AGM | Exhibition entry deadline approaching | Wood firing | Surface Decoration Class | Studio business | Thanks for Open Day
AGM reminder - put it in your diary now!
Date & Time: Tuesday 24 May 2022 at 7pm at the Waikato Society of Potters
The Annual General Meeting of the Waikato Society of Potters is fast approaching. Please put it in your diary. The event will be held at the club so there will be no Play With Clay that evening. Instead, we will review our past year, the annual accounts, vote in our committee and make plans. An agenda will follow shortly for the AGM.
The committee is accepting nominations for the 2022-2023 WSP Committee. If you love the club, why not get involved at a governance level? Download the nomination form or pop in to fill in a paper copy (on the dining table in the kitchen).
All nominations must have written consent of the nominee, who can nominate themselves.
All nominations must be received at the WSP by 3pm Friday 20 May 2022.
Nominations can be delivered to the clubrooms or sent by email to manager@waikatopotters.co.nz
Annual Exhibition - entry deadline is approaching
We've had such a tumultuous 12 months, so let's do something wonderful together!
The Waikato Society of Potters 50th Annual Exhibition is fast approaching. Please submit an entry - it can be as small as a coffee cup, or a grand sculpture. From beginners to experienced artists, we want to showcase our members' work. There are prize categories for all levels of experience, and really this is about celebrating one another, not competing.
Venue: ArtsPost Hamilton
27 May - 27 June 2022 (Opening preview evening 26 May)
We invite members to start submiting their entries now for delivery to ArtsPost Hamilton by 25th May 2022, 10am-12pm.
Entries close: 16th May 2022 at 4pm
Enter online or download and return your entry form.
WSP Phoenix Wood Firing
We have a few remaining spaces for the upcoming Phoenix wood firing with fire master Ginny Lane.
10-12 June 2022
Welcome to the first 2022 WSP Phoenix wood firing event. Covid-19 put paid to several firings last year so we are hoping that nothing will delay this one. WSP policy for these firings is to develop fire masters for the future (some of us are getting rather long in the tooth!) We will have two trainees at this event, Alex Wilkinson and Emma Meyers. They will be given responsibility and assistance as needed to develop their skills and confidence.
Whether this is your first wood-firing experience or you are a seasoned Phoenix fan, here are some points for you to consider/remember before enrolling:
- The firing process takes 3 days. Day 1 – preparation (wood organisation, shelf and prop washing, wadding prep); Day 2 – wadding and loading pots into the kiln; Day 3 – firing. You will be involved in all 3 days.
- Your pots need to be made from high firing stoneware clay. Some clays are labelled as “stoneware” but are in fact mid-firing clays. Please check – clays used need a firing range up to at least 1280C. Once enrolled we will send you a list of suitable clays available at WSP; also, information on using 1:1:1 slip and Bauer slip at the leather hard or bisque stage. You must be able to identify the clay used for it to be accepted into the kiln. We will also send you some guidelines as to suitable sizes and shapes of pots.
- Sorry, no previously fired pots (i.e. re-fires) will go into the kiln.
- Please ensure you use only cone 10 glazes. Appropriate WSP Studio glazes are identified by “stoneware” written on the bucket lid.
Sarah and I think it will add a further level of excitement to have a “Phoenix Throw Down” challenge for this firing. It will be optional of course. More information on this will be sent after your enrolment is confirmed.
I’m always excited by an upcoming wood firing and look forward to mingling with like-minded potters!
Ciao
Ginny Lane
Surface decoration class
Yasmin is running another 8-week surface decoration class on Thursday mornings in Term 2 which begins next week. This is the perfect next step for anyone who wants to learn a little more than simple glazing tricks. I did the class in Term 1 and it was wonderful. We covered so much. There was a different topic each week including coloured clay techniques, stamp making, various ways to make different textures, use of coloured slips, watercolours, underglazes. This term Yasmin is adding new techniques including printing on clay.
One student said of Yasmin "she shares her knowledge unreservedly" and it is true. If you want to raise your ceramics finishing game, this is the class for you! Book...
Some studio business
- Term 2 begins next week - we are back to the usual term-time open studio and PWC hours - check the online calendar if you are unsure and note that it can change;
- The gas kiln will be fired this weekend - a huge thank you to Burns and Larry who will be working their magic;
- Kiln 3 update - the kiln has been out of action for a few weeks due to a broken thermocouple. The replacement was dispatched some weeks ago and taking a while due to courier staff shortages. Hopefully the wait will be over soon;
- Reminder about drippy glaze - please don't layer floating blue over other glazes and use it sparingly. We have had a glaze disaster in the kiln due to the application of floating blue over another glaze, to the point that it has splattered on another person's work as well as dripping on the shelves. Please be mindful that these are club kilns and having your work damaged like this is really disappointing. We don't want to have to return to the days when floating blue was only allowed under supervision.
Thank you to our amazing volunteers
I just want to say a big thank you to our volunteers (and Artist-in-Residence too). We have had a huge amount of positive feedback from Open Day. We didn't have many volunteers and at times it was challenging to handle the volume of visitors as a result. But, those who gave a few hours to the community are absolute legends! Time and time again, our awesome volunteers make people happy, create joyous experiences for others and make if possible to run our wee club on a shoestring.
Margaret, Bronwyn, Sarah S, David, Tim, Teresa, Yasmin, Larry and Alex, you rock! People have been dropping by to collect their pieces all week and have been full of praise for you all and grateful for their wonderful Clay Day Out experience.
