Its been far too long since I’ve spent a day throwing at Eastnor Pottery. I had to look back at my diary to remind myself when I was there last – it was last June, when I threw a selection of small bowls. I had another session booked for September to turn and decorate them, but I had to cancel that when I was sent out to Montreal on business. For one reason or another, I never got around to rebooking – I think I’ve just been too rushed off my feet at work, so I’ve been using the weekends to recover from exhaustion, rather than actively doing anything that I enjoy.
But that’s really not an acceptable situation, and I knew that I’d enjoy myself at the pottery if only I could summon the energy to book a session. So, despite the fact that the end of the Financial Year is fast approaching, and work is even more manic than ever, I got in touch with Eastnor Pottery and asked if they had any slots available on one of their throwing workshops. They did, and I spent all day yesterday there, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Jon the Potter had even kept the bowls I’d made last June, in the expectation that I would turn up at some point to finish them. Unfortunately, however, even though they were wrapped in plastic, nine months is rather too long to keep pots damp and malleable. They had dried out completely, and were far too brittle to work with. I broke them up and put them in the reclaim bin where they will get soaked in water until the clay breaks down and can be recycled into fresh clay for throwing. It was very reminiscent of breaking up Easter eggs – the dried terracotta bowls had just the same texture and much the same colour as a chocolate eggshell.
I then spent the rest of the morning throwing some small bowls. My mother has asked for some to replace one I threw 15 years ago that is now showing its age and getting a bit chipped around the rim. I threw 15 bowls in total, using up a whole bag of clay in the process. By about 2pm I was beginning to get tired and losing my concentration – my pots started getting wobbly, so I decided to call it a day and come home. I did make sure however to book into another workshop next month to turn and decorate them – I don’t want to leave another nine months between visits!
