Four of Graham Taylor's ceramic workshops have now taken place. With two more to go at Berwick Museum and Art Gallery next week, read about what to expect from a Peregrini Fragments Workshop!
Ceramicist and ancient pottery technology specialist Graham Taylor introduced the groups of all ages to styles and decorations found on pottery in the North East, right from the Stone Age up until the 20th century. He then asked everyone to create fragments - or 'sherds' of pottery just like you find on the beach - to work-up ideas for the series of sculptural vessels and for our community artwork. During this process, each participant had the chance to try a range of tools from the twisted string (the 'maggot' marks!) and bone tools used in the Neolithic to the stamps and slips of potters from more recent times.
As requested, many taking part in the workshops bought in their own source material and ideas for how to depict the Peregrini Lindisfarne landscape, or aspects of it, in clay. These included paintings, photographs, wildlife books, a tin of St Cuthbert's beads, and even a poem about a dragon named 'Lindis'! Scores of decorated fragments have been created, some with very abstract designs, others with clear depictions of elements of our landscape. Graham will glaze and fire these sherds to create a large artwork.
Participants then went on to create a piece of their own, using the decorative techniques Graham so ably demonstrated. Back in Graham's workshop, these square tiles will be formed into a squarish bowl, and three legs added, then glazed and fired for each participant.
Some feedback from participants on the Saturday workshops:
"Fantastic, relaxing, immersing; it was really good!"
"Inspired me - off to Lindisfarne now! Thankyou!"
"Learnt a lot about different pottery techniques through history".
"It was really fun and you could choose what patterns you could do. Thankyou"
If you would like to take part in the workshops on the 30th or 31st of August at Berwick Museum and Art Gallery, please visit out Events Page to find out how to book.
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