Oxford Ceramics Fair
28-29 October 2023
St Edward's School, OXFORD, OX2 7NZ
Join us in the beautiful cricket pavilion, designed by famed minimalist architect John Pawson,
for a weekend of demonstrations by a selection of our exhibitors.
All talks and demonstrations are included in your ticket price and do not need to be booked. Seating is allocated on a first come first served basis.
I will be demonstrating slab building with porcelain and constructing a vessel from thinly rolled out sheets of clay. I will bring examples of pieces that are in the decorating stage and talk about how my marks are made.
Sharon Griffin is a figurative artist who works in clay. Drawing from her knowledge of the Shropshire landscape and ancient geology , Sharon uses her figures and faces to express the universal human condition.
Folklore, storytelling and a sense of place provides endless inspiration for her work. Sharon will show how she uses slab building to create her highly emotive and gestural figures.
Scratching Dogs – Taming Commissions
Simon Olley will be demonstrating some of the illustration/sgraffito techniques he uses on leatherhard clay, discussing the importance of a balanced composition in his work and how he uses preliminary sketched designs in his approach to commissions.
A demonstration and talk focusing on wheel-thrown porcelain with discussion about my thinking behind the development of designs and how they evolve through making.
Inspirations from My Journey in Japan
During my immersive journey to Japan in the summer of 2022, my primary objective was to locate the tree wax essential for my innovative crayon project. Little did I anticipate the profound impact of the Mingei movement on my artistic perspective. Initially, I was skeptical about its relevance to my unique artistic approach and aesthetics. However, my perception took a complete turnaround—witnessing the captivating Kawai House in Kyoto and exploring Mashiko exposed me to its captivating forms and vibrant contrasts.
In this talk/demo, I will share a visual narrative of my expedition, showing some images from my trip. Subsequently, I will delve into the creative process behind crafting a distinctive segment vase—a harmonious blend of wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques, meticulously designed to enhance flower arrangements.
I will talk about and demonstrate a bit about my process of making with porcelain on the wheel, and show some images of my current work.
I would normally work in multiples and increasingly I am focussing on round, moon jar forms. I strive to achieve a pleasing balance of proportions of form, so I will demonstrate this with the use of a Japanese style throwing stick (Kigote/Hari gata) stick.