February 2011- June 2011 Canterbury Potter - Ceramics NZ · 2011-04-09 · February 2011- June 2011 Library As many of you will know, we have a great collection of pottery books in

February 2011- June 2011

The Canterbury PotterNewsletter of the C a n t e r b u r y Po t t e r s’ A s s o c i a t i o n ( I n c . )

From the president - a report of two halves - before the earthquake of 22 February, and after... BEFORE...Welcome everybody to a new year of pottery. A welcome to our newest member Tania Doyle.On the 22nd January 2011 a small group had a working bee at the clubrooms to clean tidy up some of the areas of the rooms. Thanks to those of you who came along. The rooms were looking much better for the start of the new teaching year.Lois Gillespie has accepted the position of cleaner for the clubrooms after clarification of duties and hours. Thank you Lois.There was a good turnout of the public at the Avice Hill Craft Fair and a very good turnout of club members to assist with the raku, handwork, wheelwork and other things that needed to be done.Please note that the programme is taking shape for the rest of the year. Mark the dates in your diary. AFTER... (Written on the 14th March 2011)Here we go again!When we thought that it was all over we got another kick in the pants, only this time it was many times worse.This time the chimney of the old cottage came down resulting in a yellow sticker on the building, restricting access.

A yellow sticker was put on our main building also but without the restriction to access. It does have the requirement that we have it inspected. Since then, we have had DJ Bonniface Consulting Structural Engineers inspect both buildings and luckily, both passed.Our collection has, once again, suffered some damage, although we are fortunate it is not as bad as it might have been. The the work done by Margaret Reilly and Ngarita Wight has been valuable in protecting the pieces.With all this happening the programme for the year will have to be revised. Fredrika’s weekend throwing class has already had to be postponed for approximately two months. Fredrika’s normal Monday night classed will resume on the 28th March.My classes are up and running again on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Erica’s classes are not running until further notice and Margaret’s Tuesday morning classes are up and running normally again. Our thoughts - post quakeWhile we are just thankful that our friends and loved ones are all okay after the terrible shake of 22 February, we would like to extend our thoughts to members who have lost pots from their collections. While we all tell ourselves these are just “things”, we share a love of these inanimate objects which are created with love, care, creativity and with our hands.

PO Box 29424, Avice Hill Reserve, 395 Memorial Ave, Christchurch, NZ. Phone (03) 358 9467


Your Committtee:President:Terry Gallie 03 351 [email protected] Vice presidents:Brian Stephens, 03 356 [email protected] Wight 03 360 [email protected] Secretary, and Membership Secretary:Robyn Curtis 03 357 [email protected] Treasurer:Helen [email protected] Committee:Alex Prentice, 03 389 [email protected] Fitzgerald 03 356 [email protected] Bonisch 03 359 [email protected] [email protected] Michaels, 03 327 [email protected]

Tutors:Administration secretary andSenior tutor:Margaret Ryley, 03 313 840Terry Gallie, see above for detailsFrederika Ernstein, 03 310 0630Erica D’Stewart, 03 371 [email protected] Clay Stock ManagerSteve Dench, (03) 348 [email protected]

Clay - Reduced to Clear!Primo Medium Fire (1220°C)Porcelain10kg bagonly $28/bag Feeneys BRT (great for handbuilding)12.5kg bagonly $32/bag Contact Steve Dench if you are interested,[email protected], (03) 348 8513~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ProgrammeThe disruption to all our lives means that our programme is tentative - dates will be confirmed with those concerned as soon as we are able. We hope to resume having a workshop, talk or activity each month. April - Pit firing at the clubrooms - maybe?May - Decorating techniques with Margaret ReillyJune - 4th/5th Wheelwork techniques with Fredrika Ernsten

-AGM 24th June, 6:30pmJuly - 2nd - Mid-Winter Xmas Dinner @ Alex & Leane’s place - 387 Hereford St, 6.30pm

- Gas firing with Neil HeyAug - Alan Hooper talk and video (see the article on Alan later in this newsletter)Sept - Oct - Exhibition selection and workshop (TBA)Nov - CPA exhibitionNov Guy Fawkes raku and barbecueDec - Christmas party



LibraryAs many of you will know, we have a great collection of pottery books in the office. which have always been made available for loan to members for a very nominal fee. However, over the past couple of years we have noticed that the current system is not working well.The committee has decided that until we have a better system operating, we ask that books are only used at the clubrooms. There is an amnesty on return of books that members may have on loan - we would love to see them back please.As always, Ceramic Reviews on the stand by the main door must also remain at the clubrooms.

Wee reminders:

● Please return any CPA library books.

