Clay and pottery
The British Ceramics Biennial has launched an online learning programme called Clay At Home: its first demonstration was a making activity taken from its Clay Cookbook. Coming up are workshops on how to make square isolation tiles from clay or salt dough using tools found at home and in the garden; making tableware decorated using items found around the house; and making inks and drawing materials from coffee grounds, soil and teabags.
The Clay Studio, which normally offers classes at its Philadelphia studios, offering a range of online how-to videos, artist talks, and live conversations under the title Clay at Home.
Individuals are also sharing their skills, including Sarah Core. “I have been a potter for nearly 10 years and I can post clay to you safely with my daily walk to the letterbox,” she explains. Core is sending out 1kg parcels of air-dry clays, along with project sheets, to participants, then conducting online workshops to help everyone on their way. Ana Kerin of Kana London has launched the Stay at Home Kana Clay Club, aimed at a range of skill levels – from complete beginners to those who have previously participated in one of its classes, sending out boxes of clay and then advising you on setting up your home studio, finding makeshift tools around the house and actually working with clay. “We can fire and glaze the work you make once we get through this,” she says.
For the braver and more ambitious, the Ceramic School has instructions on how to make a pottery wheel out of a ceiling fan and a plastic bucket. Careful, please!