A Pottery Studio in France

45. Back to work

2009-12-07T01:31:00.002+01:00

End of April 2009 : Half of the pottery studio is now in working order. I am breaking chunks of dry clay with a heavy hammer to soak them in a large bin in order to be able to use that clay again. Then I spread that mud on a plastic sheet on my work bench and wait for a few days until it has the right consistency. I knead this stuff into balls ready to use on the potter's wheel.

With 2.2 kg of red clay I threw the top part of a fruit bowl and with 0.9 kg I threw the foot of the fruit bowl. The next day I put the two parts together and spread a cover coat of white clay in the inside of the fruit bowl. A day later again, with the tip of a wooden tool, I carved a phrase taken from 'Alice In Wonderland'. Scratching the white cover coat, it made the red clay appear in the writing. That's it.

Now it is drying on a shelf until further notice, i.e. when it looks and feels very dry. It would then need to be 'bisque' fired but since I don't have a kiln any more... don't know what I'll do!!

44. WORKSHOP REVIVAL

2009-12-07T01:25:00.001+01:00

April 2009 : Workshop revival... perhaps... I'm thinking about it. Slowly sorting out the mess in the barn that used to be my pottery studio. But yes, I am thinking about opening up again.

I could, for instance, offer a week package with 6 afternoons work on the potter's wheel, plus accomodation in a guest bedroom in the house attached to the studio. Or, let people choose how long they want to stay and break it up as:

€20,- for a half day work, morning or afternoon, in the pottery studio

€30,- for a night's accomodation in the house

___

€50,- per day all told, except for food expenses.

It means a comfortable and pleasant holiday in a quiet village at a minimum expense:

250 Euros for 5 days

300 Euros for 6 days

500 Euros for 10 days

This would cover 'work on the potter's wheel', i.e. access to the studio to work on the wheel, for half a day only, mornings or afternoons as best suited. I would be there to guide and give advice, but not to teach or coach as such. Potteries made in the workshop would not be fired. The hobby potter would be free to either destroy them before leaving, or take them away in their 'green' state, or leave them behind. This offer is for hobby potters who already have some basic knowledge of work on the potter's wheel and wish to spend time practising, as well as spend a quiet holiday in the countryside.

It would also cover 'accomodation', i.e. access to the house to sleep in a self contained double bedroom downstairs with access to the bathroom upstairs, as well as access to the kitchen to prepare meals if needed. Restaurants can be found within 10 km.

I could only take one hobby potter at a time since I now have one single potter's wheel. The fees would be payable on arrival. It would not cover food cost. Accomodation for a partner would be an extra 20 euros per day.

There's a new business registration system on offer by the government in France at the moment. It is called 'auto entreprise' and it is done direct on internet. I'll try that. Maybe.

43. A French garage sale

2009-12-07T00:59:00.002+01:00

The 15th August in France is a long public holiday. A lot of people are holidaying at that time and the summer season is at a peak. Garage sales, called 'brocante' in French, pop up everywhere.

In August 2008, last year, I decided to have a stall with my last potteries at the 'brocante' in the nearby village of St Benoît-du-Sault. It was free of charge. All you had to do was to put your name on a list and say how many meters you needed for your stall. The lady at the tourist office had mentioned you had to be there at 7.30 am at the latest when someone would assign places for stalls.

When I got up, my clock said 7.30 but I soon found out from the radio that it was 10 to 9. Nearly gave up the idea of going at all. My motivation was rather low. I eventually drove to St Benoît and after some time looking for the man in-charge, I was told to squeeze in between two other stalls. It turned out to be a great opportunity!

On my right was a man, a former HRD from Paris, trying to sell old attick stuff for his in-laws. We had a long chat about psychology, sociology and anthropology. He did sell a number of items, from fancy lamp shades to large procelain platters, in between reading his book and talking to his neighbours.

On my left was a group of sisters, brothers and in-laws from Paris and the south of France, also trying to get rid of family stuff to enable them to buy brand new furniture for their family house in the area. They had a painting on hessian that I quite fancied. It was priced at €50,- I asked them to keep it for me, that I'll buy it off them as soon as I sell €50,- worth of my pots... ha ha!

In the morning there was quite a crowd looking and buying. English and Dutch as well as French could be heard. My neighbour attracted customers. For my part I sold one pot to a lady who seemed to really want the thing. She came twice for it, hesitating, and finally buying for the full amount of... €6,- I was happy to let it go, even at that price, because I saw she loved the pot.

