January 29th smoke firing workshop
Published January 29, 2012We lucked out during today’s smoke firing workshop because the moment we had lit the barrel, the rain came pouring down.
The technique we used is quite simple; bisque fired work is painted with copper, iron and manganese oxide and then placed in a smoke chamber along with colour enhancing ingredients such as coffee grinds, copper wire, salt, soot, sea weed and hydrangea heads. We made salt and coffee bombs ( salt and coffee grinds wrapped in a sheet of newspaper) which we placed inside and beside the vessels so that when they get hot they will burst and give the ceramics an intense blast of colour.
Once the ceramics are placed on a layer of sawdust another layer of sawdust is poured on top…
Some newspaper is torn up and placed on top…
It is lit….
And once the sawdust catches fire, it is time to replace the lid so that the sawdust will glow and smoulder rather than burn, allowing the smoke to decorate the surfaces. The barrel will reach about 8-900 degrees Celsius.
My next sculpture and smoke firing workshop will take place at Dudley Road studios on Sunday 12th February and there will be a plate making workshop on Sunday 5th February. To find out more please go here
New Ceramic Workshops in Hastings in February and March 2012
Published January 26, 2012
CERAMIC WORKSHOPS in Hastings January and February 2012
Published January 5, 2012
This is my workshop diary for January and February in case you would like to learn some of my techniques and have a bit of creative fun in Hastings. My workshops are suitable for beginners and people with previous experience alike. I look forward to seeing you!
Thursday morning workshops; Five sessions
A new five session series of ceramic workshops is starting up on Thursday 19 January 10.30-1 pm. These workshops are suitable for beginners and for people with some previous experience alike. I will be introducing some new techniques at each session, but I am also happy for you to do your own thing.
Thursday 19th; bowl making, introducing textures. We make the bowls inside moulds so we do not use a potter’s wheel.
Thursday 26th; coiling techniques
Thursday 2nd February; slab building techniques
Thursday 9th; decorating with under glazes
Thursday 16th; glazing and smoke firing, please follow link to see more about my smoke firing classes!
Cost; £125 for the full course, including all materials, firings and tuition plus refreshments.
One day Wonders January and February 2012
During this workshop we create a series of bowls using press molds and not a potter’s wheel.
Please bring a packed lunch!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Today we decorate our bisque fired plates with under glazes and oxides.
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Sunday 12th February 11-3pm; sculpture techniques, part 1
During this workshop we create sculptures using coiling and slab making techniques. These are the techniques I use for my own work, and the results can be amazingly varied.Suitable for beginners and people with previous experience alike.
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Slip cast bowls
Published November 12, 2011
This stag beetle bowl was made using ceramic slip – I call it ‘ The Stag party’. Each section is cast separately and then joined together inside a plaster mould.
You can buy ready made slip in buckets or make it up yourself if you have a big mixer of some sort, or a blunger. We used this technique during a recent ceramic workshop.
First pour your slip on to a textured plaster tile and leave it to dry until its no longer shiny.
Remove your piece of textured clay…
And place it inside a plaster mould, textured side facing the wall…
You can also dip cotton textiles in slip before placing the cloth inside your mould. It is important that all clay pieces are properly attached to each other and that they lie flush against the wall of the mould.
It is a messy old job! Once the bowl is finished you leave it to dry for a few hours before removing it from the plaster mould.
I will upload the finished results shortly. For more information, this is a link to my work shop diary.
Plate making workshops; part 4
Published November 1, 2011We are still making ceramic plates at the Dudley Road workshops. This week we have been busy decorating them.
Several people used tracing paper to transfer images onto the plates 
While others decided to paint under glazes directly on to the surface. 
Under glazes work a bit like water colours, and will need a coat of transparent glaze on top to look their best.
It has been a great experiment, and I am looking forward to see what the final result will be once they have all been fired.
To find out more about my workshops, please go to www.annakeiller.com/workshops
Big mama – creating big sculptures
Published October 23, 2011Annie wanted to make a big round sculpture so she started by incising pieces of clay, placing them inside a big plaster mold. She then completed the globe using coils of clay to form the top sphere.
The globe is taken out of the mold and patted into shape. We wanted round, not pudding!
As long as a shape is completely closed up so that no air can escape, it can handle a fair bit of abuse. But once you create an opening and the air escapes, you will need to make sure it is properly supported.
The globe is placed back in the mold to firm up a bit more in the sun. 
And the details is added.
