Just Sayin’ Life: Ceramic Workshop in England, 121

We made it to our Airbnb. It was lovely and worked well for us. We slept well the first night. We decided to not take the train into London for a day of sightseeing. Instead, we drove to historical Dover.

We took a slow, country road route, driving down narrow roads playing “dodge-um” with the cars coming towards us. It should have taken us 1 hour to drive there. Instead it took 2 and a half hours. But, we saw a lot of the English Countryside. We discovered cone shaped roofed barns. We puzzled over them all day. They look like funny bird beaks to us. I had to get several pictures. More on that later.

Dover Castle is an amazing site with lots of history, as you probably know. The English dug tunnels out to the beach so that the soldiers could move safely about the area. There was a command bunker used during World War II as the command station for planning the battle of Dunkirk. We tried to get to the Cliffs of Dover but only saw them from a distance, then, at the ferry to Calais, France.

There are roundabouts almost every mile along the way or at least it feels that way when driving on the left side of the road. The roundabouts run clockwise and it can be confusing getting around them when you are from the USA. We got caught on a roundabout in Dover that put us in the queue for the ferry to France! Yikes! We had to work our way to the Customs booth and admit to our error begging that he allow us to pass and find the exit. It was a maze but we found the Sortie (exit). Another roundabout led us to the highway North and we were headed back to our rental without being able to hike around the cliffs. We found a busy Pembury restaurant filled with locals who were friendly asking us where we were from. The owner found us a table even though they were entirely booked. We finished dinner before dark and found our way to our Airbnb.

Oy! The cone shaped roofed barns – they are used for drying hops.

The next day, we visited Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Cranbrook, UK. They have a Hops Barn there. We got a closer view and learned about their functionality. My understanding is that these barns were used to dry the hops for the making of beer. Originally they used wood and later charcoal for the drying of this plant.

The next day we visited  the city of Rye and Camber Sands.  Rye was an interesting town. We found an Inn that was “re-built in 1420!” The beach was lovely to wander.  It was almost like being at Lake Michigan.  Miles and miles of sand dunes.

Later, I began thinking about all of the doorway photos that I have taken over the years. I wrote this poem during the evening:

I stand at the door deciding whether to knock.
Do I look for a window?
What would I need to see to open the door?
Looking beyond my previous clear-cut choices.
Something new is needed that is easier.
Do I need to care about my flock?
So many voices.
What do I need forevermore?
Can I open this door?

We began our course creating marks and textures on a large slab of clay. Then, we considered where to cut away and make tiles to be bisqued. After they were fired, the tiles were interesting to look at and consider what layers of textures and colors that we liked. Each classmates tiles were very different. It was interesting to consider. Lots of pictures taken for memory purposes.

Then, we moved onto three dimensional work. Craig suggested simple circular forms. We quickly put them together and began making marks. We talked about engobes and how to formulate our own. I am reminded of how more than 25 years ago, I was interested in enrobe for decorating my clay work. This course has me re-considering that path. I see lots of interesting surfaces that could be applied to my small houses, beach bowls, and demijohns.

Note to myself: Could I make the Demijohns with coils smoothing them out a bit, then use engobes for further decoration? How would I decorate related to the lakeshore in a round form? My brain works better in squares. Do I want to go back to buildings and rectangular slab work? Do, I make both? Hmmm.

You might be wondering about “engobes”. Engobes are slips that have an additional chemical that causes it to become vitrified. So, just a bit shiny. Like paint formulated for an eggshell finish.

The third and fourth days were spent making one larger piece. It was interesting to think about working with a larger form, design elements and textures. We spent many hours creating surfaces, painting, carving, cutting away, adding back, and looking hard at our piece. We took lots of pictures documenting the work. Our classmates were so interesting. Each have lived interesting lives before finding their way in clay. Lots of interesting conversations took place while working. Friendships were formed. I look forward to ongoing conversations and possible visits in the future.

The course and school: The Ceramic Studio was created to offer ongoing ceramic courses to the community and special workshops with visiting artists. The facility is well lit and organized. The staff is very welcoming and helpful. Each morning we found a cleaned work area ready for us to continue with our projects. Like the Italian LaMeridiana School of Ceramics, they offer healthy lunches daily throughout the course making accommodations for different dietary needs.

Our final night, we took another adventure down narrow paths with tall hedges on both sides of the road to a small local restaurant. The owner was so friendly while serving us our last UK meal. Bev and I packed that evening. In the morning, we drove to London. Whew! Getting into Heathrow and finding the hotel was daunting. But, we did it! Then, returning the rental car was another adventure. We returned the car without dents or flat tires.

I would visit England and the greater Great Britain again. We made new friends in clay with invitations of visiting their area of England. I would like to see Scotland and Ireland. Craig Underhill lives in the Cornwall area. I had planned to visit there on this trip but I learned that it was a 6 hour drive. Not practical for a 10 day trip with a workshop sandwiched in the middle.