● Renewal of subscriptions are due.

● Check that you have paid up on firings and clay supplies.

Thanks



A visit to Alan Hooper, Bigware potter in KirweeI am continually surprised and heartened by the number of potters I meet who are actively working in their seventies and beyond. Alex Prentice, Steve Dench, Andrew Macaskill and I spent a fascinating Sunday afternoon with one such potter, Allan Hooper, recently. He casually showed us a tool he uses to help opening the 20kg lumps of clay which he, at age 77, routinely throws. Big pots have been his bread and butter since he started potting in 1971 when he was in his late thirties. Planters, big jars and the chimney pots that are still a production line for him have been his mainstay and extruded forms, some altered on the wheel, and slip cast forms have all been mastered along with the big thrown forms.Allan is an engineer and has built blungers and pugmills and wheels on a scale that matches his bigware production and allows him to build his own clay bodies from material sourced from the Malvern hills not far from his Kirwee home. This too was a revelation as he has a fund of information about the clay resources of the area and has dug into the old geological reports prepared in the nineteen thirties. He has a big picture of the ancient volcanic and more recent glacial history of the area and the knowledge of the workability and firing characteristic of the Malvern clays. The bigware potting was run alongside a commercial brick-making operation that his family built up and ran at Darfield. Large scale kiln building, stacking and firing ran as a routine until the early nineties. Allan's inquiring mind has been at work here too and he has an industrial history of brick-making in and around Canterbury collected onto five hours of DVD.Allan has recently joined CPA and will give a talk as part of the club's Friday evening programme in August.

- by Andrew Curran



Avice Hill Arts and Crafts Fair – February 2011. Once again the Canterbury Potters Association opened its doors to the public as part of the annual Avice Hill Arts and Crafts Fair.The CPA gave the public – both adults and children alike – the opportunity to try their hand at different areas of the pottery craft. As usual, a queue of adults and kids formed to have a go wheel-work, tutored by a hardworking team of club members. There was hand-building, and glazing of bisqued pots available to try. Members ran a Raku firing, so the glazed pots could be fired on the day and collected by their creators a couple of hours later.As well as all the usual stalls where kids could have a go at arts and crafts, there was plenty of music, food and entertainment at the event. A good crowd enjoyed themselves at the fair, in general or the pottery stall in particular. It is always great to see the same faces return each year, and to sign up members to the club and to classes.This was, of course, helped by the weather – the usual perfect sunny day that encouraged visitors to wander amongst the trees of the Avice Hill Reserve. Thanks to all those club members who helped to make this day a success once again.

- by Robyn Curtis



CPA Earthquake MemorialAs well as the pots from the CPA collection that were lost in the quake, many members have also lost loved pieces. Perhaps as a club we could produce our own sculpture mosaic memorial. Members who want to participate could bring fragments of their own, or others' work to cement on a wall to create a collective artwork. If you are interested, please contact a committee member. Your ideas and suggestions about where we might place it would also be appreciated. Obituary - Kevin FibbesIt is with regret that we note the death late last year of Kevin Fibbes, a long time member of the Canterbury Potters’ Association. Kevin was an enthusiastic amateur potter and member of the Pot Shop cooperative in the Arts Centre.He worked tirelessly for the association, repairing and painting the cottage and volunteering for any job that needed to be done, including a time as Treasurer.Ill health eventually forced his retirement but all who knew him benefited from his kindness and cheerful personality.Our sympathy goes our to his wife Leonie and family.

Condolences to JapanThe CPA are shocked and saddened by what has occurred in Japan in March of this year. On behalf of members of the CPA, we want to express our deepest sympathies, and heartfelt condolences, to the Japanese people and government, and most especially to those who lost family and friends in the earthquake, and subsequent tsunami. Use of clubroomsOnce again we find ourselves with our wonderful clubrooms being underutilised. The committee would be happy to hear your ideas for new classes or interest groups that we could host.Additionally, we are well aware how fortunate we are to still be able to use the rooms - we understand that some clubs have been less fortunate. So we extend an invitation to any other pottery club who might like to make use of our rooms while theirs are unavailable. Please contact a member of the committee with your ideas or requests.



Kim Henderson’s ExhibitionIf you get this newsletter in time (emailed people only probably..), you may be able to see Kim’s exhibition for its last weekend 9th/10th April.

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Newsletter Contributions:Any ideas for newsletter articles, stories, photos or cartoons you would like to see in a future newsletter can be sent to: [email protected]


Documents

February 2011- June 2011 Canterbury Potter - Ceramics NZ · 2011-04-09 · February 2011- June 2011 Library As many of you will know, we have a great collection of pottery books in