There was a lull at lunch time and in the afternoon people walking past the stalls did not seem to be interested to buy. My left neighbours kept the painting for me and at the end of the day, around 5pm, they agreed to give it to me in exchange of some of my pots. I really enjoyed giving them my last pots and I was thrilled to leave with the large painting. They also gave me a number of cowboy shirts that their father used to wear when he was painting.

At one stage the man on my right kindly offered to take a photo of me in front of my stall with my own camera. I showed him where to press for the photo and he did. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the video button was still on (a hard one to press off on this particular camera) and therefore he took a clip rather than a still photo.

Back home at night I worked with my computer on all the little videos I had taken during the day to produce this two and a half minute clip:

A FRENCH GARAGE SALE

42. A Growing Delight: SAINT-BENOIT du Sault.....

2009-12-06T21:28:00.002+01:00

In May this year 2009 my blogger friend, Alice, came to visit me. I was thrilled and so happy to have Australian visitors to show around. With her husband we toured some of the highlights of this Berry native province of mine. Back home Alice published her photos of the area. Here's the link to her post:

A Growing Delight: SAINT-BENOIT du Sault.....

41. My whereabouts

2008-10-13T15:21:00.005+02:00

October 2008
Since my last post I have received messages from friendly potters as to my whereabouts. Nice to know some people care.

I have moved to Germany where I shall no doubt meet nice potters.

I'll update this blog as soon as I am properly settled and can afford an internet connection.

Cheerio! f r a n k i e

November 2008
After a month in Germany I drove back to my lonesome village in the middle of France. Thinking of re-opening my pottery studio for next June, July and August...

Cheerio! f r a n k i e

March 2009

No, my pottery workshop will not reopen. I am looking for a tenant for the house and workshop. Get in touch if you are interested!

38. EXPECTING A MIRACLE

2008-04-03T10:58:00.005+02:00

For this coming season, May to October 2008, the St Civran pottery studio will remain closed. I have to face it. My little venture has not been a success.

When I started it in the spring of 2002 with an open house day, my vision for the future was to attract tourists, for six months of the year, to this quiet rural area in the middle of France only three motorway hours from Paris. For two reasons:
a) to bring people and new ideas to my native province, and
b) to earn a living for myself.

I may have been naive and/or arrogant in thinking I could change the world all on my own! The local dwellers have not shown any interest in my plans. They carry on their routine lives as cattle farmers without apparent qualms.

However, I keep thinking that nothing is given for ever. Cattle breeding is great but what if it failed to feed its farmers one day? Sure, meat production is a valuable element in agriculture. But, what about vegetables? There's next to no horticulture in the area. And hardly any tourist activity.

My pottery studio was geared to attract city people with an interest in pottery as a hobby. With the adequate internet facilities nowadays, it is quite possible to get city dwellers from the north of France, Britain and Germany to come and spend a week or two in the area. What I had in mind, moreover, is that my pottery activity would bring other such folk art as traditional dancers or wicker basket makers. It didn't. In fact my feeling is that my 'new' activity in the village has been seen as a disturbing element. I have now left and the pottery barn will be closed this summer. But this is not my last word.

I am expecting a miracle!... As someone said one day: "People who do not believe in miracles are not realistic"... A miracle whereby some bold entrepreneurs would come and settle in the area with that same vision. I need help to pull that cart forward! I know France is not an easy place to be bold. Numerous rules and regulations send shivers down the spine. Above all, the general idea that being successful and earning 'profits' are sinful, sends any business minded person running. I'll give it another go... next year.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
my French translation:

Pour la prochaine saison, mai à octobre 2008, l'atelier de poterie de St Civran restera fermé. Il faut que j'admette que ma petite entreprise n'a pas été un succès.

Quand j'ai démarré au printemps 2002 avec une journée porte ouverte, ma vision de l'avenir était d'attirer des touristes pendant six mois de l'année dans ce coin du centre de la France, rural et tranquille, à trois heures d'autoroute de Paris. Pour deux raisons:
a) pour amener des gens et des idées neuves dans ma province natale,
b) pour gagner ma vie.

J'ai sans doute été naive et/ou arrogante de penser que je pouvais changer le monde toute seule! Les habitants locaux n'ont pas montré d'intérêt pour mes projets. Ils continuent leur vie routinière d'éleveurs sans soucis apparents.

