Get creative this Autumn

Sketching, layering and mark making on paper and clay

Dear Reader,

Back in August myself and potter Pippa met to plan some creative workshops together.

Pippa got the clay out and I unpacked my sketchbooks and as she wedged and rolled, I flicked through the pages looking for images that could be used to inspire our collaborative project and workshop ideas.

We settled on a couple of sketches and for the next few hours we experimented with a range of tools to make marks and create textures and made paper stencils to transfer images to the clay.

We also painted with coloured slips and underglazes building in layers and added masks to help define areas.

The hours flew past and by the end of our session we had created a set of tiles, and a rectangular dish with the designs inspired by the sketchbook drawings.

Pippa stencilled ferns to make these marks

The next time I met with Pippa she showed me the finished fired pieces and wow! I was so surprised at how good they looked. In the double firing process the colours had become more saturated and intense and all the marks and textures really show up from the glazes that Pippa had added. Beautiful and unexpected!

Personally for me I have so enjoyed being able to translate my sketches on to clay and see how I can explore the medium of clay in a way that relates to my practice. It’s been quite an experience and eye-opening to what I can do and I hope to explore more.

Beautiful textures and marks on the fired clay

Autumn Creative Course

So this Autumn I’ll love to invite you to join myself and Pippa for a 2-day immersive, creative course at Lowenek Art Studio on the Lizard Peninsula.

Day One I’ll show you how to experiment with a range of mediums, exploring how they can be used to blend and layer to create textural sketches on paper. You will likely get very messy!

After lunch you'll then spend time outside drawing from the landscape, using the mediums you were introduced to and by the end of the day have plenty of inspiration for day two.

On Day Two Pippa will introduce you to a range of techniques in creating texture on clay. She’ll guide you through stencil making, collaging and masking and showing you how to translate your texture onto clay. You'll then choose to make a set of tiles, plate or dish with your final designs.

Both myself and Pippa are excited to present this fun and experimental course, where we hope to inspire you to create something truly unique.

To find out more click here and we look forward to inviting you to sketch, paint and play with us this Autumn.

The Autumn creative course at Lowenek Studio runs the 3rd-4th November 10-4.30pm.

Any further questions or comments do not hesitate to ask.