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NEWSLETTER

WINTER2008

IN THIS ISSUE:Steve WoodheadPotters' CampIckworth and BidefordArt in Clay

IN THIS ISSUE:Steve WoodheadPotters' CampIckworth and BidefordArt in Clay

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EDITOR’S NOTES

CHAIRMAN'S REPORTPeter FriendIt is my sad duty to report the deathof Peter Friend. He was honouredwith Life Membership as a mark ofrespect for his service as GeneralSecretary.Peter, a true gentleman, served ata time of rapid and fundamentaldevelopment of the Association. Hewas a most diligent and giftedadministrator who establishedmany systems and traditions whichwe now take for granted, especiallywith regards to exhibitionorganisation. The Secretary's roleat that time included Exhibitionorganising and Newsletterproduction!IckworthOur show at the Wood Fair atIckworth Park, 11-12 October, wasa great success.We were blessed with warmsunshine and plenty of helpers.Our displays looked good and theraku demos attracted crowds.Thanks to all who took part orhelped in any way. We hope to doeven better next year.Day EventsThe two Autumn day events, SteveWoodhead on 28 September andDavid Cooke on 12 October wereboth well attended and mostinformative and enjoyable. Thanksto all involved.Exhibition FeesSome newer members havequestioned the need for a handling

ANGLIAN POTTERS OFFICERSPRESIDENT LADY SAINSBURY

CHAIRMANVictor Knibbs8 Nightingale Way, St Neots, HuntingdonPE19 1UQ 01480 214741SECRETARYSusan Cupitt,62 Humberstone Road, CambridgeCB4 1JF 01223 311937susan.cupitt@gmail.comTREASURERLiz Chipchase,46 Carlyle Road, CambridgeCB4 3DH 01223 527781liz.howes@ntlworld.comEDITORCarolyn Postgate,5 Whitwell Way, CambridgeCB23 7PW 01954 211033carolyn@clara.co.ukMEMBERSHIP SECRETARYMary Wyatt68 Ranelagh Road, Felixstowe, SuffolkIP11 7HY 01394 671033mary@24wyatt.freeserve.co.ukPUBLICITY SECRETARYSally MacphersonElm Cottage, 39 Upland Road, ThornwoodEssex CM16 6NJ 01992 560807sallymach2@aol.comEXHIBITIONS ORGANISERSCathy D’Arcy89 Friday Street, West Row, MildenhallIP28 8PB 07866 391380cathydarcy@msn.comHelen Humphreys18 Rosemary Road, WaterbeachCB5 9NB 01223 862968helenmh@tiscali.co.ukSELECTED MEMBERS SECRETARYAnja Penger23 Park Lane, Blunham, BedfordshireMK44 3NH 01767 641435anja.penger@gmx.deCOMMITTEE MEMBERSBrenda GreenHardys, School Lane, Gt HorkesleyColchester CO6 4BL 01206 271019Margaret GardinerGlebe House, Gt Hallingbury, BishopsStortford CM22 7TY 01279 654025magsgardi@yahoo.co.ukWEBMASTERIan George23 Hemingford Road, CambridgeCB1 3BY 01223 413453ian.george@anglianpotters.org.ukEVENTS ORGANISERSHeather Graham17 Dereham Road, Watton, NorfolkIP25 6ER 01953 882572heph1@eidosnet.co.ukFelicity Hoyle95 Main Street, Hockwold, ThetfordIP26 4LW 01842 828343flicka.h@tesco.netPOTTERS CAMP ORGANISERJerry FinlaysonMill Farm Barn, Wades Lane, ShotleyIpswich IP9 1EG 01473 788423

fee and commission charged forour exhibitions. Your Committeespent time discussing this again atour recent meeting.It is pointed out that the handlingfee is the only guaranteed income,eg 60 potters at £12= £720. Thissum just covers the printing andpostage costs.Our open exhibitions run forbetween 2 and 4 weeks and the feeseems to me to be good value forthis amount of exposure of ourwork, even with no sales. Thebreakdown of costs were explainedin greater detail in Spring 2006 andSpring 2007 Newsletters.Clay DumpsI understand that a member arrivedat one of our clay dumps andbought a large quantity of aparticular clay, leaving that storeempty of that item. This behaviourseems unreasonable, so please willmembers give suitable notice to thestore keeper, if they require a largeamount of one type, so thatadequate supplies can be ordered.Victor

