Get crafty with clay

I’ve helped my children daub paint on paper, and make the odd collage – but nothing beyond that.

Certainly not pottery – I haven’t fiddled about with clay since the Seventies, when me and my classmates would make farcical attempts to control lumps of the stuff on the potter’s wheel, while the aptly-named Mr Potter tried his best to keep the mess to a minimum. I don’t remember actually finishing anything and bringing it home, but I know I enjoyed it.

So, when I got the chance to join a pottery ‘drop-in’ session at Kirkgate Studios and Workshops in Shipley, I was keen to have a proper go.

Two minutes’ walk from Shipley town centre, the studios are a hive of activity. I am warmly welcomed, and shown to the studio, where a group of people were already busy at work.

I get a bit worried when I spot a superb clay robot, but am assured that I won’t have to attempt anything so ambitious. The model, called ‘Clarry’ is being finished off by pottery drop-in regular Drew Caines, and is one of a number of robots he has made. “I’ve been working on it for around ten hours,” he says, “It’s for a friend’s mum, and is named after her dog.”

Drew turns back to his model, using a craft knife for more intricate details.

The drop-in facility is open when the studios are not being used for structured classes. People can drop in to work on their own projects and pay only for the materials used. The sessions are intended for those with some experience, but generally there are people present who can help.

“If anyone comes along we will try and sit them with a volunteer,” explains the centre’s operations and marketing co-ordinator Graham Dawson.

Regular pottery courses run twice a week and are suitable for beginners and more experienced ceramicists. Specialist courses on the Japanese pottery technique raku, and on living forms are also held.

Centre volunteer Beryl Wheal took me under her wing. “What would you like to make?” she asks. I settle on a dish. With a lump of clay on the bench in front of me, Barbara produced a shallow, yet surprisingly heavy, mould in the shape of a heart, and a rolling pin. “Think of this as being pastry, as if you are making a pie,” she says. After rolling out the clay, I lift it over the mould and carefully press it down using a small sponge.

The clay is quite thick, yet still it is difficult to prevent it pulling apart. “Don’t worry,” says Barbara, “If you make a mistake you can start again.”

“Now you can imprint a design on the bowl,” says the retired primary school teacher, producing, of all things, a doily and a piece of wallpaper. “You can use either,” she adds.

I choose the doily and lay it over the clay, pressing down. I didn’t realise how easy it would be to get an eye-catching, decorative effect on the clay. While still in the mould, the bowl looked great. “You can use all sorts of things – antimacassars, net curtain material, Anaglypta wallpaper.” I gently press around the edges, smoothing out the areas that looked a bit frayed.

Pottery clay is used to make three categories of pottery – earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. If pottery clay is baked by intense heat – a process known as firing – it becomes permanently solid.

Allan Ingham first joined a pottery class at the centre five years ago. “I’m going through an owl phase,” he says, gesturing towards a number of colourful ceramic owls lined up on a shelf. “I may hang this one in a tree,” he says of his latest wide-eyed creation.

Children too, can reap the benefits of this craft. Three-year-old Elijah McFarlane handles a craft knife like a professional, cutting his lump of clay with confidence. “It is great, it allows him to create anything he wants to make, and using the various tools helps with hand-eye co-ordination,” says mum, Jane McDonald. “Together we made a Bob the Builder and glazed it ready for the kiln.”

Drew shows me a dalek, made by a ten-year-old boy. It is amazing. “I find it really relaxing,” adds Drew, taking a breather from his robot. “It is like going back to school.” It was – as I shaped my vase, the years fell away and I could have been back in Mr Potter’s class at my North Yorkshire comprehensive.

I trimmed the excess clay from my bowl with a knife. “Now you leave it for a week to dry, then fire it in the kiln, glaze it, then fire it again,” says Barbara, who shows me some Picasso-inspired decorative tiles she made for her garden.

“When your finished pot comes out it is a fabulous feeling,” she says, “It is a ‘wow’ experience.”

Kirkgate Studios offer classes in subjects including stained glass and woodwork.

“We received a lottery grant to run classes in woodwork for parents and children,” says chairman of the management committee Said Karodia: “There is a huge social outreach programme here.”

Time constraints meant that sadly I couldn’t see my bowl through to the finish. Before leaving I take a look at the work on display – it is outstanding. There are vases, bowls, figures, animals and fish, in glorious colours. People can make their own glazes, Graham tells me. I wonder what I would be capable of, were I to sign up for classes. I’m very tempted.

For more information on courses and drop-in sessions, ring Kirkgate Studios and Workshops on (01274) 598928 or visit the website at ksandw.org.uk