Sept Oct 11.pub - Kiln Contracts

NEWSLETTER
Volume 12, Issue 5 : September/October 2011
OUR MISSION
The main objective of The Potters’ Association of Namibia is primarily
to foster the art and craft of pottery and ceramics in every way.
We encourage the development, recognition, appreciation of pottery
and ceramics; we hold exhibitions, publish regular newsletters, and
distribute related magazines. Furthermore, by providing practical
workshops, technical information, skills development, arranging and
encouraging social interaction,
we support the interests of like-minded people.
Inside this Issue:
Your Executive Committee:
Chair & Treasurer:
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3
4
6
7
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12
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Front Page
Content & Committee Info.
Editorial
Hennie Meyer Workshop
Feedback
Going Potty
Printing on Clay
Bank Windhoek Kidz Fun Fair
Carola’s Tip Corner
Membership Info
Classifieds
Mail received
FYI
Carola Lorck
Tel. 064 - 402381
Fax. 064 - 402324
[email protected]
Secretary & Mail Administrator:
Betsie van Rensburg
Cell. 081 279 5927
[email protected]
Memberships:
Anita Zimny
Cell: 081 280 2527
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor:
Jacques Jansen van Vuuren
Cell: 081 284 6303
[email protected]
NEWSLETTER
Additional:
For your newsletter submissions or queries Beate Schindler
email Jacques at
Tel. 064 - 404687 (h)
[email protected] or [email protected]
Next newsletter deadline
15 November 2011
Mariki Grobler
Tel. 064 - 404695 (h)
Uschi Bauer
Tel: 081 280 9833
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EDITORIAL
I’m sure that many of you will only get time to read this before Biennale
edition of the newsletter only after, all the hype and excitement of
exhibition pots and winning, has passed.
Jumping right into to winning: due to lack of sponsorship, the
committee decided to cut some of the prize categories from the
biennale. Shortly after the last committee meeting in September, a
generous benefactor Ms. Stienie van Rooyen, offered to sponsor the
Most Promising Beginner prize. We are most grateful for her support!!!
The committee has also decided to award a 1 year PAN Membership to
the winner of the Viewers Choice entry previously also cut from the
biennale.
With all the positive news of awards, it saddens us that almost none of
our members contacted us with regard to the goblets/tumblers we
want to sell at the biennale opening. Therefore the committee decided
not to sell the goblets at the opening. Those who have made goblets/
tumblers, and not yet had time to contact the committee, thank you but
please keep them. The committee plans to have several fundraisers
next year, and will ask you for your contribution then.
Have you ever wondered how the judging (or rather “pulling apart our
hard work”) process takes place? Here is a brief summery: Each judge,
this year John Higgins and Karin le Roux, will receive a score sheet for
each item entered. Various aspects of the entry gets scored, i.e.
technique, design principals and overall aesthetics etc. If the item has a
minimum score, it get accepted for the exhibition. The items with the
highest scores receive the prizes in the respective categories. All the
score cards will also be available for the entrants to collect, if they
would like to know how they scored. You are also welcome to make an
appointment with the judges to discuss your results.
Lastly I would sincerely like to thank all the helpers at the Bank
Windhoek Kidz Funfair!!! It was a huge success and will be an annual
event on PAN’s Calendar too.
I wish you all the best of luck for the biennale, and may the best pot(er)
win!!! ~Jacques~
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Hennie Meyer Workshop Clayfestival, Johannesburg , June 2011
Hennie demonstrated mono printing on clay and
what you could do with it. For this decoration method
you need a flat, smooth plaster bat, coloured slips or
underglazes, casting slip or the clay you use in a liquid
state (consistency like buttermilk).
1.
Start by painting the slips onto the plaster bat layering them.
Keep in mind that the first colour you paint, will be the one on
top, at the end.
2.
Once your design is finished roll a coil, place it on the edge of the
bat to form a “wall” to stop the liquid clay from running off the
plaster bat. Ensure that there are no holes. Then take your clay
and pour it onto the bat as thick as you want your slab to be
later.
