Adopt a Potter: A good firing at The Marches Pottery.

Hello! My name is Isatu, I am this year’s apprentice for the Adopt a Potter scheme. I have been apprenticed to Andrew Crouch at The Marches Pottery for almost 2 years now, and am very grateful to have the opportunity to get stuck in to my 3rd year full-time, thanks to AAP support.

On the 11^th March we did our first firing of the year. It usually takes about 2-3 months to make and glaze enough pots to fill the kiln here, and we’d been in no great hurry after a busy Christmas.

The kiln at The Marches Pottery was built by Andrew and his brother, Keith, when they first set up the pottery in the early 80s. It is oil-fired and is only used for gloss firing, which we always reduce to get Andrew’s subtle range of celadons, tenmokus and rusts. It has taken me a long time to get used to the kiln, because it is big and noisy and ferocious. For a long time I just watched Andrew tend it (‘tether it’ as one friend described it), but over time I have built my confidence and understanding of it, and am now able to comment, occasionally intelligently, on its progress, and take part in some of the tasks involved in seeing it through its 16-18 hour cycle.

This firing was particularly good. It felt like it was the first sunny day of the year, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. The whole schedule ran very smoothly; the day was calm and a little quieter than usual, thanks partly to the well-behaviour right burner that Andrew had managed to successfully adjust after some spluttering and buffeting in previous firings. Andrew and I both refrained from saying anything, eager not jinx it, and just enjoyed the day, knowing full well that actually it could very well be going terribly wrong inside.

Luckily it didn’t. It was a very even firing with no patches of oxidization or under or over-firing. The celadons were crisp, the tenmoku black, and the white was gleaming and unctuous (a favoured word at the pottery). I had put through the usual pieces of standard ware that I make for the shop; espresso cups, mugs, jugs and bowls, and also some of my own work. I was particularly pleased with my mugs, as I had managed to achieve a successful proportion and rim, and my handles really are ALMOST there. Andrew was very pleased with my glazing, and said so, which was nice (yes, that is a gross understatement of my emotions).

It is April now and we are only a week away from another firing. I hope this one goes as well as the last, and I hope, as always, that my pots are better this time.