Pourtant, je continue de penser que rien n'est jamais donné à jamais. Elever des troupeaux, c'est génial, mais que se passerait-il si cette activité ne nourrissait plus ses fermiers un jour? Bien sûr que la production de viande est un élément essentiel de l'agriculture. Et les légumes alors? Il n'y a pratiquement pas d'horticulture dans le secteur. Et guère d'activité touristique.

Mon atelier de poterie était prévue pour attirer les citadins qui s'intéressent à la poterie en tant que hobby. Avec les facilités de connection internet d'aujourd'hui, il est tout à fait possible de faire venir des citadins du nord de la France, de Grande-Bretagne et d'Allemagne pour qu'ils passent une semaine ou deux dans la région. Je pensais aussi que mon activité à la poterie attirerait d'autres arts populaires tels que la dance traditionelle ou la vannerie. Ce ne fut pas le cas. En fait j'ai le sentiment que ma 'nouvelle' activité dans le village a été un élément de dérangement. J'en suis partie maintenant et la grange de la poterie sera fermée cet été. Mais je n'ai pas dit mon dernier mot.

J'attends un miracle!... Comme quelqu'un a dit un jour: "ceux qui ne croient pas aux miracles ne sont pas réalistes"... Un miracle qui ferait que des entrepreneurs téméraires viendraient s'installer dans la région avec la même vision. J'ai besoin d'un coup de main pour tirer la charrette! Je sais bien qu'en France il n'est pas facile d'être téméraire. Les nombreuses règlementations font frémir. Et surtour, l'idée génélament admise que le succès en affaires et le 'profit' sont un péché, renvoie chez lui toute personne tant soit peu intéressée. Je retenterai ma chance, encore une fois... l'année prochaine.

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German translation by Horst:

Für die kommende Saison vom Mai bis Oktober 2008 wird mein Töpfer-Studio in St Civran (Frankreich) geschlossen sein. Ich muss es gestehen, meine kleine Werkstatt war bisher nicht erfolgreich.

Als ich im Frühling 2002 mit der Idee einer "offenen Tür" begann, war es mein Anliegen mit Besuchern aus der Nachbarschaft und von auswärts zu arbeiten. Ich wollte die Werkstatt für 6 Monate im Jahr öffen. Die Töpferei liegt nur 3 Fahrstunden (Autobahn A20) von Paris entfernt in einer ruhigen und ländlichen Gegen Mittelfrankreichs.
Meine Gründe waren:
a) neue Leute und Ideen in meine Gegend zu bringen und
b) etwas Geld für meinen Unterhalt zu verdienen.

Vielleicht war ich naiv oder arrogant, als ich dachte, ich könnte die Welt alleine verändern. Die Nachbarn rundum zeigten und zeigen keinerlei Interesse an meinen Plänen. Sie leben weiterhin ihre Alttagsroutine als Viehzüchter.

Wie dem auch sei, ich denke nichts bleibt so wie es war und ist. Viehzucht ist zwar nützlich und gut, aber was ist, wenn eines Tages keine Viehzucht mehr benötig wird. Selbstverständlich ist die Rinderproduktion eine sinnvolle Sache. Gemüseanbau kann genauso sinnvoll sein. Demnächst wird es aber keinen Gartenbau mehr in meiner Gegend geben. Und kaum noch Aktivitäten für Touristen.

Meine Werkstatt sollte Stadtbewohner mit Interesse an der Töpferei als Hobby anlocken. Mit den Möglichkeiten des Internet ist es heute einfach, Städter aus dem Norden Frankreichs, aus Grossbritanien oder auch aus Deutschland für einen Besuch von 1-2 Wochen zu motivieren. Ich glaubte, dass mit meinen Töpfereiarbeiten auch Volkskunst mit traditionellen Tänzern oder auch Weidenflechter ankommen würden. Aber es war nicht so! Ich glaube nun, dass meine Ideen im Dorf als störend empfunden werden.

Ich habe die Gegend nun verlassen und die geraümige Töpferei wird in diesem Sommer geschlossen sein. Aber das ist nicht mein letztes Wort!

Doch ich glaube an Wunder!... Eines Tages sagt jemand: "Menschen, die an keine Wunder glauben, sind keine Realisten". Ein Wunder wäre es, wenn kühne Unternehmer kommen und sich in der gleichen Gegend mit Zukunftvisionen ansiedeln würden. Ich kann jede Hilfe gebrauchen, um meine Vision zu verwirklichen.