It is sad news of the death of PeterFriend. After he and his wife Margimoved away from Cambridge, I losttouch with them, but I remembervery vividly the first exhibition I tookpart in, in the early days. All thepotters brought their boxes of potsto the Friends’ home, where eachbox was unpacked, emerging potsgreeted with exclamations ofdelight, decisions made about howthe pots would be exhibited, theneverything was packed up againbefore transportation to the CentralLibrary in Cambridge and eventualdisplay. It is hard to imagine suchCover: Teapot by Steve Woodhead,

photographed by Carolyn Postgate

extraordinary generosity of timeand effort today, but it wascharacteristic of both Peter andMargi – they really cared abouteach member and their work andwere always encouraging.This issue of the Newsletter is fullof extra-curricular activity (pizzasand poetry), new ventures(Ickworth Park) other exhibitionsand news from other parts of thecountry (Bideford). Many thanks toall contributors for a great selectionof articles and photos – keep themcoming!Carolyn

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Lynn Hutton writes: As a fine artconceptual sculptor who frequentlyworks in clay, I have very muchenjoyed the AP's meetings on aSunday over the last two years. Ihave found that the skillsdemonstrated can be applied andadapted for my own workingpractice or stored away for futureuse. The results of thesedemonstrations are alwaysphenomenal. I particularly enjoyedthe last speaker, Steve Woodhead,at the September meeting. Hiseasy, friendly style was appealingand I gleaned many interestingtechnical tips. His explanations toone not trained as a potter wereeminently accessible. It wasrefreshing to listen to a potter whohas interesting design skills and astrong concept of art within thepotting genre. I look forward withanticipation to future meetings.

Marie Thompson writes: Just tosay a big thank you for the

wonderful potters camp thisyear! It was probably pretty

obvious that I enjoyedmyself!! Hope I dont have

to wait another 35 years!!The organisation wasterrific and people wereso friendly. The varietyof firing was amazing,being able to swimwas such a bonus and

the dinner andparty....well that was

something else. Many, many thanksto everyone who made it such asuccess!

Alan Baxter writes from France:I am writing to say 'thank you' forsending me a copy of your latestAnglian Potters Newsletter. It wasan absolute delight to receive it outof the blue and catch up a littleupon the solid progress beingestablished by the association withmany old names and moreparticularly new ones also. Thequality of the newsletter ismagnificent, reflecting a growingdiversity in specialists within oursubject injected with fun and surefriendship – a credit to the regionand country.

Despite an early training at artschool, which was broken offbecause of illness, Erica onlybegan her career as a potter in herearly 40s. From that time until herdeath on 31 July of this year at theage of 79, Erica’s enthusiasm forclay, kilns and all things related topottery never waned. She wentfrom being a thrower to developingher own very special style of hand-built architectural impressions. In1994 she started with impressionsof Graeco-Roman temples,aqueducts and theatres inspired bytravels in Greece and Turkey. Herwork expanded to include, amongother things, Cambridge collegesand National Trust properties inCornwall. Even towards the end ofher life, when she was struggling tocope with various illnesses, Ericacontinued to explore new ideas. InJune of thisyear sheexhibited atthe Old FireEngine Housein Ely andparticipated inOpen Studios.She had alsohoped toattend Potters’Camp, as shehad done last

ERICA MATTINGLY year. She loved to see otherpotters’ work and was full ofadmiration when she came acrossinnovative ideas and her largecollection of pots is testament to this.Erica often spoke of Mick andSheila Casson who had been herclose friends and mentors in theearly stages of her career as apotter. She was equally keen togive as much advice andencouragement as she could toother potters. Her enthusiasm,determination and passion were aninspiration. I am sure I am notalone in feeling very indebted toher. I, along with many others, missher enormously.Diana KazemiB

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Erica’s husbandHarold with someof their family at

the summer showin Emmanuel

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STEVE WOODHEAD AT MUNDFORD

Steve Woodhead gave ourmembers a lively, entertaining andinformative demonstration atMundford on Sunday 28th

