Workshops and Firings

The Guild’s workshops and firings are held throughout the year. The venue for the workshops is West Herts
College,Watford, and the wood fired kiln is located at Boxmoor. Kiln firings are organised during the summer and autumn months.

BOXMOOR WOOD FIRED KILN

For those of you interested in taking part in the wood firings in the future, please do take the time to read the articles below in preparation for the firings coming up.

BOXMOOR WOOD FIRING APRIL 2018 – details

16 April 2018

Further to the message below, start time will be 9am on the 21st and 10am on the 22nd.

The address is –

The Box Moor Trust

London Rd, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 2RE

https://goo.gl/maps/6dn6XYwGJBB2

The Guild will provide the glazes noted below. Other participants may have other glazes. We will also provide red iron oxide for decoration. Any other glazes and oxides that you need for your own purposes, you will supply. Bring anything you may need for decorating, like brushes, resist emulsion etc.

Depending on the weather, you will need to wear appropriate clothing. Boots or substantial footware is required as the ground is rough and muddy. You will need to bring food, hot drinks and water as required.

Please send me your mobile phone number so that I can contact you urgently if required, and make a note of mine as below. Also please bring £5.00 payment on the day, unless you only have refires.

Any other information you need, please contact me.

Thanks, Jerry

Mob – 07766 305431

Just to update you, those who follow me on Instagram @grangrad71, will already know I had somewhat of a torrid time firing the BOGI (Bread Oven & Garden Incinerator). If you are not on Instagram you can search for me through the website as set out in the Search Instagram via DCPG in the useful links section. For some reason it stuck at cone 5 (1200deg C) and after trying everything else I could think of, I ended up getting the Hoover out and used it as a forced air system. Anyway, I now have 80no glaze tests completed, split generally into Shino, Tenmoku, Celadon & Ash glazes. Hopefully we can get a suitable mix for each of these glazes to use at Boxmoor. Now, I will have the best of them with me at the Friday 13th April meeting, so ask me for a look at them and comment on them.

The programme now is as follows –

April 21st AM – Put up gazebo, tables etc and start glazing pots for firing.

– Carry out works to the kiln as previously listed before being able to pack kiln.

PM – Continue glazing and start packing kiln

April 22nd AM -Continue Glazing and packing kiln

PM – Complete packing kiln and brick up

April 28th AM – Start to fire kiln

PM – Continue with firing

April 29th AM – If neccessary continue firing kiln overnight.

May 2nd or 3rd – Strike and clear kiln, take down gazebo and clear away.

Those of you putting pots in the kiln need to bring them along to Boxmoor ideally on the Sat 21st or Sun 22nd latest. Please now confirm when you will bring your pots along. Also which days and times you are able to help with any of the jobs above. Those helping with the firing Sun PM please confirm if you are able to continue overnight if required.

18 March 2018

revised April firing details

26 February 2018

Please put the following dates in your diary.

The next work party weekend will be March 17th and 18th, when we are planning to cover the kiln with an kkadobe layer, please let me know if you can assist in this, either one or both days.

The glazing weekend will be on the 21st and 22nd April. Please bring your bisqued pots to be glazed and packed in the kiln over this weekend. The Guild will provide a number of glazes as before, one of which we hope will be an ash glaze. Those who were on the Ash glazing course, perhaps you have developed a personal ash glaze that you could share with the other members? There will be a flat charge of £5 for the firing, so the more pots you make the better.

The kiln will be fired on the following weekend, starting on the 28th and over night into the 29th April, if necessary. This firing will only be possible if we have enough pots to fill the kiln. Please consider refiring items that did not quite reach the correct temperature in earlier firings, and indicate if any of the pots you intend to fire, are refires.

Can those members who intend to include pieces of their work in this firing, please register your interest with me. Please indicate if you wish to be included on the firing rota (this is likely to be overnight, so also indicate if you are OK to be there at night). Also, provisionally, the number of pots you are aiming to have. We will need have these details finalised before the glazing weekend. Also, please indicate if you would be able to come one evening in the following week to collect your pots, rather than the next weekend, which is the May holiday weekend

Jerry Seaborn

07766305431 (text or Whatsapp)

JJSeaborn@outlook.com