3.
Let the bat stand until the clay has dried into a workable slab.
Peal the slab off the plaster bat and use.
4.
When using the slab it is advisable to cut your shape you wish to
form from paper first. This paper pattern can be placed on your
slab making it easier to choose the best slip design. Cut your de
sign from the slab and make your object.
5.
Left are the pots made by the workshop participants. Right is
one piece I made once back at home.
Enjoy trying out this decoration method.
By Carola Lorck
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Going Potty
Winter Workshop in Durbanville - August 2011
I treated myself with a birthday present by going to this workshop. You
could choose any from 5 possible 2 hour demonstrations by Rae Goosen,
Lindsay Scott, Clementina van der Walt, Hennie Meyer and Elsabe NelHarris. I wanted to do all of them, but had to choose 3 (maximum). I did the
following:
1. Rae Goossen, Sculpture & Techniques: She demonstrated how she
makes the moulds for her ‘dolls’. She follows a quite different method in
mould making, by pouring the Plaster of Paris onto the object in layers.
2. Lindsay Scott, Creative throwing: He threw some bowls on the wheel to
show how he nearly overworked the clay and use the natural deformation that is created, as decoration especially on the rim. When he takes
off some excessive clay, he also uses that on the bowl for interesting
lines or decoration.
3. Elsabe Nel-Harris, Printing & transferring images onto clay: She showed
us different ways to ‘screen-print’ images onto greenware, by using
stains mixed with linseed oil.
Betsie van Rensburg
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Printing on Clay:
What you need: Copy of the print you decided on (copies from HP Laser
jet printer 160 is the best), CMC glue, Linseed oil, Stains, Sponges, Glass or
ceramic tiles to mix onto, Soft roller
Process:
1. Elsabe mixes the glue with some water to a creamy paste. Then she
mixes the paste – 2tble spoons creamed CMC to 500ml water.
2. Put the copy into a bowl with the CMC mixture, let it soak for 60seconds.
3. Mix stain with linseed oil into a paste onto the tile. This is the ink you
work with.
4. Remove the copy-print from the CMC water and put on another tile,
printed side on top.
5. Sponge the ink onto the copy. Carefully wash off the excess ink, leaving
ink on the black parts of the copy only. It will only stick on the black parts.
6. Then carefully transfer the copy onto the clay article, face down. Leave it
for 20 min. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the copy down carefully
onto the clay surface.
7. Remove the copy, and there you have a print on the clay surface!
Some important points to remember:
1. The surface you transfer onto, must be as smooth as possible.
2. You can use this process with
stone- and earthen ware. With
stoneware, the very fine lines in
some colours will burn away. Use
the strong colours, like black &
blues to start off with.
3. The image will still smudge after
bisque fire, so be careful. For
stoneware you can bisque up to
1060 to fix it more.
I hope you will enjoy this.
~Betsie van Rensburg~
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Bank Windhoek Kidz Fun Fair - 2011
The Bank Windhoek Kidz Fun Fair took place on the weekend of 10 & 11
September at the SKW in Windhoek. It was the second time that PAN had a
stand offering pottery activities for the children who visited the fair. The
success of this stand was only due to the help and input by a handful of our
members.
I would like to extend a big Thank You to Betsie van Rensburg who was
responsible for the organization of everything. Unfortunately she could not be
in Windhoek due to some family matters. Another big Thank You goes out to
Anita Zimny and Uschi Bauer, who, after I had to cancel my attendance as my
car broke down just 30km outside Swakopmund, took over the rains of
running the show. From what I heard PAN’s stand was a great success and one
of the most favorite. Children were queuing till late to get their hands stuck
into clay.
Furthermore I would like to extend a big Thank You to the following helpers,
who came to assist at the stand: Uschi Ahrens and her daughter Bianca, Renate
Williamson , Mel Rossler, Genie Albrecht, Lesley Crawford, Hester-Marie (one
of Rosi’s students), Rosi Praetorius
Then we also would like to say Thank You to Reinders Pottery Supplies for
the special price for the clay and as well as the donation of 50kg of clay to be
used at the fair. Thank You to Hüster Machine Tools for transporting the
550kg of clay for free from Cape Town to Windhoek.