Ich kenne Frankreich und es ist nicht einfach hier, kühn zu sein. Viele Regeln und Vorschriften verhindern unternehmerisches Handeln. Ich bin der Auffassung, dass unternehmerisches Handel für ein Land sehr wichtig ist und auch entsprechend durch Geld verdienen belohnt werden sollte. Erfolg kann motivieren. Im nächten Jahr werde ich es nochmals versuchen!

...Vielleicht werden bis dahin die Heinzelmännchen für mich arbeiten.

40. FAILURE

2008-06-30T15:39:00.003+02:00

The story of life is how to cope with failure. I'm aware of that. It is not getting easier to cope with failure as you get older. I've found that out.

They say that in order to succeed, you have to be on the right spot at the right time. Well then, I was on the wrong spot at the wrong time. That rural village in the middle of France in the first few years of the 21st century was the wrong place at the wrong time. True.

I can take some of the blame too. I'm pretty hopeless in business... can't stand accounting and paper work, can't bare having to spend time at other things than my actual job, namely being in the workshop preparing clay, throwing pots, showing someone how to do it, trimming half dried pots, firing the kiln, mixing glazes and applying them onto bisques and firing again. Another problem with me also is that I love doing all that for its own sake, whether I get paid or not. I realize that to make money in any entreprise, the main drive must be to want to earn the money... So, I will call it a day. The pottery studio is defunct. It has no more function. It is closed.

I have sold the kiln.

Around me in the area, there has been a number of other 'eccentric' people venturing into new activities too. In the street just below me was a young English family with two young teenage daughters and a grandfather. They bought a property, worked steadily at renovating it with the intention to offer self-contained accommodation to tourists they would entice to come for a rest in this quiet rural place. They never made it either. After a few years they had to go back to England and leave their dreams behind. Further up, a Belgian couple bought a manor house and renovated it to be able to welcome groups of artists from Belgium who would want to rehearse or create whatever in a quiet place. They ended up selling and left too.

Lost opportunities. Miscarried business. The point is that there has not been any wealth created. Therefore there will not be any wealth to be 'shared'. Creating, generating wealth is Act 1. When a business venture fails, the country gets poorer by one notch.

The moral of the story????...

39. Pause PUBLICITE

2008-05-16T18:07:00.002+02:00

Ce qui suit n'a rien à voir avec ce qui précède... Comme tous les grands médias de nos jours, voici ma pause pub!

Une machine à remonter le temps... si, si, ça existe!

Un jour de l'an 2003 une dame se prénommant Françoise m'a mis dans les mains une longue liste de noms. En la lisant assidûment j'ai rencontré mes ancêtres jusque dans les années 1500 portant le même patronyme que moi. Je n'en revenais pas. Ce privilège de connaître intimement ses ancêtres était réservé aux familles de la noblesse d'antan. Ce privilège de savoir qu'on a un lien de parenté avec un brillant inconnu m'est désormais réservé.

Cette généalogiste a changé ma vie. Elle a travaillé d'arrache-pied toutes ses années pour arriver à la somme des connaissances sur la saga de ma famille paternelle. Cette étude hautement documentée de 250 pages est maintenant sous presse. J'ai hâte d'avoir enfin le livre en main.

FRANCOISE ROUET, géniale généalogiste devant l'éternel, attend vos commandes et vos travaux de généalogie coincés dans un tiroir. On peut laisser un message à l'adresse e-mail suivante: fr.rouet.genealogie(at)gmail(dot)com

37. Functional pottery

2007-11-15T14:33:00.000+01:00

The urge in making a pot, as far as I am concerned, is to produce a vessel I am going to use. The shape is ruled by the function, i.e. by the way I am going to use that pot. If it is a beaker, it has to have a spout that does not drip and a handle easy to grab. And, as far as I am concerned, 'functional is beautiful'.

Here's my home made functional jug...

Comments welcome!

The Berry Province in the central rural area of France has always been producing plain functional clay pots. The area is also known for its flat thick tiles called 'tommettes' used on the floors in most farms. Roofs are also covered with small clay tiles.

And while I'm at it, here's a short clip of Berry folk dances...

35. Robert's story

2007-08-17T18:13:00.000+02:00

Early last year I received an e-mail from a young woman saying her 70 year old father had had a keen interest in pottery all his life. She wanted to offer him a week in my pottery studio as a present. Was it alright with me? I said I would be delighted to show him what I knew about throwing a pot on the wheel.