September. He was keen to givequestioners information and shareda great deal of his knowledge andtechnical expertise with us.Steve was not a trained potter, butcame to potting via eveningclasses originally and followed thisup by doing courses with many wellknown potters including David Frithand Phil Rogers.His early work was highlydecorative, based on flower andtrellis patterns inspired by thegardener Geoff Hamilton. In thesepieces the flower designs spiralacross the surfaces and arecomplemented by the straightedges of the trellis.Steve’s sense of design prevailsthroughout his work. He showedus through slides and in hispractical demonstrations how hiscomplicated handles anddecorations can change theperception of height and gravity ofthe teapots. A spout can be liftedby a higher foot at the front and a‘go faster’ handle leaning forwardcan change the balance of thedesign.He pointed out how the negativespace between the top of theteapot and his ceramic bamboohandles could be altered toachieve different visual effects andhow he used open spaces in hissculptural piece ‘Heart with No

Soul’ to accentuate the abstractdesign.Steve uses a basic David Leachtransparent glaze recipe and mixesthis with stains for colour. He likesthe glaze to ‘move’ and collect inindentations and textures within hisdesigns leaving the higher parts ofthe pieces paler in colour. Many ofhis flat dishes and plates aredesigned to be displayed on thewall and the patterns created bythe fluid glazes create the effect ofthe world seen from space.Steve is working on domestic wareat present and the use of theglazes is very much part of thisrange. However, he wishes theseobjects to be intimate – “theyshould be held, hugged andfondled, fun to play with” – so theshapes and textures are importantas part of the design.The cereal bowls include texturedhandles to allow you to lift themwhile eating and a resting place forthe spoon. Mugs have spiralindentations, textured patterns onfeet and handles.This demonstration was bothentertaining and very informativeand members were veryappreciative of Steve’s expertise.Thanks also should go to Felicityand Heather for organising thisevent.Words: Mary WyattPictures: Linda Luckin (right)Carolyn Postgate (above)

Making a hollow ring (see cover photo)

Showing the fitof a teapot lid

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Quite a number of Anglian Potterstook advantage of an Ian Georgeoffer to display their work at theIckworth Park annual Wood Fair inOctober 2008. On the Friday thosetaking part met to erect our largemarquee and set out the displayand raku areas. Thedemonstrations and selling tookplace over Saturday and Sunday.The weather was amazing – sunny,warm with little breeze and thecrowds were relaxed and intriguedby the pottery display. I believe theNational Trust, which manages theproperty, might well want us backagain.With a new event like this there isgoing to be a ‘take up’ time forpeople interested in all aspects ofcrafts to register the subtleties ofgood quality ceramics in veryvaried styles. I think the decline inspecialist pottery teaching inschools and adult education leavesus with a job to do in educatingpotential new customers. We needto engage them in our enthusiasmsand the processes and techniqueswe take for granted. In the outsidearena our raku activitiesdemonstrated this when peoplecrowded around to see ourassemblage of kilns, gas burnersand dustbins. To the uninitiated itmust seem odd that for naked rakuwe carefully glaze something, fireit, smoke it, cool it and thencarefully chip all the glaze offagain. People when approachedreally want to know what is goingon. Maybe a little showmanship

might help, with a bell rung justbefore the action happens? Thenwe need volunteers for the role ofmaster of ceremonies... Somehowwe need to get the message acrossand I think this sort of weekendhelps a lot. Many members talkedto the crowds, Ian George’sthrowing demonstrations were wellappreciated and a variety of handbuilding processes were shown byother AP members.I know that we want to measure oursuccess by how much we sell, andthere were sales over the weekend,but as important is how we meetand engage with our customers ofthe future. During this weekend Ithink we did a good job. I propose abig vote of thanks to all who tookpart and supported the AnglianPotters at Ickworth.Words and pictures:Harvey Bradley

ICKWORTH PARK WOOD FAIR WEEKEND

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OPENING OF THE BIDEFORD BOTTLE KILNHowever on arriving at Bidefordjust before the 2.30 opening I neednot have worried. In the caféattached to the gallery there wasquite a smattering of potters (assomeone commented “you only hadto observe the footwear to knowtheir occupation”). The firing wasoverseen by Phillip Leach. Andmuch to my surprise, there was thefriendly and familiar face ofDeborah Baynes: she along withhusband Ed had also contributed tothe firing.Guest of honour was HenrySandon (from the Antiques RoadShow) with his wife. A verydelightful chap with his enthusiasmand exuberance matched only bysome very fine pots.There is currently an exhibition ofold harvest jugs in the museum inBarnstaple – well worth a visit. Thepots from this firing were thendisplayed in the Long Room galleryof Winchcombe from 13 to 27September.The holiday culminated in somereasonable weather and some finewalking.Words and pictures:Maureen BakerUsually in September I take a

