have lots of people chipping in each and every day. Remember that the easiest way you can help contribute is by doing your +1. Perhaps this month you could choose a couple of the following items to add to your clean up routine:
Have you done your +1?
Check the drying shelves for bats that are no longer needed under pots
Wash some dirty bats or put the clean ones away
Wipe down the kitchen table and bench top
Wash and put away the dishes in kitchen
Refill the paper towels in our NEW dispensers - supplies above the shower in the pugmill room
Check the washing line, bring in and put away dry slab roller cloths
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from the Club Admin
Kia ora koutou!
It’s been a busy month! Between learning all the systems and catching up with many of the volunteers that make the studio run, the first three weeks of working for you all has simply flown by. I’d like to claim a small corner of this newsletter to make some public service announcements:
Please be respectful with videoing / taking photos in the rooms, especially of classes that are underway. Ask before taking any recording or photograph, and respect the answer if it is “no.”
A reminder that only members should be using the clubrooms. If your child, friend or other family member wants to join you, they need to sit at the lunch table and wait for you to finish.
I will be doing an audit of the Wellington Potters Association’s Member facebook page shortly. If you find yourself removed from the page, understand that I was unable to match your Facebook profile with our records in Hello Club. Please just request to be a member of the page and I’ll be sure to re-accept you immediately.
And, lastly, a reminder that my regular “in-person office hours” are Monday from 1-5pm. The rest of the week if I’m not at the studio, I’ll be working from home. Want to schedule a meeting? Email me at: wellingtonpotters.info@gmail.com and we can figure it out.
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you at the studio!
Heather
Upcoming WPA Events
Classes Coming Up
We have five more classes coming up! Be sure to sign up in Hello Club.
25 July: Beginner Throwing with Chris Dunn
29 July: Making Faces with Sarah Brock
4 Sept: Glazing Basics with Heidi Ankers
The Elemental Excitement of Anagama Firing
Our 18th anagama wood firing is coming up soon so have a go creating something special for this once a year event. Our anagama kiln goes to extreme temperatures so it is vitally important to use the ‘right’ clay. It MUST be a Cone 10 clay ie fires to 1300 degrees Celsius. Other clays will likely melt – this ruins not only your pot, but others nearby and the kiln shelves. The maximum temperature of your clay is written on the bag of your clay. You can also Google the name of your clay to find out the firing range.
Likewise, shapes with texture are great in a wood firing as they catch the flames and ash to create glaze. For these tips and more advice and guidance go to the Anagama FAQ on HelloClub
Wood firing is an exciting, elemental process and if you have a pot in the firing, you don't want to miss the experience of being there to stoke the fire. No experience is required but if you want to be a part of it all, you first need to sign up to the relevant events in HelloClub (see links below). We will then email you in early- to mid-August to check your preference for specific times and days so we can arrange rosters for each individual shift.
Key Anagama Dates for 2023
Final Working Bee*: Sunday, 30 July 2023, 10:00am – 2:00pm
Cone 10 glazes added to glaze room: Early August
Cone 10 glazes removed from glaze room: Thursday, 24 August, evening
Receiving day*: Sunday, 27 August, 10:00 – 3:00 pm
Loading week*: Monday, 28 August – Saturday, 2 September
Firing week: Wednesday, 6 September – Sunday, 10 September (four 6-hour shifts per day)
Unloading day: Sunday, 17 September 2023, 11:00 – 4:00 pm NOTE: No pots to be removed until 2:30pm as the team needs to review the firing
Show & Tell evening: Friday, 22 September, 6:00pm
* Volunteering at these events qualifies members to fire two additional pots.
Looking for just a little bit of Cone 10 clay or need some while WPA stocks arrive?
Peter Rumble and Julie Harrington are selling 1 or 2kg bags of Witgert no11 (white, no grog) and Witgert no11sf (white, 25% 0.5mm grog) while waiting for more Cone 10 stock to arrive in the next couple of weeks.
Peter will be at the clubrooms on Sat 1 July 10-5pm and Tues 4 July 10-noon for in-person purchase. Cost is $4.50 per kg payable in cash or direct credit to Peter’s bank account on the day as this is from their private stock.
Community News/Events
On 6 July (Thursday) Kumiko Jacolin will be participating and give a small talk (15 min.) about Kintsugi, relating to the work of Stella Brendan’s at 7pm at the City Gallery, Wellington. For more information on the event, click below.
To check out the July Newsletter from Ōtaki Potters Club, please click below.