He arrived with his handicapped wife and two old dogs at my gate one day in summer 2006. They were staying in their caravan at a camping site in the area. I remember taking them to the back of the studio where there's a patch of grass under an apricot tree and giving water to the dogs.

The next day after getting some clay balls ready we sat each at a potter's wheel and I started my demo. I usually rave about the cosmic experience it is to 'center' 700 grams of wet clay in the middle of the wheel. Yes, I state that throwing a pot is a spiritual happening... after all it is said somewhere in the bible that god is a potter, isn't it?

Anyway, it worked on Robert. He produced a number of great items within a week.

But the weather was very stormy and I didn't want to start my electric kiln in an electric storm. So he left with his stuff in green clay nicely packed. He promised he would come back to glaze and fire.

As things went, I could not have him in October when he could come. Some time later he could not come when I was ready to welcome him back. In January 2007 I received an e-mail with new year greetings. Later in March or so I sent an email to his daughter which was returned to me as 'unknown correspondent'.

Yes but... Robert hadn't waited 70 years to learn pottery and forget about it so soon. In July this year he turned up at my gate again saying he and his wife (and the dogs) were parked at the camping ground in Argenton-sur-Creuse. When could he glaze and fire his pots?

So we worked for about four days and then he got his stuff out of the kiln! Hoorey Robert! Bravo...

36. POTTERS IN ASIA

2007-10-15T10:44:00.000+02:00

Here are three articles of interest about potters in Asia that I found on the website called 'CERAMICS TODAY' :

- in China
From an article by Steve Brousseau, 'Throwing Classical Porcelain of Jingdezhen' :

"Jingdezhen classical porcelain is unlike any other clay. (...)

"Kaolin clay, gaolin, was discovered around 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty in the mountain village of Gaolin. This addition of white gaolin clay to the petunze gave a structure to the porcelain and made possible the throwing of large forms, both as complete pieces and in the sectional cylinders of the body-height vases. (...)

"Jingdezhen is the home of nine of the 26 Masters of Art and Craft of China, the highest national accolade. This title is generally reserved for the decorators. The unsung craftsmen throwers are hidden away in factories and one stumbles upon them to watch in awe at their tremendous skill and humbleness."

- in Korea
From an article by Ron du Bois, 'Ongi Potters' :

"Korean pottery today is still largely produced as it was in the past. (...)

"The complexity of the ceramic process is taken for granted, as is the necessity for a division of labor. Chopping wood, mixing and decanting clay, slicing, stacking and firing are assigned to specialists. The authorship of the pottery when it emerges from the kiln is diffuse, since it is the result of the coordinated effort of many hands." (...)

"But, for the present, at least, the Western potter is still able to observe the traditional skills of the Korean potter.

- in Cambodia
From an anonymous article :
"The National Center for Khmer Ceramics Revival is aimed at the revival of Cambodian ceramics. (...)

"Serge Rega established NCKCR in Siem Reap-Angkor, renowned for the Angkor temples. Tourists abound, creating substantial incomes, but paradoxically Siem Reap remains one of the poorer provinces of Cambodia. Siem Reap is emerging as a developed city, but geographically, poverty is displaced by about only 2 kilometers.
NCKCR is involved in Vocational training, which helps the poor rural population and will decrease poverty. Training is provided free of charge. Students are given an allowance to compensate for 'lost' time, which would otherwise be spent earning a living."

34. TIPS AND HINTS

2007-07-16T19:57:00.000+02:00

Clay used for ceramics is roughly of two kinds:

- stoneware (grès) of high density and non porous, fired at 1300° Celsius;
- earthenware (faïence) more tractable and porous, fired at 1000°.

This last one remains a little porous even with a good glazing. Certainly, the bottom of pots is glazed with great care, but, even then, an earthenware pot still oozes a bit when you fill it with water. Awkward. It leaves marks wherever you put it.

A remedy?

I heard that you had to fill the said pottery with milk and let it stand for a few days. The particles of 'curdle' slyly filter through the minute pores of your ceramic and make it waterproof.

True, it works!
If you don't believe me, try it!

33. Marketing pots

2007-07-06T11:32:00.000+02:00

I recently drove to Bourges as Fanny had told me about a pottery shop there that she likes visiting.