week’s holiday in order to enjoysome walking along themagnificent cliffs and quietcoombes of North Devon. This yearI was somewhat undecided as towhether I could justify driving allthat way. Until, that is, a smallarticle in the CPA News brought myattention to the fact that the replicabottle kiln behind the Burton ArtGallery and museum in Bidefordwas to be fired in the first week ofSeptember and opened on Sunday7th. Quite a start for a holiday.The firing was to celebrate thetraditional making of North Devonharvest jugs, red Fremington claywith white slip and much sgraffitodecoration. Quite a number of wellknown names were submitting potsincluding stoneware potters – MikeDodds, Sven Bayer and David Frithamongst others.I had left on the Saturday, andSaturday was wet – very wet andthe preceding week had rained somuch, that I wondered whether thekiln had been fired at all.

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particularly enjoyed her new rangeof apes and orangutans. IanGregory’s dogs also made an eye-catching splash of colour andseemed almost like sketches inclay.Having read last year’s Hatfieldreport by Mark Boyd, I thought Iwould try and spot a few trends. Iwould say that salt glazing is still‘in’, along with a lot of smoke firedwork. There were also aconsiderable number of nakedfemale torsos, for some reason.There was also a decidedlyJapanese flavour to the show.Firstly, Steve Harrison had broughtalong an exquisite tea house hehad created for an up-comingexhibition in Japan next year. Thiswas the focus of a ‘Tea Ceremony’which was held each day, withtwenty lucky ticket holdersreceiving a tea bowl speciallythrown by Steve for the event.There was a very entertainingdemonstration of traditionalJapanese throwing techniques byTaketoshi Ota and MasahiroKumagae. Peter Seabridge, who

What a difference a year makes!Last summer saw my first visit tothe annual Art in Clay show atHatfield House and I seem to recallthat the weather was scorching hotand the ice cream vendor had avery pleased smile on his face.This year, however, I picked a daywhich dawned overcast and drizzly.Whether it was the rain or thedreaded credit crunch keepingpeople away I couldn’t say, butattendance seemed to be down onlast year. However, the people whowere there seemed to be in adeterminedly buying mood and Ihad to step aside in haste on morethan one occasion to avoid beingtrodden on while trying to take apicture.Newcomer Jon Bull was doingparticularly well with his delicatevases inspired by the shapes ofchess pieces. I overheard him tell acustomer who had just purchasedtwo of his pieces that next year hewould apply for a bigger stand “andbring more pots!”Another newcomer worthmentioning was Karen Price,whose simple ‘crumpled’ vaseswere a hit with visitors.AP stalwarts, the Foxleys, werealso having a good show and Annehad already sold out of her newplanter design by the time I gotthere. They felt that Hatfield wasbusier than Potfest in the Pens thisyear, which they had also attended.There were a few notableomissions: I missed seeing DavidCooke’s spectacular life-sizedbeasts, and Marie Pret’s whimsicalsculptures were absent. However,as a lover of wildlife sculpture, thegap was amply filled for me byNicola Theakston’s work and I

has worked as a potter in Japan forthe past seventeen years, acted asinterpreter while the other twoshowed off their skills. The‘character’ of the clay is veryimportant to a Japanese potter andthey explained that the clay theyhad been given to demonstratewith was much finer and smootherthan they were used to back home,where they preferred a muchcoarser material - so it is to theirimmense credit that they were stillable to produce some very skilledpieces for us under difficultcircumstances.I was also able to catch part ofTessa Wolfe-Murray’sdemonstration on sawdust firing,which she promised to be“everything smoke firing doesn’tlike”. By which she meant that,instead of low firing to bisque, her

ART IN CLAY AT HATFIELD HOUSE

pieces are twice fired to 1120°Cand glazed inside and out, beforebeing covered with a mixture ofpine sawdust and white spirit andset alight in the usual fashion.Despite my best efforts I was stillwandering from tent to tent as theshow was closing. Hatfield has thiseffect on me and I find it hard totear myself away. It was hearteningto see that standards remainedhigh and the variety of work ondisplay offered a broad spectrum ofskills and styles for the public tochoose from. With any luck, comenext year the credit crisis will beover, the crowds will be bigger -and the sun might even come outtoo.Words and pictures:Christine Pike