The globe is resting in a secure little nest of sheets while it dries up ready for the next step which will be the bisque firing.
www.annakeiller.com/workshops
Dudley Road ceramic workshops; the plate factory.
Published October 9, 2011Creative juices have now hit the ceramic workshop in Dudley Road; during the four hour session an incredible amount of plates were made using lace, sacking, shells and stamps to decorate the clay.
This was our second plate making session and it is exciting to be part of such an explosion of creativity.
The plates are placed in the sunshine to dry.
For more news about my sculptures and ceramic workshops please go here
Plate making workshop part 2, decorating ceramic plates
Published October 5, 2011
Clay is great for picking up the most delicate detail. Use textured materials such as sacking or lace, corrugated cardboard, mesh produce bags, or found objects such as wood blocks, leaves and ferns and gently roll or press your chosen pattern into a thin slab of clay. Peel away before you place the clay on your paper plates the way I described in my previous post.
You can also use plaster sprig molds to create small animals, shells or other figures to decorate your plates and make a set of plates held together with a common theme.
Bernard Palissy was famous for using sprig molds of fish, lizards, frogs and other creatures in his highly decorated ceramic plates!
Plate making workshops
Published September 17, 2011I am planning a new series of workshops starting Thursday 22 September at 11-3pm in my studio in Dudley Road, Hastings. The plan is to make a series of plates using paper plates in different sizes. Plates are great canvases for surface decoration and we’ll experiment with paper stencils and lace, sprig molds, underglaze and oxide designs as well as trying out different glazing techniques.
If you can’t make it to my workshop, then this is what we’re going to do; we start by rolling out a slab to a desired thickness of about 1 to 1,5 cm . When rolling out a slab it is a good idea to start by throwing it across the table in different directions until it is somewhere close to 5-6 cm thick. Roll the clay with the rolling pin, taking care not to roll excessively over the edges as they may get too thin. Roll two or three times on one side and then flip it over and roll some more. Leave the slab to dry to a soft leather-hard stage. The clay needs to be able to bend without cracking, but you don’t want it to be so soft that you leave fingerprints in your clay as you work.
Choose the size of your plate and place it upside down to use as a template for cutting the slab.
As you cut, keep your knife perpendicular to your work surface to create a square rim. Remove excess clay and smooth out the rims by sliding your finger across the edge of the rim.
Flip the clay slab, smooth the top edge then place it into a paper plate, lining up the edges.
Experiment with pressing the clay into the paper plate with your hands or you can sandwich your clay between two plates. The plate you are creating will have a different look depending on your
chosen method.
Allow the plates to dry to leather hard in the bottom paper plate, and then check if they stack together nicely and if they sit on the table without rocking. If not, you will need to damp them up a bit with a flower mister or a wet sponge and then put them back in the mold to straighten them out. Next, check the rim of each plate to see if it needs shaping or smoothing down. You may want to write your name at the bottom of the plate at this stage.
During the next workshop on Thursday the 29th we will look at different ways of decorating the plates. I’ll discuss this in my next blog, so welcome back!
To sign up for this workshop or any other, please go here
Nichos workshops
Published August 25, 2011Nichos!
A Nicho is a small shrine shaped to reflect the nature of its content such as buildings, hearts, cats, Brad Pitt, chickens and angels.
They may be self standing, wall hung or even worn as necklaces and are meant to serve as personal devotional altars. They can be fairly ornate or very simple as the mood dictates.
This is a Mexican Nicho made of painted wood showing the path of romantic love…
This is a contemporary ceramic Nicho showing a Sumerian deity.
Nichos come in all shapes and forms…this is another Mexican one
I would like to offer up a workshop in 3 parts where we create a small altar to something that feel important. It could be music, chickens, food, nature or anything you find amusing or lovely. It can even be something you don’t like but would like to play with.
Saturday 10th of September 11-3pm;
During the first workshop we will discuss the design of our Nichos and make our own sprig molds (simple one piece molds) out of plaster of Paris – these will form the basis for our Nichos.
To this workshop you will need to bring small objects to cast . They can be anything from children’s plastic toy animals, shells, simple jewellery or ferns and plants. If you can’t think of anything to bring, I have a lot of suitable items in my studio for you to use.
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Saturday 17th of September 11-3pm
Today we assemble our Nichos using the sprig molds we created last week.
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
Please bring a packed lunch!
Cost; £40 for the day, including all materials, tuition and firings plus tea, coffee and cake!
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