I was amazed. It looked like a million pots had been stuck on numerous shelves as if for storage. I didn't know where to look. Different artists. Various styles. Many colours. I really didn't know where to start looking. So I left.

At the potters market on Sunday it was the same kind of arrangement. Each stall looked like the potter had loaded his entire stock on the table.

Wondering how I could sell my pots at my own place, I thought I would rather put up a few things here and there to attract the attention. But I'm no specialist in pot marketing, or in marketing at all. So, if any one has advice for me, I'll take it!

32. A POTTERS MARKET

2007-06-24T18:29:00.000+02:00

Each year on a Sunday in June is held a potters market in the nearby town called Argenton-sur-Creuse. Here are a few photos of the event this year.

I have found that all potters were master craftsmen and women. All ceramics on the exhibition were beautiful and well made and reasonably priced. I didn't buy anything but I did fall for an onion pot with small holes and a lid priced at €48 that I would have loved to acquire!

31. Try the potter's wheel

2007-06-16T21:06:00.000+02:00

Many people are made to believe that throwing a pot on the potter's wheel is teeerribly difficult. It isn't. It isn't that hard. I may have the knack to pass my bit of knowledge on the subject but all my beginner students so far have been able to make a pot on the wheel after 4 or 5 days in my studio... I have photos to prove this!

This summer, at long last, I will be able to offer accommodation together with my pottery course. As from 14 July next, a loft in an old house will be available to my students. Basic but comfortable. With a big shower in a nice bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen corner. Just bring your own linen or sleeping bag. You will be able to buy food at a small supermarket in a nearby village.

The package for 6 hr pottery in the studio, together with accommodation in the loft, is €100.-(euros)per day per person, payable when you start. No booking fees.

To book or ask for more information, send an e-mail to berryhobby@gmail.com

30. FINGER MARKS

2007-06-02T15:56:00.000+02:00

In March I took a badly needed two week break and drove to Scotland to visit potters. I didn't visit potters really but I wrote a travel blog anyway.

Back in my studio in rural France with renewed inspiration and energy I'm now making a set of new pots that I expect to sell. I am getting inspired by a book called Country Pottery 'Traditional Earthenware of Britain' by Andrew McGarva, that I bought at the Museum in Stoke-on-Trent in England.

I'm also getting inspiration from other potters who put photos of their work on the net on a flick account in the Ceramics Group. This salad bowl in red clay has marks of my dirty fingers... I put my wet hands on some gritty sand and then placed them on the wet-from-the-wheel new pot. It stuck! Once it was a bit dryer I brushed some white slip on it . The next thing is bisque firing. After that, I don't know!

This is a view of a home made earthenware vase with home made flowers that I planted in my garden a couple of years ago. They are now in bloom and fit real nicely in my vase.

29. In the month of May

2007-05-16T22:55:00.000+02:00

At last the weather has warmed enough for me to start work in my pottery studio again. I will be able to use it until the end of October.

A young student in physics and chemistry contacted me recently and asked if she could come. At first I sent her off saying I wasn't giving beginners courses any more. But she said she had been trying to come for some time and she sounded like she meant it.

Like Jessica last year, she is actually staying with us in the house for a week or so and is using the studio for most of the day. I only showed her the tricks of the trade for the first day. She keeps trying and she's getting good. I hope she will come back regularly as I really enjoy sharing my studio.

While my assistant potter sweats on the wheel and my grand-daughter plays with earth, I break dried clay into bits with a big hammer. Put in buckets filled with water, this muck becomes workable clay again.

28. RENT A POTTERY STUDIO IN FRANCE

2007-03-29T09:37:00.000+02:00

Rent my pottery studio in St Civran!

fully equipped WITH 2 POTTERS WHEELS and AN ELECTRIC KILN

FOR 100 EUROS PER WEEK

over the 2007 season FROM MAY TO OCTOBER

See details of the area on the right column here

You can take a look at some of my flickr photos. You'll have to click on the set called 'BerryHobby Pottery Workshop' to view the studio and the set 'Province of Berry' to see the region.

If you wish to come and visit, try this Bed n' Breakfast in a nearby village.

1. Hand Work

2006-09-26T13:57:00.000+02:00

Who said that hand work was not as noble as brain work?

Whoever declared that hands have less value than brains?

The most beautiful human achievements until this day have been made with bare hands.

