We had a really fantastic workshop with Wayne Cardinalli on October 20th. Wayne brought tools, tricks, tips and pots for us to discuss, and admire. He is a very effective speaker leaving many of us with much to think about with regards to where our pottery goes from here. There were experienced and fairly new potters in attendance and everyone enjoyed themselves and got something from the day. Wayne talked about wheel throwing, hand building, surface decoration, tools, the ergonomics of throwing and wedging and the passion needed to make great pots. You can see more of Wayne’s work here.
Wayne Cardinalli discussing tools of the tradeWayne demonstrating throwing and decorating a bowlWayne demonstrated several types of hand built platesWayne demonstrated throwing this teapot in 7 minutes!Wayne took time to discuss the finished pieces he’d brought, including form and glazes.
We are extremely excited to announce that Wayne Cardinalli, a Trent graduate, and a founding member of Artspace, will be coming back to Peterborough, to the KPG to give a day-long demonstration workshop. Wayne is well known in the Canadian world of ceramics, as he has been potting for over 40 years. He is much in demand as a teacher and demonstrator, and we are so lucky to have him visit!
He will be showing us his tips and tricks on Sunday, October 20th, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. If you are a member, we ask that you register in the Pottery Shop. Non-members can register here.
Learn how to apply clean wax lines and to use glazing methods that will enhance your bisque pottery. Improve your understanding on how different types of cone 6 glazes appear on different types of cone 6 clay bodies.
This workshop will run over 2 days, on Saturday October 5 & Sunday October 6 from 1-4 p.m. each day. The cost for this workshop is $152.55 (inc. HST) for non-members and $135.60 (inc. HST) for members. Online registration is found here. Members please register for this workshop in the Gallery or contact Clara at for more details. Space is limited, so don’t delay. Please note that if you wish your work fired at the Guild, there may be a separate charge for this.
Darlene Malcolm-Moran is our teacher for this really informative workshop. We run this workshop periodically to assist potters with glaze application issues. Darlene is one of our popular teachers here at KPG and you will find her attention to detail very useful in this workshop.
Our very own Darlene Malcolm-Moran will be conducting this week-long throwing workshop at the end of August. A popular teacher at KPG, Darlene’s work is governed by the tenants of beauty, functionality & form, as well as fine craftsmanship. We know this class will push your skills to the next level. This workshop is not intended for beginners, but for those already able to throw a 6″ cylinder, equivalent bowl and plate. Improve your throwing skills to create well balanced consistent pottery. Learn how to trim and finish clay additions to your thrown pottery so all is well crafted.
Darlene conducting a class
This workshop runs the week of August 26 – 30, 2019, (Mon – Fri) from 10:00am – 4:00pm each day ( Break: 12:30 – 1:30pm for Lunch ). Please bring your own pottery tools and a lunch. This workshop costs $372.90 (inc HST) for non-members and $327.70 (inc HST) for members. Members please apply for this class in the gallery or contact Clara at for more details. This class has a limited attendance, so don’t delay. Online registration is here.
The itinerary for this week-long workshop:
Monday & Tuesday : Throw, throw & throw. Bigger, taller, & thinner. Bowls, cylinders, & plates.
The clay will be provided for the Monday & Tuesday classes. All pots will be cut in half to assess what steps are needed for your throwing improvements. Wednesday : You may purchase clay from the Guild and we will be throwing pots that will be trimmed. Thursday: Trimming your pottery. Smooth bottoms are important. Friday: Finishing with clay additions, handles and decorating our trimmed leather hard pottery.
Discussing how to glaze these pieces.
One of Darlene’s vases selected for the 2018 Inspired Mud juried show.
We are delighted to announce that Richard Mund will be giving a workshop on Maijolica techniques at our Guild on Sunday April 21 from 9 – 5 pm. More details and registration announcement to follow soon. Watch this space!
I took my first pottery class (as an adult) about a year ago. Like many before me, I fell in love with clay. With a bit of encouragement from friends, I joined the Kawartha Potters Guild in January. Among the benefits of membership; which include discounts on classes and being part of a supportive community of craftspeople, several workshops are offered to members only. Recently guild member Margrit Beesley offered such a workshop, and I had the opportunity to participate in building a hand built mug.
As a new potter, I was a little nervous about signing up for a member’s only workshop which I assumed was guaranteed to be filled with potters much more experienced than myself. I showed up on the morning of class with all my enthusiasm and most of the required tools. Of the six of us in class, experience levels ranged from the veritable newbie (myself) to experienced hand builders, to primarily wheel potters with multi-decades of experience.
Margrit’s experience with hand building developed after a hand injury made wheel throwing too physically trying. She encouraged us to make hand built pottery that didn’t try to replicate wheel thrown pottery, but celebrated its hand built attributes.
Among the resources referenced, Sandi Pierantozzi’s DVD “What If?” was highly recommended, as was her CircleMatic template set. Margarit demonstrated a hand built cylinder mug, showing us many tricks-of-her-trade for making slabs, using texture, creating and altering cylinders and adding handles.
ceramicartsdaily.org. The CircleMatic templates can be purchased at circlematic.com but also locally at Tuckers
We participants then created our own mugs to practice Margrit’s methods. It was fun to peek at each other’s work and pull inspiration from others. Margrit encouraged us to think about negative space by looking at the shape of the area between the handle and the pot. She brought up design concepts of repetition and proportion, and encouraged us to be mindful of these in our hand building.
In addition to being a great learning experience, this workshop solidified for me that membership in the Kawartha Potters Guild has privileges. I got to spend a creative day with fellow clay-lovers and I learned so many new tricks. I learned about both technical and creative aspects of hand building. I was directed to some vetted and useful resources for further exploration. But most of all, I was left hungry for my next opportunity to participate in a KPG workshop.
Jennifer LaBelle-Brown
Margrit demonstrated how she rolls a straight impression across her slab. The texturized roller is butted against a right-angle piece of trim.