Alan and Anne Foxley’s display

Margaret Gardiner demonstrating

Tessa Wolfe-Murray

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MORE TALES FROM POTTERS’ CAMP

slop not dissimilar to clay beingreclaimed...Add the oil a bit at atime and keep mixing flour in withthe fork from the inside until it allsticks to the fork and makes itreally difficult to keep mixing. Atthis point the crater will haveenlarged quite a bit, and it will benecessary to start working withyour hands from the outside:scrape the sticky dough off thefork, and start adding flour to thegoop from the outside of thefontana all the while kneading thedough, which should now becomea bit more manageable.At the end of this process, whichideally should be quite quick, youshould end up with a fairly smoothdough, no longer sticking to yourhands. Put it in a bowl big enoughto allow it to double in size, cut across on it (it helps release surfacetension when the yeast releasesgases and the dough wants togrow, although a more religiousperson might have differentexplanations...) cover it with aclean tea towel, put it somewherewarm where there are no drafts. Inwinter I turn the oven on for oneminute while I am working, thenswitch it off and put the bowl in withthe door slightly opened. On awarm day it can just stay out.It will take at least one hour todouble in size, during which timeyou can prepare the filling. In thiscase a ricotta and spinach one, butit can be all sorts – anotherfavourite is onions, just cooked with

some good extra virgin olive oil anda pinch of salt until they are soft,but not blackened. Or you can usethis dough for a normal pizza orfocaccia (no tomato sauce), forexample the pear, rosemary andcheese focaccia that never made itoutside the kitchen….

Ricotta and spinach filling:I rinse and cook one big bag ofbaby spinach leaves (500g) bysimply putting the wet leaves in apan on medium heat until they wiltand reduce to about one tenth ofthe original volume. I then drainthem and squeeze them in thecolander to get it as dry as I can,and chop it quite finely. If you areusing frozen spinach, I think youcan probably just defrost and chop.Then I use 500g of good ricotta (Ifind good ricotta at Balzano onCherry Hinton Road, or now atCarluccio’s in Cambridge) but ifyou can’t find anything better thestuff you find in pots at thesupermarket will do – although thistends to be a bit wetter, lesscreamy, so leave it in a finecolander to drip for a while. In themeantime beat 2 large or 3medium eggs with a pinch of salt,some pepper, and some gratednutmeg, then add about 50ggrated parmesan (freshly gratedfrom a real piece of ParmigianoReggiano, or maybe GranaPadano, but don’t even think ofusing the dreadful stuff they sell –horror of horrors! – already gratedin a pot). At this point you can mixin the ricotta and the spinach.When the dough has doubled insize I knock it down, divide in two,and roll it into two circles the sizeof my pan, about a foot – althoughyou don’t need a pan at all, as the

I made this for the summer socialevening at Shotley, and if you werethere you might remember beingoffered a slice whilst you were inthe queue. Quite a few people haveasked me how it was made, sohere it is. I have tried to be conciseand abysmally failed. Those whohave met me will not be surprised!Anyway, this is how I make it.I start with basic pizza dough:500g extra strong flour25g fresh yeast (given out free atTesco or any other bakery) or a tspof the dried stuff, dissolved in aglass of lukewarm water until itstarts to froth. If it hasn’t by the endof a few minutes, feed it a halfspoon of sugar and wait another bit.A couple of glugs of good extravirgin olive oil (about 50ml)A tsp of good salt (i.e. one thathasn’t got anti-caking agents andother rubbish added to it!)Make what we call a fontana as infountain, but really it looks morelike a volcano: a pile of flour with ahole in the middle. Place the salt inone spot on the outside face of theslope (say where Pompeii isrelative to Vesuvius - although Ithink I’m taking the simile a bit farhere...).When the yeast is showing signs oflife and has started to froth up thenit’s time to pour it into the craterand start mixing it with a fork with abit of flour at a time taken with thefork, sort of scraping around theinside of the crater. You’ll have a

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PIZZA SALATA DI RICOTTA E SPINACI

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CERAMIC HELPLINE

Having a bit of bother that your suppliercan’t resolve?