Cathedrals, with bare hands. Pyramids too. Christopher Columbus' caravels were built with bare hands. And so were Captain Cook's vessels. Your wedding cake was made with bare hands. And the breams in the ocean are caught with bare hands. The potter, the mechanic, the surgeon, the hairdresser and the others...

All of them get their hands dirty to create our world, to shape our planet on a daily basis. Naturally, some of these manual tasks are dirty and repetitive. Degrading even. But there are intellectual tasks too that are repetitive and dumb. We slowly get rid of them through the ages by inventing machines. Should we deplore this?

This world of ours being in constant mutation, it may be a good idea to see the positive side of change. Less repetitive tasks means more time for creative work. A word to the wise! Let's turn off our TV sets... ! And let's pass on to our kids the thousand and one thing we know how to make with our hands.

Past the kindergarten years where we get our toddlers to fumble with play dow and stick bits of paper together, there's no longer time in our schools and colleges for 'hand works'. The mere phrase with these two words together makes everyone pull a face. Our school leavers have their heads full and their hands, withered. It isn't very sensible, is it?

27. Winter 2007

2007-02-19T10:43:00.000+01:00

My workshop is but an old barn turned pottery studio. There's no ceiling and the tile roof has only been vaguely insulated. In winter the temperature inside the studio can go down to a couple of degrees above 0 Celsius, i.e. near freezing point.

In the winter of 2002-2003 I had a wood stove and a gaz heater on all day. However the temperature used to come drastically down during the night. One bisque firing came out with a crack under each pot in the form of an S like a Zorro sign with a spelling mistake! From then on I decided not to fire bisques during the winter at all.

This year, apart from a snow storm in January, the winter is amazingly mild. Some days I can fiddle, if not work, in the studio with just a wood stove on.

I've decided to try a glaze kiln.

Here with a paint brush I am putting a layer of a product called XE356B (61356) MULCORIT on the kiln shelves. It prevents pots from sticking for ever on the shelves if by chance a drop of glaze has run.

At first I put the stuff on both sides of each shelf. A bad idea. After a while, it gets hard and flakes of it fall down on the nice glaze of a pot on the shelf below.

Now I use one side of a shelf without any product for bisk firing and the other side with the stuff for glaze firings only.

25. A training project

2007-01-09T01:06:00.000+01:00

Through the employment agency, in October 2002, a contract was signed between myself and my 'trainee' whereby I was to train him for 580 hours at no cost for me while he was getting paid by the agency. I was formerly promising to employ him at the end of his training.

I had to produce a formal document stating how I was going to train him during these 580 hours. Here's my translation from the French of my 'Proposition for a training project giving access to an enterprise':

This is a training program targeted to the employment of a young person wishing to learn the potters craft.

The process of making a ceramic is rather simple but its mastering requires a good experience which you can only acquire progressively.

Like for any manual profession you must first and foremost have a taste or a talent for manual work. As for pottery, the taste starts with a liking for 'shape'. The potter's job is to reproduce a given shape into clay, and then make it solid and durable.

TRAINING WITHIN THE ENTERPRISE

A. The idea of 'shape'(lasting 26 hrs):

Introduction to various shapes is done continuously throughout the training,

1) By reading books on the subject:
- "La poterie", J. Chavarria, Gründ edition 1994
- "Le modelage", D. Nour-Margeault
- "La poterie à la main", A. Riedinger
- any other book on the subject available at a public library

2) By visiting museums:
- the Argentomagus gallo-roman museum in Argenton-sur-Creuse
- Adrien Dubouche in Limoges
- the diocese museum in Limoges
- the Campana gallery at the Louvre museum in Paris
- the museum at the potters village in La Borne

3) By being aware of objects everywhere at all times:

Pottery being a traditional art, it is possible to be introduced to shapes by visiting antique dealers or even garage sales.

B. Reproduction into clay (lasting 300 hrs):

There are three techniques to shape an object from a ball of clay: throwing, handbuilding and casting. The training offered as 'A course of access to the St Civran Pottery studio' will mainly consist of throwing on the potter's wheel:

- kneading the clay
- how to center a ball of clay
- throwing a bowl, a plate, a cylinder
- throwing pots of various shapes
- the finish off

C. Firing in an electric kiln (lasting 54 hrs):

To make it solid and durable a given shape fashioned into clay must then be fired to a very high temperature in a special kiln.

The studio is equiped with an electric kiln, Ceradel C128, of a 128 liter volume and able to reach 1300 degrees Celsius. The trainee will learn to prepare and fire a kiln of earthenware pots,

- at first firing (bisque)
- and at second firing (glazing).

