Fiona Veacock is one of Made in Greenwich's star ceramicists. Her beautiful pieces showcasing some of the most iconic buildings in the borough were an instant hit with our customers.
But in addition to being a talented potter, Fiona is also a passionate teacher. Just before the lockdown commenced, Fiona had started offering clay classes at Made in Greenwich. Comprising of just four people to ensure real one-to-one support, Fiona coaxed the best out of her aspiring potters who each made a mug and a wonderful soap dish or trinket tray. In fact although the class happened eight weeks ago, Fiona has only just been able to fire the work they did. Here's an exclusive preview! Isn't it fantastic?
We were hugely disappointed when we had to close Made in Greenwich and suspend all of our fabulous workshops until further notice, even more so as we'd only just got our creative programme up and running! However, Fiona is not a woman to simply throw up her hands up in despair. She soon got busy offering virtual clay classes for people to do at home.
Fiona puts some clay in the post with a booklet explaining what you need. The idea is that you'll have everything at home: eg- a tea towel (to keep the clay moist), a bottle (rolling pin), CD cases (to provide a leveller for the clay). It's truly ingenious. Again, when it comes to decorating techniques, Fiona explains that she wants people to look around the house for things to use.
Lego bricks, a fork, toys, twigs, even unusual hair accessories! All these things can be used to print with. The idea of my virtual classes is for people to familiarise themselves with the clay, to make-do and mend in an imaginative way. I'm there on Zoom to help them with techniques and ideas and I can demonstrate from my end too. When they've created something they like, they take a photo and then ball up the clay to start again. I've been thrilled with how much people have enjoyed it. It's such a lovely thing to be able to do at home, especially at the moment when a creative pursuit can really help take your mind of things. I've even done a couple of children's workshops via Zoom now. It works brilliantly!
If you'd like to find out more about Fiona's Clay by Post classes - then please click here and help support one of Made in Greenwich's fantastic artists. You can also buy Fiona's work on-line at Made in Greenwich just click on our shop and type in Fiona Veacock.
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