Why not contact one of these memberswho have agreed to share their exper-tise?

Alan Foxley – handbuilding & reductionfiring 01799 522631Colin Saunders – mould-making,slipware, transfers 01379 588278Victor Knibbs – oxidised stoneware,electric kilns, modifying clay bodies

01480 214741Deborah Baynes – raku, stoneware,earthenware (reduction & oxidised),salt glaze 01473 788300Beryl Hines – general, earthenware,raku 01473 735437Usch Spettigue – raw glazing/singlefiring 01473 787587Margaret Gardiner – salt glaze

01279 654025Sonia Lewis – high-fired ware includingporcelain 01353 688316

If you are willing to give advice, and arewilling to be added to this list, pleasecontact the Editor.

filling is quite solid and you will berolling the sides up to join it withthe covering circle. Either way youcan play with size depending onhow thin you like the dough. If toosticky, I dust table, hands androlling pin with extra flour, but trynot to add too much flour at thisstage. I find it easier to have thedough already on a piece of bakingpaper ready to transfer to the ovenshelf, or a baking stone, or the panif you are using one. Then I spoonthe filling in and spread it fairlyevenly to about an inch of the edgeand place the other circle on topand join and twist the edges in thesame way you would do a pasty.Not having the benefit of Pete’smarvellous wood oven I cook it inmy gas one, which only goes to270 Celsius, until the dough isnicely browned, maybe 10-15minutes. Don’t take my word for it,as it will be different in your ovenanyway…But try it, and then let meknow if you liked it.Roberta Bateman

GLAZING –I’LL GET IT RIGHT TODAYNo! No!I’ll get it right today,I’m bright, I’m fresh I’ve got the grip-my finger pads can’t let it slip.This one, now, is my favourite pot,I’ve mostly messed the other lot,and what was planned and really meant,is left to ‘happy accident’,

I’m buoyant now, so free of care;I’ve left behind thoughts of despair.

I take the bulbous pot in hand.My grip is good, my sinews tight.This time, I know I’ll be alright.And having really stirred the glaze,I aim the pot, I am unphazed,It’s going in. I’m calm, serene.It’s glazed down to the golden mean.

Success!

Oh heck!The bottom line’s not straight.I’ll dunk again, it’s not too late.Ah! No! I find I’ve lost my grip.The pot has gone! It had to slip,in with a plop, beneath the waves.I fractiously, dive in to save.

Both hands are now bright tessha red.The pot’s retrieved. I look with dread.There’re finger prints, the glaze is thick.It’s inside, outside. Will it stick,or peel and crack?

I’ll wash it now, I think I should,and tumble pack it in the wood.

Yet once again I’ve scored a duck.It’s left to hell fire’s heat!Pot luck!

Tim Mitchell

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Moths from the moth trap

Rescue from the glaze bucket

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HELEN MARTINO

I was privileged to be at a recentprivate view at CambridgeContemporary Art for AP SelectedMember, Helen Martino.Helen has been a regular inclusionin the gallery’s mixed exhibitionsfor the past ten years, but this wasthe first major showing of her work,and she was exhibiting alongsideScottish painter Ian McWhinnie.The sense of light-hearted fun andsensuality about Helen’s workcontrasted well with Ian’s darker,slightly sinister paintings.Helen, who is currently on an MAPrintmaking course, was alsoshowing a selection of recentetchings, demonstrating anotheraspect of the fluidity between two-dimensional art and sculpture.Although her earlier work waswheel-thrown domestic ware, Helennow concentrates on slab builtsculptures, which she describes as"serious, posh, and frivolous. Thework in this latest exhibition waswholly figurative, although somepieces, like the 'Message in aBottle' series, and the 'DishyLadies', harked back to her earlytraining in functional ware. Thebottles have a personal resonance

MEMBERS' EXHIBITIONS

for Helen, representing, for her, aparticularly female form:"Part of my work is about threegenerations of mothers in my familyand the jewellery that is owned andpassed down, with all the memoriesof the past owners and one’srelationship with them. Bottles area female form and I wanted thewindow to look like a big familyparty where different characterschat play or stand apart", sheexplained.The private view was extremelywell-attended and there wereplenty of red dots scattered aroundby the end of the evening. Havingspent a year preparing for thisexhibition, Helen was delightedwith the response to her new work:"Special events like this reallyencourage creativity and newdepartures", she said "I have beendelighted with the way Natalie andVictoria have shown the work,giving space and consideration toeach piece. This is a rare privilege.Thank goodness for a goodgallery!"Helen Martino's next exhibition willbe in Ghent, Belgium from 27November 2008 to the New Year.Words and pictures:Christine Pike

