| Demonstrating at the International Ceramics Festival, Aberystwyth, Wales. |
In July 2003 I was an invited demonstrator at Aberystwyth. I had been there three times before, the previous time as a Student Helper, (I would strongly recommend any student who is really interested in ceramics to volunteer).
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I had been invited to demonstrate the method of 'Wet-firing' that I had developed for my degree in 2001. The first 2 photos are of me on stage making one of my pieces.
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I built an adobe-like mixture of clay and hay over a former - in this case a dowel covered with some cardboard tubing, stuffed with newspaper. An inner core was then built over the former using paperclay. Then comes the messy business of adding the clay/hay mix, covering that with porcelain slip and any other additions like copper wire, shells or quartz pebbles.
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The piece is then wrapped in plastic, (for ease of handling) and placed into the kiln
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The lid is then placed over the work and the firing begins. In this case it took under 3 hours to reach 1220 degrees.
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I applied copper carbonate, to emphasise the fissures. The work was then given a second firing.
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The work was cool enough that afternoon to remove from the kiln.
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I then placed the Standing Forms on their bases. It was the first time that a Demonstrator had made, fired (twice) and finished the same pieces of work over the weekend!
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