Creative Producer > Clay (A Work In Progress)

I set this website up when I returned to freelance work and just as the pandemic started. I was fully intending to set myself back up as a Creative Producer in the wonderful world of Freelandia. However, things change. Over the course of the many lockdowns and some health setbacks, I found myself more and more interested in pottery and all things clay.

I did my first pottery course at the excellent Bristol Folkhouse about 10 years ago and it was always something I enjoyed. I found the rhythm of working with clay, the tactile quality and the sheer joy of creative mess intoxicating, relaxing and utterly absorbing. Learning how to use a pottery wheel was not a skill that came naturally to me, but that moment when I centred my first ball of clay hooked me. The many technical skills of then turning that clay ball into a vessel are still ones that I'm exploring and finessing. However, there is still a magical fasicnation in watching a ball of clay become a mug, bowl or vase under my hands as the wheel spins on.

There are so many roads to explore, different clays, different building techniques, decoration and glazing and I'm grateful for all the wonderful potters and artists who generously share their process on YouTube, Instagram and other platforms. While I do not have the skills to share in that way, (Frankly you would get lots of photos and videos of a clay covered thumb.) I have decided to document some of what I do on this website as I refocus my professional life into a more clay covered version.

I now have a small studio set up in my garden shed, and it has been quite an adventure discovering how my tiny space works as a pottery studio. The joy of it is that when the sun shines and the door is open, I can see the roses and hear the birds! The main challenge is that storage is minimal. I am getting better at finding creative solutions, hooks are currently my friend. But it does mean is that I have to make choices about what kind of work I make, how I decorate and how I glaze. Things may change in the future, but for now I think the restrictions are acting as a good lens through which to focus my efforts.

As I grow more confident in my pottery skills I do want to incorporate some of my planning as a Creative Producer back into what I do, but for now I will keep this blog up to date, share some photos and welcome your feedback.

Thanks for reading!

Rachel