BOOK REVIEWSLAB BUILT CERAMICSby Coll MinogueThe Crowood Press Ltd £14.99 Paperback ISBN 978 1 847970046This small attractive book is not a "How to do it" for beginners, but does includedescriptions and photos of the techniques used by the featured potters, some easierto follow than others! It may be helpful to those with some slab building experienceand suggest some avenues to develop or experiment with.The book is set out in two main sections, Sculpture and Vessels. The introductioncovers a brief historical survey and the conclusion explains how architectural groupprojects can be achieved. There are plenty of good and attractive photographs,covering a wide range of work by international artists. An interesting inclusion for theenthusiast's library but not essential reading.See also Peter Lane’s review – Ceramic Review 234. Victor Knibbs

GEOFFREY ELMORE

Geoffrey and Margaret Elmore hadan exhibition of ceramics andpaintings at Fondation A.N.P.Q.Peret, France in October andNovember. www.anpq.org

COLIN SAUNDERS

Colin Saunders exhibited his workin the Contemporary Applied Arts60th Anniversary Tea's UpExhibition in London in Septemberand October. The teapot (above)was in our exhibition at Emmanuelthis summer. The cake stand(below) is new work. www.caa.org

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ANGLIAN POTTERS

CLAY STORES

Clay from Valentines, Stafford-shire. An inexpensive source ofclay for members.

Phone to confirm availability andto arrange pickup during officehours.

All now will be sold in 12.5 Kgbags with the exception of paperclay.

Special Fleck stoneware£3.70 Firing 1150°c -1300°cRed earthenware£3.25 Firing 1080°c – 1140°cWhite B17C stoneware £5.40P2 Porcelain£7.45 Firing 1220°c – 1250°cRoyale porcelain £10.50Grogged porcelain (Royale)£11.00ES5 Stoneware Original£7.50ES130 White earthenware£6.50Audrey Blackman porcelain£12.00ES40 Handbuilding material£9.75ES50 Crank £7.30ES200 TS Flaxpaper clay£6.00 per 5 Kg bagV9G Dark stoneware £3.75

CAMBRIDGEPlease ring the following peopleto arrange collection:November: Phyl Lewry01223 709827December: Marie Thompson01223 357586January 09: Liz Chipchase01223 527781February 09: Susan Cupitt01223 311937March 09: Tony Pugh01353 778462April 09: Phyl Lewry01223 709827

SUFFOLKDeborah BaynesNether Hall, Shotley, IpswichSuffolk IP9 1PW01473 788300

Collect with a cheque payable toAnglian Potters with chequecard number and membershipnumber. NB paper clay may notbe available.

CORBY KILNS

As our name suggests, we sellkilns and we are based in Corby,Northants. The company is ownedand managed by Bob Aves andJulie Houghton, and was formed in1997. Bob worked with kilns andfurnaces for many years prior tosetting up Corby Kilns, and Juliehas worked in administration rolesfor several years.Our main business is servicing andrepairing school pottery kilns. Wesell new kilns and potteryequipment from Potclays, Kilns &Furnaces, Stanton Kilns andNabertherm, and Pottersmate. Wecan help with kiln moves andrelocation, and can supply cages tocustomers' own specifications.When we supply a new kiln weprovide the full service, from adviceon choice of kiln and controller todelivery of your chosen kiln,installation and commissioning.Occasionally we have used kilnsavailable which are refurbished asnecessary, and can be upgradedwith a new digital controller. Otherused equipment that is availablefrom time to time includes suchmachinery as pugmills, wheels,spray booths.The kiln side of our business iscomplemented by a range of clays.We now stock over 20 clays fromPotclays and Valentines, and if acustomer wants a clay that we donot have in stock we will happilyadd it to our next delivery. We alsohave some Mayco brush-on glazesin stock, and will shortly bestocking Spectrum glazes. Oxides,raw materials and frits can besupplied to order. We are buildingup our stocks of items such ascones, batts and props, stilts andtools. In this way we hope to gosome way to filling the gap left bythe closure of Arterial Kilns earlierthis year.Visitors to our workshop are verywelcome: telephone first to arrangea convenient date, to make sure thatone of us is available to help you.Unit 9 Pywell Court, Pywell Road,Willowbrook Industrial Estate,Corby, Northants NN17 5WAt: 01536 269229e: info@corbykilns.co.ukw: www.corbykilns.co.uk

