Jane
Kelly’s pottery classes at
CANNONBALL HOUSE
&
In 1976 Jane Kelly –not
long qualified and working from her own pottery in Portobello- wrote to the Lothian
Education Department to ask whether she could start pottery classes for adults
in the city. Space was found for her
classes in the basement of Cannonball House at the top of the Royal Mile next
to the Castle Esplanade. It was part of
an old ESB (
With her family growing,
she was not able to take day classes at first, but demand for them grew and
Alison Robinson and Jean Wilson joined to start them in 1978. Late each summer the pottery was used for
the groups appearing at the Military Tattoo in the Esplanade alongside.
Around 1982, the public
buildings at Cannonball House were sold and the Scotch Whisky
Heritage Centre opened in the old Environmental Education building in
1988. The pottery classes meanwhile had
been moved to another board school at
POTTERS’ NOTES South Bridge
Materials –Clay,
glazes and tools are provided but have to be paid for, £6 a term is the current
charge. Please bring your own apron or
old shirt and take it home with you each week.
Care for clay –It’s
important to keep clay damp; please be careful to seal and cover clay bags to
prevent drying out.
Spills –Mop them
up quickly with damp cloths. Try to
avoid brushing dry clay, or using sandpaper.
The dust is bad for you, and for others.
Marking finished
work –When your pots are finished at the ‘green’ stage, leave them out to dry
on the shelves by the door. Use the special
class symbol stamp, and scratch your initials on the base of each piece. Unmarked
pots will not be fired.
Glazing bisque ware –After
the first (‘bisque’) firing, the pots are ready to glaze. Glazed pots should be put in the kiln room
ready for their second (‘glaze’) firing.
Wipe their bottoms clean of any glaze or they will stick to the kiln
shelf. Too much glaze may drip and spoil
shelves too. Unwiped pots will
not be fired.
Tools –Please
take good care of the tools, brushes and equipment: wash them up and put them
away after use.
Wheels –Must be
left clean and switched off at the wall.
Monday
Pottery Classes Morning course 10-12. Afternoon course 1-3.
Provisional term
plan
September 23rd week 1 –Welcome
and enrol new students. Plan the term programme
to meet student requirements. How to prepare clay. Wedging. Pinch pots.
September 30th week 2 –Slab
pots and hand-building. Textures. Slip
decoration. Colour. Press moulds.
October 7th week 3 –Coil
pots. More decoration techniques.
October 14th week 4 –Learning
to throw pots on the wheel
~October 21st is a half term break, with no Monday pottery
classes~
October 28th week 5 –Turning
your wheel-thrown pots.
November 4th week 6 –The
bisque firing. All
about glazes. What they are. How to apply them
correctly.
November 11th week 7 –More
throwing tips. How to
make lids and handles.
November 18th week 8 –Slip
casting, or other topics as required.
November 25th week 9 –How to
progress. Developing
ideas.
December 2nd week 10 –The last
day. Collecting
finished pieces. Learning some fun techniques.
In May 2007, Jane decided
to retire from these classes after over 30 years. Her last class was a Raku
firing
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