Throwing Masterclass with Brian Dickenson

This course is an intensive four-week throwing course aimed at potters who want to improve their skills, focusing on repetition and practice. Whether you are a throwing beginner or an improver, we will welcome you to join this intensive full time throwing course.

WEEK-BY-WEEK COURSE BREAK DOWN

Week 1: Studio introduction and clay preparation. The basics of throwing; centring, opening, and pulling up. Perfecting cylinders and practising mugs and handles.

Week 2: Bowls, Bellies, Jugs and Spouts.

Week 3: Plates, Containers, Lids and Lid seatings.

Week 4: Tea pots and throwing larger.

Throughout the course the issue of glazing will be introduced alongside the making. Students will be guided through the basics of mixing, setting up and applying glazes. Students will cover dipping, pouring, spraying and brushing.

THE COURSE IN DETAIL

During week 1 Brian will focus on cylinders. Perfecting a cylinder gives a potter the foundation to make all vertical structures. Brian will ensure that every student understands the core elementary skills to perfecting a cylinder so that each student is able to advance competently.

Once students have solidified the fundamental basics of cylinders, the technical skills of mug making will be explored. Students will practice different ways of throwing, using varying tempos, designs, gestures and tools. As well as studying the thrown form, students will also explore different possibilities for handle making - pulling, rolling, extruding, pressing, wire cutting etc. Students will learn the principles of suitability, balance and fluidity through the basic mug form and from this, other handled vessels will be obtained.

During week 2 students will progress onto bowls, bellies, jugs and spouts. Brian will discuss with students the breadth of form that exists, historical context and formal considerations regarding proportion, handles and other additions.

Students will learn how to introduce swelling shapes and how to achieve strong well-structured bellied shapes. Handles and lugs will continue forwards from the skills students learned whilst making mugs. Students will use jugs to practise several different solutions to the successful pouring of liquids and, as with the mugs, students will continue to explore the different aesthetic considerations and methods of stylistic execution.

During week 3 students will progress onto plates, containers and lidded pots. Plates can be made in many ways so students will explore in detail the making of, glazing and firing of plates. Students will learn how to create lidded pots and will look into a number of different lid seatings and lid types and how to marry both body, lid and terminations such as handles, knobs and other additions. Students will also explore how to apply wax, slip and glaze to lidded forms.

During week 4 students will look at tea pots and throwing larger. Brian believes that tea pots are possibly more varied and open to interpretation than any other piece of formal ware. Tea pots fundamentally have some key factors to ensure they work but students will also explore allegory / metaphor. Making tea pots will be a perfect exercise for bringing together all of the formal exercises that students will have covered in the former weeks’ disciplines.

Throwing larger will be explained by the introduction of several different techniques including, sectional throwing, handling larger lumps of clay in general and how to prepare for this upscale, coil and throw. Students will approach this from varying levels, depending on their capabilities and strengths, reached from the previous weeks’ teaching.

Throughout the course Brian will introduce the issue of glazing alongside the making, as he believes that one discipline informs the other. Students will be guided through the basics of mixing, setting up and applying glazes. Students will cover dipping, pouring, spraying and brushing.

As this is primarily a making course, lessons in glazing will be kept simple but well executed. Perfecting glazing and firing systems can take considerable time to hone and develop, so with that in mind Brian believes that establishing a sound practical approach will be the key.

This intensive making and refining course will follow the programme outlined above, but as the group proceeds together, the distinct needs and interests of each participant may vary and Brian will adapt to students’ interests. Throughout the course there will be numerous demonstrations and every student will receive one-to-one attention as well as group teaching.

Please note, there will be a small additional firing charge for final pieces. Please see our Student Contract (below) for details.

About Brian

Brian Dickenson is an extremely skilled potter with over 30 years’ experience in making ceramic wares, with a speciality in thrown functional wares. Brian studied at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education where he completed his MA in Ceramics and his Research Diploma with study focused on Composition and Firing of Oriental Glazes.

Brian has a wealth of experience teaching pottery at various levels; from complete beginners to MA level students, as well as tutoring advanced practitioners wishing to overcome particular problems. Over the last ten years Brian has become increasingly involved in teaching ceramics on private courses, providing professional consultancy (glaze and firing trouble shooting, kiln building etc), and is a regular lecturer at Clay College Stoke UK, as well as working with La Meridiana Ceramic School in Tuscany.

Brian spent a year working with mentor, Philip Wood, producing standard ware at his Pottery in Somerset. This was interspersed with work placements at The Steven Pearce Pottery in Southern Ireland, concentrating on raw production and repetition throwing. Brian also spent considerable time working under Seth and Ara Cardew at the celebrated Wenford Bridge Pottery - Cornwall UK.

Brian has established three potteries of his own over a 30-year period and is currently embarking upon setting up a fourth. In addition to making a broad range of functional ware and one-off pieces, Brian has developed a particular interest in kiln building and has supplemented his practice with a broad variety of kiln build projects for other potters.

The majority of Brian’s making was initially rooted in the production of high fired functional stoneware. However, over the last 8 - 10 years he has been involved in making mid temperature slip decorated stoneware and earthenware, in response to exploring his historical / cultural heritage in conjunction with exploring the possibilities that lower temperatures favour.

Brian has also been involved in reduction, wood, salt / soda and combination experimental firings and remains fascinated by all aspects of ceramics.

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