Richard Miller Demo Day in Pictures…

There was a packed house for Richard Millers talk and demonstration day. The whole day left all of us dizzy with ideas and ways of making from throwing to digital technology to applying transfers. All of us were awed at the staying power needed by full time crafts people to maintain the flow of work while managing administrative irritations. Richard threw a tall pot and when sliced in half it was laid flat to dry . A  tile pattern cut from this slab can then be cast in a plaster mould – which was shown, but using ‘one made earlier’. A ‘Cottle ‘[ new ceramic term to me ] made from plaster board was cut to shape, sealed with Vaseline and liquid plaster poured in. Within an hour this was usable….or rather,  it would have been if the usual ‘demo gremlin’ hadn’t ensured that the original tile stuck completely in the mould and two talented scrubbers had to stand over the sink and wash the clay out. It still worked, and we have tiles cast in this and a mould Richard brought with him.

Watching Richard working and talking about processes reinforced all the important areas of understanding needed to be a crafts person. Intelligence of touch, creative thinking, persistence and sheer bloody hard work .

The whole day was a joy. Having Coffee and an astonishing range of delicous food in the Pugmill room with it’s marvellous ambience added an extra bonus. Many thanks to Guy, Elaine and Glenda  for managing all this.

Julia Quigley