D. Glazes and enamels (lasting 100 hrs):

Glazes used at the St Civran Pottery studio are not made on the premises but are bought at a wholesaler's in Limoges. Learning to use these products to glaze the pots is a long process and requires a lot more knowledge than the throwing technique. Within the studio the following methods will be seen:

- glazing by dipping
- glazing by spraying
- glazing by painting

E. Computer skills (lasting 60 hrs):

The 'trainee' will have to be computer literate. Daily use of the computer will be recommended on the premises, using a HP Pavilion computer running a Microsoft XP system with free access to internet:

- learning how to use the keyboard with ten fingers
- read and answer e-mails from the pottery studio's customers
- regular visits to website related to the ceramic industry to keep in touch with new development.

TRAINING OUTSIDE THE ENTERPRISE

The 'trainee' will attend a course in Limoges (lasting 40 hrs) to be acquainted with the enamel on copper traditional techniques.

26. FAST FORWARD

2007-01-13T15:38:00.000+01:00

I started this blog to tell the story of St Civran Pottery from its beginning in 2002 till now in 2006-7. As it is taking much longer than I expected, I am jumping to the present, i.e. January 2007, to make an announcement.

I have decided to let my pottery studio with furnished house attached for this coming summer, as of 1st July.

An ad for it can be seen on the FrenchEntree website.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° Pass the word! °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

24. LIMPING

2006-12-19T22:28:00.000+01:00

After the roof was insulated in the autumn of 2002 the gaz heater was still not heating the place properly. I borrowed an old wood stove from a friend on a farm. It was installed by Hadrien again slash hammering the wall to get the smoke pipes out. As some fire wood was needed I ordered a big heap from a forester I knew in another village. By the way wood is still measured in 'cordes' i.e. roughly the equivalent of 3 cubic meters.

It came one day cut in logs half a meter in length and split ready to fit into the wood stove. It was mainly oak. Good stuff really.

In my rush to open the gate and make ready to clear the front yard to have the wood delivered and stacked I put my right foot in a hole on the uneven ground and twisted my ankle badly. It hurt like mad.

For days on end I had to spend time with my leg resting on a stool level or higher than where I was sitting. First I used crutches to walk around and then I just limped around. It took 6 long months to heal and 2 years for the 'shadow pain' to subside altogether.

23. A client's order

2006-12-16T23:07:00.000+01:00

One day the phone rang and a lady from Paris sayd she needed hundreds of plates, beakers, mugs, platters, ashtrays and other things urgently... before Christmas, say. I blocked the phone receiver and asked Hadrien at the potter's wheel if he felt he could make a few hundred plates before Christmas.

He didn't choke as I would have. Just said: 'sure!'.

As the order was for white earthenware bisques some new clay had to be purchased and stored beside the red one I already had. Everything was cleaned and any red stuff removed from the shelves and instruments. The studio became a hive. The young lady came to visit to see how her order was getting on.

It looked like it wouldn't be ready in time. The winter weather was setting in and the clay just wouldn't dry. I took a lot of raw potteries inside my living room hoping to dry them faster in front of the wood fire. To no avail. The atmosphere was damp and cold everywhere.

Eventually the order was ready for delivery in January 2003. Packed nicely in the boot and on the backseat of my old Ford I drove with Hadrien to Paris. The young lady seemed happy. She was going to decorate all this and fire them in a kiln she still hadn't purchased...

The challenge had been fun but it didn't pay for the time and effort. The studio was simply not geared for production.

22. INSULATION

2006-12-12T14:38:00.000+01:00

The barn where I set up my pottery studio was covered in clay tiles. Ideal for ventilation of hay or grain underneath and cooling in summer. But not for potters shivering under as the cold weather was setting in. I soon realized that the roof needed insulation.

A quote from a builder was astronomical. It needed high scaffolding and quite some time to be done, he claimed. I simply couldn't afford it. The threat of closing down was on again. Then Hadrien said he could do it no trouble... He turned up with a long ladder. I borrowed a gun stappler from a cousin of mine. He went to the local Do-It-Yourself shop, got some insulation material, put the bill on a business account he opened in my name, came back with it and went up the ladder.

It took him two days. I did have an insurance but if anything had happened to him I would no doubt have ended up in jail... This job was not really included in his contract for apprenticeship.