Another Thank You goes out to Bank Windhoek who sponsored us with
N$5000.00.
Without all these people involved it would
have not been possible to set up and run
this stand. PAN will definitely have a stand
at the next Kidz Fun Fair in 2012 and it
would be great if some more Windhoek
members could give a helping hand on
these 2 days, as it is quite exhausting and
very very busy. We are looking forward to
hearing from you next year when it’s time
to say: Welcome to the Kidz Fun Fair.
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Bank Windhoek Kidz Fun Fair - 2011
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Bank Windhoek Kidz Fun Fair - 2011
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Carola’s Tip Corner
To clean and reprocess clay, toss the scraps into a pillowcase and dunk
it into a bucket of water until the clay is evenly wet throughout. Then
spread the pillowcase over an oven grill raised on wooden bocks until
the clay dries to proper consistency. This system assured even drying
by permitting air to circulate more evenly around the clay, which can
be periodically kneaded while still in the pillowcase. It is quick, easy and
eliminates the “gooey hands “syndrome.
Instead of using perlite or vermiculite for a textured handbuilding
body, try mixing in day-old popped popcorn. Crushed popcorn yields
a finer texture. It is best if the clay batch is used as soon as possible,
though; otherwise you’ll need to find a way to deal with the smell of
leftover popcorn-textured clay.
Small, concave bats (for drying slurry left from a session at the
potter’s wheel) may be easily made by casting plaster inside
commercially available plastic buckets. Obtain a fairly flexible plastic
bowl with a large, rolled rim a little narrower in diameter than a
plastic bucket. Invert
the bowl and place it
in the bucket so that
the bottom of the
bowl is at least 5cm
below the top of the
bucket. Coat the
plastic surfaces with
mould soap (cooking oil works as well); then mix plaster with water
and pour it over the bowl to fill the bucket. When the plaster has set
up, release the drying bat by inverting and gently tapping the bucket
over two boards.
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Membership Fees for 2011!!!
Ordinary Single Members: N$ 320.00
Couple: N$ 370.00
Bona-fide Students and Pensioners: N$ 200.00
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
A big thank you to the following renewals
received:
Uschi Richter, Nicola Alexander, Jacques J van Vuuren,
Arina Mosehuus, Pamela vd Meer, Elize van Huysteen,
Anita Steyn, Dagmar Sartorius von Bach, Annegret
Leuschner.
The following renewals are due:
Sept: Meryl Berry, Windhoek; Sabine Cronje, Windhoek;
Brigit Graefen, Windhoek; Coral Heath, Swakopmund;
Mariele Hlasek, Walvisbaai; Sarie Maritz, Windhoek;
Antoinette Warren, Swakopmund.
Oct: Uschi Ahrens, Windhoek; Carola Lorck,
Swakopmund; Wilma Wilkinson, Windhoek; Petro
Zondagh, Stampriet.
OVERDUE: Beate Schindler, Swakopmund; Angelika
Orford, Botswana; Corlia de wet, Windhoek; Scott & Judy
Hurd, Otjiwarongo.
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Classifieds
New TERRACOTTA CLAY
Highly plastic, Very suitable for burnishing,
Warm red colours
Our previous supplier of raw material unfortunately had health issues so
we had to find a new source and are very excited about this new product.
NOW IN STOCK at our 3 branches.
__________________________________________
Amaco – Potter’s Choice glazes are selling very well – check out the range
when visiting our showroom. Extension to the range arrives with new
order – mid October.
____________________________________________________________
Retreat Branch
11 Celie Road
Retreat Industria
Park
7945
Montague Gardens
1 Stella Mews, 23 Stella Road
Montague Gardens
Somerset West
3a Stuart Close
Somerset Business
7441
Somerset West, 7130
Tel : 021-701 1320/1 Tel : 021- 551 8085
Fax : 021-701 3179
Fax : 021 –551 9140
P O BOX 36, Steenberg, 7966 RSA
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Tel : 021-852 3548
Fax : 021-852 8344
e-mail : [email protected]
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A. HÜSTER MACHINETOOL CO. (PTY.) LTD.
