V22 My New Studio!!!

Ann & Alex at the farm with their latest creations

There is so much to say! I don't know where to start!

In 2010 I started my pottery classes at Surrey Docks Farm.

 My intention was to give people the experience of pottery without the pressure and stiffness of other courses.  I have taught in adult education institutions and it is often more about numbers and results and less about experience and people.  It was important to me that I could get to know people locally and feel part of Rotherhithe as I was spending half my week commuting to Brighton.



Recent pieces - surface inspired by my drawings



Farm classes have grown and grown and I was able to give up my job at Brighton Uni. in September. While I was doing both I didn't find much time for my own work and I have had a break and a good think about what I want to be making and achieving as an artist. I have recently tried screen printing, origami and woodcarving, but I do always come back to clay, it will always be my favourite material.

Because the classes have expanded beyond my expectation it has becoming increasingly difficult to manage the firing system. This involves packing everything in to the car and hauling to my Burgess Park studio and then back again (and then all over again for the glaze firing!!) I am filling the kiln all week long and feel we've been incredibly lucky with almost no breakages in transit. 

 All these things have led me to believe it s time to scale up my operation. Because the tower at the farm won't be ready for sometime I started looking around at my options locally.

Once again, my fairy Godmother came up with a real clinker!

The Biscuit Factory in Bermonsey

I checked out several studio spaces, deciding that the Biscuit Factory looked the most convenient for my current students to get to. All the local buses stop at the top of the road, and it is a 5 minutes walk to the tube station!

The Vibe Gallery run by the lovely Mark Bean and Nadia
 - they've just been licenced as a cafe/bar

http://www.vibeplace.com/vibe/
They are really worth checkin out, they are running painting classes with
Enver Gursev this summer.

V22 Studios Bermonsey

V22 Studios at the Biscuit Factory

When I got in touch with V22 to see how they felt about me running a class from there I was put through to James Wright who was setting up a 1400sqft communal Ceramics Space...?!

Honestly, I can really be the luckiest person sometimes... like when I decided to move to London as my residency was nearly up in Worcester. Within a month my friend said
 'oh by the way I know someone who needs to rent out a boat in London....'
shortly after 'Potterycrafts in Battersea need staff'
It s actually scary how things can fall in to place, but I take it as a sign that I am on the right path in life : )


So the short version is that I am now in charge (?!) of setting this up and running this gigantic space dedicated to Ceramics which has kilns, a spray booth, ball mill, sand blaster, electric banks ready for my wheels, a huge table area and lots of room for shelving and storage.

The idea is that there will be several permanent artists in there and bookable tables for other people to come and work for a period of their choice.

For me it is perfect because I can have a permanent studio space to spread out into... been taking over our little boat recently with my origami!!

For the classes it will be revolutionary because we will have proper shelving so work can be stored safely and kept damp to be worked on later. Also all tools and glazes will be easily accessible without a huge set up. We will also be able to start exploring other clays and temperatures. We currently only use Earthenware because we don't have facilities to deal with more. When you come you will be able to see some very prestigious ceramic artists at work like Emmanuel Boos and Sam Bakewell.

My plan is to consolidate. I have felt very spread out and have been juggling too many things recently. I love being busy but when I can feel my standard slipping I stop enjoying life so much. I am really looking forward to having one base to head to everyday and more than anything a place to really get stuck into making work again!

So it s going to be a busy summer setting up this dream space, I cannot wait to bring you more news : )

to be continued....