Sign up to our adults only workshop to learn to make a ceramic bird feeder using slabs + coils. Imagine seeing your garden birds eating their seeds from a beautiful ceramic feeder - it’s what dreams are made of if you ask me…
You can find loads of inspiration here
Please note this is a hand building only session and does not include throwing a pot on the wheel.
£36pp which includes returning to paint 4 weeks later.
Up to 28 places available - booking + advanced payment essential.
After you’ve completed your piece, we’ll carefully fire it. Later, you’ll return to adorn it with all the colours before we finish it off for you with a final glazing making it waterproof and ready to hold your treats.
* The pots above are made by talented artists from all over the world - we’ve used their images to inspire your making, if you’re interested in learning more about each maker, please follow the link to Pinterest.
How it works:
We’ll begin the session with a group demonstration, during which our handbuilding specialist Lauren will talk you through all the tips and tricks you’ll need to get creating.
You’ll start the session with a sheet of clay and with the support of our potter and oodles of inspiration you’ll end the session having made super cool pot.
These pots need to be slowly dried and then fired up to 1000+°c which will take about 4 weeks, after this you’ll then have 1 month to return to paint your piece. When you return to paint our studio assistants will talk you through all the pottery painting possibilities and set you away painting. It will probably take 1-2 hours to paint your pot, depending on how much detail you decide to add.
Once your pot has been painted you’ll leave it with us for another firing this time to a glaze firing up to 998°c, which will make them super shiny and waterproof ready for using! Your finished pots will be ready to collect 10 days after you paint them.
PLEASE NOTE…
Full payment is taken at the time of booking. Changes or refunds are only accepted with 48hrs notice. Please ensure all guests arrive promptly for your session. *Any handmade pots not painted within 8 weeks of making will be recycled. Read our detailed T+C’s.
GLAZING AND FIRING YOUR POTTERY:
We try our best to ensure that every aspect of the creative journey you take with us is fun and enjoyable. The final part of this journey involves the glazing and firing of your pottery up to temperatures in excess of 1000˚C. This process is carried out onsite by our studio assistants who treat each piece with the greatest love, care and attention.
We strive for perfection with every piece, however the kiln gods are not always on our side.
Handmade pieces: please be aware that sometimes items can crack or at worst explode in the kiln. If your pot explodes in the kiln we will offer you a spare as a replacement.
Occasionally glaze spotting can occur, as well as surface imperfections such as tiny bumps caused by brick dust flying around the kiln as it heats up, this dust can settle on items as the kiln temperature cools. If we feel it is safe to do so, we will try to fix glazing issues by re-firing the pottery. In the exceptional event of a piece of painted ready-made pottery cracking in the kiln we will offer compensation by way of a replacement voucher.
On occasion handmade pieces can craze. This is when the surface of the glaze can get small cracks in it, which can sound like a pinging sound. This may happen when boiling water is put in them, after they have been chipped, or gradually over time. If this does happen we’d advise washing them well between uses and not using them for things that could contain bacteria as this may squeeze through the glaze cracks.
Finished pieces should be used with care as they may be more delicate than something you would buy from TK Maxx. After use it should be washed by hand, rather than in the dishwasher. We advise against microwaving your pieces as they are not ‘microwave safe’ and get very hot! We say, treat it like the precious family heirloom it could become. By all means enjoy using your wonderful creations, but treat them with the love and care they deserve.
We hope you understand that we do everything we can to try and prevent such things, however it is not always possible. The unpredictable element can be both the charm and frustration of ceramics.