klayskool
Ditchling - Sussex
Explore your creativity with klay in the heart of Ditchling Common
ABOUT US
We have created a special place for the growing community of potters and makers.
Our skool is situated on Ditchling Common. It is accessible to everyone and we have a variety of teachers who can guide complete beginners making their first pots to Master classes conducted by some of the finest potters in the country.
Who are we
Klay Skool was created by Stephen Hamilton.
Stephen spent many years travelling through India and North America before University and eventually ended up living in Vancouver Canada where he met and studied with Trungpa who was the first Tibetan monk in North America. Cutting, a long story short Trungpa advised Stephen to work with his hands and put his over active brain to one side.
On returning to the UK to study eastern philosophy he tried both woodworking and Pottery.
He almost became a full-time studio potter many years ago after training with Jimjo Seegu, one of the first ever Japanese potters to visit the UK. He then trained under Perter Dick at the Coxwold pottery in North Yorks. He also worked as a very lowly apprentice with the Mouseman of Kilburn and ended up making incredible monastic furniture for Ampleforth monastery. In the end he became a master cabinet maker but his enthusiasm for potting and klay never left his soul and now fortunately he has the inspiration and the means to create this amazing potting community.
Stephen now makes pots everyday and is enthusiastically supported by a team of teachers and technical assistants. Stephen will be teaching many of the basic taster and beginners courses… and will be an most enthusiastic student when the Master potters come to give courses.
Sometime next year he will also be creating a Woodskool adjacent to the potting and very much hopes the two crafts can combine together.
The Skool
The Skool has been equipped with ten amazing Shimpo professional RK whisper wheels.
We have four serious kilns so we can fire all our student’s pottery and also provide a kiln service to other potters. We have workbench’s for hand building, glazing areas and have equipped ourselves with all the tools and equipment and brushes you could possibly need.
Klayskool will be making available to advanced students a spray booth for spraying glaze and also a finishing and sanding room with industrial grade extraction for dry klay dust. We will also be developing a specialist glazing room where would be glaze chemists can come and safely with new glaze recipes.
We also have a unique teaching aid. The central Shimpo wheel is on a revolving platform, so this enables our teachers to turn and face every student individually.
Take a look at this quick reel!
What’s happening now: Our various classes and courses are due to begin at the beginning of November. Memberships and master courses are in the planning stage.
Coming up soon: We will be running regular Raku firings. Look at the Raku link on the home page.
Raku Pottery Parties
coming soon...
We are thrilled to announce that Court garden vineyards in Ditchling an award winning creator of sparkling wine have given us our own special dedicated space to make Raku pottery parties.
We will be able to make and create pots in the comfort of a covered open air barn…then just below we will have our raku kilns…and in the distance the most splendid view of the vineyards. Pictures to follow very soon.
Our thanks to Howard Hugo and Jenny for this privilege.
Best of all we will, be able to sip at out leisure their beautiful champagne… sorry meant to say sparkling white wine whilst we make merry with the firings.
If you don’t know about Raku you should look it up. It is the most sensual down to earth [ literally ] experience you can have with clay and fire.
It is mysterious and magnificent and wonderfully unpredictable. Sometimes a complete beginner ends up making the most extraordinary pot…
Competitions and Classes
We will be running some really unique competitions and classes. Our central revolving wheel is called the Wheelmaster. We aim to initiate some wheel throwing competitions. Briefly… the person on the central revolving wheel, called the Wheelmaster, will make their choice of pot and the other potters will copy them.
After twenty minutes or so there will be a vote. Whover has created the best set of pots in the time allowed and has been voted the most points will take over the Wheelmaster position.
The new Wheelmaster will make pots the size and shape of their choice and after another twenty minutes or so there will be another round of voting.
After eight rounds we will have a winner!
There will be prizes!
We hope that really keen and enthusiastic potters will see this as an opportunity to really try their hand at some production pottery. We hope that this may lead to our potters being able to start a career in potting.
We are thrilled to announce that Pot clays who are the finest supplier of the finest clays for potters in the UK, will be sponsoring this competition and we can also announce that we are in discussion to make this into a UK wide competition with a view to TV production.
Six Pot Competition
coming soon...
Other things of interest will be the six pots competition.
This will be open to amateurs and professionals.
The basic idea is to make six pots.
There will be two categories. Utility or functional pots like plates and bowls and everyday table ware.
The second category will be non-functional.
Your six pots will be entered into the competition and judged by your peers and by some professionals and will also go nationwide on you tube channels where the whole country can vote.
The winner will get some amazing prizes…and lots of free time and teaching and tuition at klayskool.
A dream wish of the founder is to make this an international competition between Japan and Britain.
Meet the Team
We are very lucky to have engaged some of the most talented local professional potters to mentor and teach our students. We also have a very capable technical team and a specialist kiln technician.
OUR POTTERS
Stephen Hamilton
Principal Potter & Ceramic Visionary
I am not the most skilled of potters, but I'm unrelentingly enthusiastic. My pots are still bit wonky but… I am in love with learning to be a better potter and would love you all to come and learn alongside. I have created this space as my parting gift to all my fellow human beings.
I come with joy [and some discipline] and lots of fun and I hope you will love the kreative space that I and my team have kreated for you to express your inner kreative self.
Whoppee!
Cadi Froehlich
Session Tutor
Cadi Froehlich makes artworks to live with, and loves sharing her passion for clay with others.
The joys of working with clay hit you from your first session, and whether I’m teaching you to throw on the wheel or handbuild your pots, I know you’ll be proud of your creations. Beware though - the clay bug is catching!
New Potters
Loading soon
watch this space
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