This Uffington Horse vase came out of it’s second firing in three pieces, istead of throwing it out (oh, the hours of work in this!) I decided to do a ‘new kintsugi’ mend, creating a different but equally lovely object.

SUSTAINABILITY

As a maker I do consider whether I should be contributing to putting more things out into our crowded world. Then a friend said “what would the world be like without art to bring joy?” and I had to agree with her.

My wish is that my work can be enjoyed now, and will continue to be loved as it is handed down through the years.

IN THE STUDIO:

  • Reclaim: In my studio I reclaim all the clay which doesn’t end up in finished pieces - this measn it’s gathered in a bucket with water and after a while squshed about, left to dry a little bit and then wdged to be used again.

  • Glaze: I don’t use glaze on all my pieces,when I do I try to minimise waste by waxing the bottoms of pots, and gathering wshed off glaze into a ‘mystery glaze’ bucket.

  • Firing: I fire in a small kiln at present as that’s all I can fit in my metal shed! I fire with the kiln as full as possible and am hoping to move to a green energy tariff soon (our previous provider went bust unfortunately). I’m exploring using lower fire earthenware clays and glazes, though items made in earthenware are not as robust as those in stoneware, which I will continue to make my outdoor pieces from.

    I only fire pieces I’m totally happy with. Pieces that are fired to bisq but are unsucessful (come out cracked or warped, it happens!) I break down to use as ’crocks’ in our big garden planters. Unfortunately once glazed the broken edges are too sharp for this - I will come up with some way of using them.

  • Plastic: we potters tend to use a lot of plastic for wrapping pieces to dry them at the correct rate. All my plastic is reused supermarket bags, bin liners and the like. I use them until they literally fall apart and then dispose of them properly

  • Equipment: There is a thriving trade in second hand potters equipment because so much of it is very expensive! My wheel, for example, was bought second hand from a local potter. A lot of my tools are hand me downs, and I make textures and tools from found objects (sticks, old plastic store cards, cloth…endless possibilities!). And since my husband is a wood worker I have no shortage of wooden offcuts for ware to sit on.

PACKAGING:

  • Packing pottery for the post requires a lot of care , often this means ‘double boxing’ - it’s not overkill, it’s to to ensure the piece arrives unbroken.

  • So far I have managed to use entirely recycled packaging (so don’t be surprised if you recieve a box with a pot in it which appears to be and IPA from the local brewery!). I do use some plastic bubble wrap which I have had in packages sent to me, I wouldn’t buy it new. I use paper adhesive tape.