Photo by Michael Harvey
Timing: 09:30 for 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday
Class Size: Minimum 5, Maximum 6 students
Level: Intermediate/Advanced - able to throw consistent cylinders
Clay type: Porcelain
Cost: £365 (In full or in instalments)
What to bring: All tools are provided but you are welcome to bring your own plus…
Apron
Notebook and pen
Aims of the course:
We are delighted to be welcoming Chris to lead this brilliant two-day masterclass to focus on wheel-thrown porcelain vessels.
Chris will demonstrate how he works and his thought processes in achieving a coherent collection of functional vessels.
Chris has a wealth of experience and is a great teacher. Students will explore throwing, turning and elements of decoration. There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss your work Chris and fellow students and to hone your throwing skills over the weekend.
Students will be able to keep, and biscuit fire, a carefully selected piece. This will be fired and be ready for collection a few weeks later (there will be a small additional firing charge).
The small group size ensures plenty of individual attention.
N.B. As always, there is no guarantee that pieces will make it through the firing process intact.
Photo credits: Chris Keenan by Tom Bunning Vessels by Michael Harvey
ABOUT CHRIS:
I have been making pots for over twenty-five years. I started in late 1995 as Edmund de Waal’s first apprentice and worked with him for two years, learning techniques that I still employ but, thankfully, with increasing skill across the years. I have been in my own studio since 1998 and have shared that space for the past 20 years with the Brazilian potter, Carina Ciscato.
My work is always thrown and turned on the wheel; my clay of choice is Limoges porcelain; the glazes are still predominantly tenmoku and celadon but a red and a green glaze are relative newcomers to the party. It remains a fairly restricted glaze palette, but I find fresh ways to utilise/combine them. The work is reduction-fired in my gas kiln.
I make work for interior spaces – for use and decoration. Mugs, cups, teapots, pourers, beakers, lidded pots, pots for flowers. I also go off-piste occasionally with what I term my “extra-curricular” work – series or groups of pots/ceramic forms that owe less to function, often with an interactive element. Most recently I have been exploring lines of pots that come under the name of vistas or “scapes” and which contain a visual narrative that travels across the group.
I exhibit widely across the UK and internationally. My work is held in the permanent collections of several museums including the V&A, the Ashmolean and the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art in Japan. I have undertaken residencies in the UK and Japan and have been teaching in the UK and abroad since 2011.
Payment:
(If you would prefer to pay a deposit or pay in instalments then please contact us today at hello@vessel-ceramics.co.uk )
There is a non-refundable* and non-transferrable £125 deposit at the point of booking with the balance of fees due 3 weeks before the course starts.
It is strongly recommended that you take out travel insurance in the event that you cannot attend.
Before you book a course, please make sure you read our terms and conditions here, including cancellations. Please also read our student contract here.
ACCOMMODATION:
Vessel Ceramics is nestled in the heart of Moretonhampstead, ancient stannary town on Dartmoor. There are numerous, lovely places to stay though as it is a tourist destination, it’s advisable to book as early as possible.
To see examples of local accommodation, click here.