CLAY FOR SALE

High firing stoneware clay for sale,all in 25 kilo bags, very good forthrowing. Made by Valentines for A& J Young Pottery in North Norfolk,but too light in colour for them. 2tons available at £ 4.50 per 25 kilobag. Phone 01263 577548 forenquiries or offers.A & J Young PotteryCommon Farm, Sustead RoadGresham, Norwich NR11 8REe: enquiries@young-pottery.co.ukw: www.young-pottery.co.uk

POTTERY COURSES

IN THE PYRENEES

Alan Baxter, one of our foundingmembers, moved from Suffolk tothe Pyrenees a few years ago andruns pottery courses in his atelier inFrance. Look up the details on hiswebsite www.potterycourses.com(or if you are interested in visitingFrench Catalonia, www.mph.eu.com).Alan offers a small inducement toAP members: should any AnglianPotters wish to holiday or holidayand pot, he and Patt can offer a10% discount to members who canshow positive association.

OFFERED FREE

Remains of Potclays S65toploading cylindrical kiln.Comprising 27" x 8" high (internaldimensions) extension ring, withoutelements plus top and bottom ofkiln and stand, bottom slightlydamaged and top with enlarged(~3") diameter hole.Ideal to make a low, wide raku kiln(or extend a functioning electricmodel for increased biscuitcapacity).Contact Damiant: 01223 233378e: dkeefe@ebi.ac.uk

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Janet Tebbit's work at Emmanuel College

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DIARY DATES 2009:Ben Brierley:8 FebruaryPaul Young:19 AprilJennifer Hall:13 SeptemberWendy Lawrence:25 October

MEMBERSHIP FEES:Ordinary £27 (half year £15)Joint £45 for two people at thesame address – half year £25Institution £45 for a college orworkshop – half year £27(details on application to theMembership Secretary)Student £10 for full-time stu-dents of ceramics – proof ofstatus is required

MEMBERS' WEBSITES:www.broadwayceramics.comwww.cathydarcy.comwww.corbykilns.co.ukwww.helenhpottery.co.ukwww.helenmartino.co.ukwww.iangeorgeceramics.co.ukwww.janburridge.co.ukwww.janehollidge.co.ukwww.jjvincent.comwww.judsonsinfrance.comwww.madeincley.co.ukwww.maggygardiner.comwww.potterycourses.comwww.potterycourses.netwww.rebeccaharvey.comwww.richardbaxter.co.ukwww.sculpturelounge.comwww.susancupitt.co.uk

Contact the Editor if you want toadd your site to this list.

Check out our website for thelatest news:

www.anglianpotters.org.uk

COPY DATE FOR

SPRING NEWSLETTER:1 FEBRUARY 2009FOR PUBLICATION BY:1 APRIL 2009

Due to retirementand downsizing Ihave a completepottery workshopfor sale. All theequipment is topquality and in firstrate condition. Themain pieces are:1 x Alsager wheelwith over 50throwing batts to fitwheelhead.2 x Electric kilnswith auto digital controllers, allfurniture and shelves.1 x Podmors 3 inch 3 phase pugmillwith stand. (motor could be changedto single phase)1 x Spraybooth on stand withcompressor and 2 spray guns1 x Claybully with numerous dies2 x extruders.Approx ½ ton HT stoneware clay.2 x Galvanised clay bins, numerousbins and buckets for raw materialstorage. Plenty of tools, throwing ribsetc.1 x wedging table.1 x Damp cupboard.Scales for clay weighing and glazemixing.Boxes of Orton cones.Bags of raw glaze materials.Listed above are the main items forsale. I do not want to sell separately.The complete workshop is for sale for£2000. This is an opportunity at abargain price.Please contact me either by phone oremail if interested; the buyer would beresponsible for collection. I amsituated near Saffron Walden.t: 01799 542383e: quendonpottery@aol.com

ENTIRE CONTENTS OF POTTERY WORKSHOP

FOR SALE