TEL. 061 - 237083 FAX. 061 - 255734
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
We are proud to announce that we are the
Namibian agents for all kind of Pottery Equipment
and Supplies!
This includes all:
Wheels
Kilns & Instrumentation
Glazes and Underglazes
Tools and Equipment
Clay and Chemicals
Raw Materials
Books, etc.
We also offer Spares and Service and Repair all Pottery
Equipment.
Contact us at the above numbers for any enquiries.
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Mail Received
Bad things happen to good potter's too...
I leave Thursday for the USA on a fundraising tour for Community Hope School, Katutura. I
have been busily using all my free time to finish up a couple of loads of pots to take back
and sell. I help support my self and my wife here in Windhoek, with my pottery. I've been
potting for 44 years now. Started at the "Pot Shop" in Venice beach with Ned Sloan back in
1968. Then on to Arrowmont and Penland with Cindy Bringel and Paulus Berenson and
others in 69-70. Back to Venice and now am out here on the edge of the Kalahari Desert at a
2,500 acre cattle and goat ranch. Its a great place to live and work.
Friday(16/09) I was firing my Wood/Salt/Soda Kiln and just as I reached Cone 13 the bottom shelf fell into the fire box. Ugh. I guess I didn't see the crack when I took it out and put
new kiln wash on it.
So today I and a few others will be unloading the mess. It looks pretty bad all the shelves fell
and as usual the pots caught the shelves from all collapsing so some of the pots may be
saved. Pottery always has its risks and when people ask why my pots cost so much I think of
times like this when $12,000.00 of pottery and shelves were all lost. We use the pottery to
help promote Community Hope as well. We extrude bowls with an extruder Jim Bailey provided free of cost and sell them at a yearly Chili Cook off we host at a local art gallery
alongside a annual show I do of my own work. We have over 100 orphans and children at
risk, at CHS now. Many of them are from dis-functional homes and live with a grandmother
or aunt.
The pottery I do is mostly functional. I use local materials, Camel Thorn Tree ash and local
clays to make them. They reflect the austere desert landscape in their natural grey and
browns from the salt and fly ash of the wood kiln. This is the third time I have had such a
disaster. Once in a salt kiln in Santa Cruz, California at the Potter's Coop and now twice
here. I had thought about replacing the floor of the kiln with a new shelf but decided to wait.
Bad move. My kiln is a modified Olsen fast fire made with scrapp bricks from a fish meal
factory in Walvis Bay at the Skeleton Coast. They are all tapered and not very easy to build
with. (P.T.O)
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It only has one fire box and just last week we added a lot more steel to keep it from falling
apart. It had begun to expand as it is hard to interlock these tapered bricks. Normal bricks are
made in South Africa but are over 1000 miles away and the expense of shipping them here is
prohibitive.
I love potting. My daughter, Sarah is a textile artist so we do cloth and clay. She lives in
Madison, Wisconsin. Once, when I had a studio in Tyler, Texas when she was still in High
School she asked what part of the process of potting I like the most. Throwing, glazing, or
firing, I told her that was easy. The part I liked the most was when I hand people my pottery
and they hand me the $. At the time she was disappointed in my answer. Now as an artist
herself seeking to make a living from her work I think she understands. It's not as crass as
you think. When someone is willing to part with their hard earned money it is really the ultimate compliment and validation of your work. It is an recognition of the true value of my
work.
Today we unload the kiln of fallen pots. Tomorrow I will load it up again and try again to
make something of beauty; something enduring and valuable. I call it failing forward.
~John Hunter~
For your Information
Please note our events for 2011
November
PAN Biennale, Thursday 3-25th Studio 77, Old Breweries
Complex, Windhoek
Workshop: John Higgins, biennale guest judge from the UK,
FRIDAY to SUNDAY 4-6th, Windhoek
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