Last year's developments
Last year was a year of changes. The end of the previous came with an urgent need to relocate my entire kiln site due to an unexpected contractual issue. January found a new location and only bare earth and an old greenhouse metal frame to work with.
The base was dug out and a floor was constructed with a full pallet of reclaimed house bricks I managed to find locally.
The roof was built onto the existing frame from bike shed style metal sheeting and bolted together. I used pipe brackets to fix the roofing sheets to the frame.
The construction is basically a wind tunnel, on purpose. The wind here can be quite destructive and predominantly blows along the length of the shed either one way or the other. Given that ventilation is needed for the kiln firings I figured I’d embrace that thought and not fight it and let the wind blow through. The previous plastic green house that was sited here didn’t fare too well with the wind and it blew away one storm! This shed should really be seen as more of a rain shelter than any sort of more robust construction. Having said that, it is pinned down with some serious metal fixings and relies on the combined weight of 2 kilns to assist in keeping it from blowing away!
After dismantling my kilns I was able to move them to the new site with help from my friend Richard. The new location houses both kilns with the wood one being wheeled out for its firings when needed.
I was able to build a wood store too out of reclaimed paving slab transportation crates and more reclaimed galvanised roofing steel. This should hold enough wood for several firings as my little kiln is pretty frugal with its fuel use.
The whole process took several months to complete, balanced between family commitments and child care. I just about managed to get it done and my kilns rebuilt in time to make a batch of work for the only show I had booked for the year in the Autumn.
I had hoped to fire my wood kiln several times over the summer but this last year was so very very dry that I didn’t dare light it! We had several wild fires within 2 miles of the kiln site so I think I made the right decision, despite the frustration. More on that project in another post.
The final part of the year saw an emergency repair of my studio! I had hoped to do some maintenance on it during the summer, but that didn’t happen (see above). The late good weather allowed a small window to properly assess the level of damage. Sadly an entire corner was rotted through and closer examination showed that I had had some uninvited furry winter guests last year that had got into the wall cavity and made an almighty mess!
The repairs weren’t pretty, but they were practical. I replaced almost half of all the exterior walls and a frighteningly large proportion of the wall supports! The roof had some emergency work needed too and I was incredibly glad of the last 2 days of dry weather before winter arrived! The new year and good weather will see the studio repainted properly on the exterior, and so long as I can sell some pots I might be able to re-felt the roof before the summer is out too! In reality I need to dismantle the entire shed, replace the damaged timber and rebuild the whole thing. Not a likely outcome for the foreseeable.
Once the seasonal Christmas festivities are put away for another year and the children are back at school I will be able to get back to making pots again. I’m really looking forward to it. My sketch book is full of new ideas that I want to put into action. I need to tinker slightly with my Oribe glaze (I’ve got something I want to trial with it) and I’ve my new celadon to bring to my functional work. I'll be posting current work on my Instagram/Facebook so keep an eye out for it there. Items for sale will sporadically be added to this site. If you want to be kept informed of shop updates please join my newsletter mailing list. The link is below.