Groggy Clay from Down the Farm?
Back then, there were always (usually weekly) cane fires during the crushing season. This one was in the cane field right up next to our backyard - yes complete with the old Hills Hoist and backyard loo. The cane fire was always a family affair – as soon as we were determined old enough, we were given a wet hessian bag each to swat out the little grass fires around the perimeter.
I’m a canefarmer’s daughter through and through – lived on the family farm for the first 17 years of my life. I have early memories of my dad bringing home handfuls of clay from down the farm for me to play with and, of making (what I now know are called) pinch pots. I asked my mum to bake one of them in the oven, which she dutifully did. Of course, now that I know about the heat work required - I realise, she had only just warmed it up a little. Anyway, I was happy, and I still remember one that I had kept on my duchess for years, all painted up with my water colour paints.
After leaving home and consequently finding work - I took up pottery as a hobby… Loved this new-found hobby to the point of soon buying my very own Venco wheel. This would have been around 1985-ish – anyway, I still have that old wheel and it still runs, albeit noisily and then later, also buying and assembling my own gas fired Kamil kiln.
Really back then, and possibly still even now – you were only deemed a serious potter, if you fired your work in a gas kiln, definitely not an electric one! And furthermore, with that gas kiln, you understood how to and actually did do, reduction firings in it, in order to get those fabulous copper reds and so on. Yet, fast forward to 20-ish years later and that is exactly what I have now - an electric kiln, complete with a pull-out floor and I could not be happier.
Yes, I did put the clay away for some 20 or so years while doing all the wonderful family things and so, it must be said now that I’m no longer a young adult … and that an electric kiln with a pull-out drawer is perfect!
Once my role in the family things mentioned above, became less time consuming, I tried so hard to be enthused by other artforms that would only require perhaps a smallish room that could become an artsy-type studio. This did work for a while, interspersed with some truly memorable overseas trips and treks. But no, turns out I must be doing something with clay.
My start back into clay this time around has been with the guidance of Ray Cavill and his team of teachers at Clayschool and the Clayshool community at large. Since that initial toe in the water in September 2017 - I now once again, have a fully functioning pottery studio complete with new wheel, alongside my old wheel and of course, my electric kiln.
I’m currently enjoying working with fine white clays and porcelains. That said, I will never say no to also working in iron-bearing clay … even very groggy and unsieved, as it would have been from down the farm all those years ago.