In the Making.......
We make a wide variety of pottery styles to cover pottery technological development across time periods and regional differences. In order to recreate pottery close to the original artefacts, different clays, glazes and firings are used.
The Exeter Puzzle Jug is one of the most extraordinary pieces of Medieval Ceramics ever found, and of course we wanted to make it! The images are our replica. You can find the original house in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter, a really great Museum to visit with lots of ceramics to feast your eyes on. The puzzle jug, originally was made in Saintonge France, it depicts medieval humour, as the ladies look down upon the Clergy below and Musicians play. This is a project for this week, its made in components and is a real test of skill. Dated 1200-1500. The pot its self is a combination, of throwing, sculpting/modelling and finally hand painting.
https://rammcollections.org.uk/object/1899-10-1
We are able to produce large and small commission pieces. Jim is an experienced master potter with a background in traditional slipware
The pottery is woodfired, to reflect the traditional techniques of the pottery we are producing. We try hard to source our wood locally using a sustainable supply or off cuts from other production waste locally. We live along the Trent Valley in Nottinghamshire and have a good source of Pollarded Willow managed over the centuries- a traditional technique used to harvest willow/ hazel on a cycle, our cycle is alternate trees every three years. The willow is then bundled into 'faggots' (a name for a small bundle of stick) these are dried over 6 months to a year before they can be used in the kiln.
Woodfiring is labour intensive but connects us to the pottery, changing from its raw state to the finished piece. Watching the chimney, feeding the fireboxes, waiting til the the heats has gone - till we can unlock the contents it's the best part.