2024 Members Summer Picnic with Kate Malone MBE

Kate Malone MBE: ‘As Ambassador for London Potters, and a Kent resident, I am bringing two groups together, London Potters and Kent Potters, to have a picnic under the apple trees at home, and then some critical analysis ‘speed dating’ in the 1929 oak paneled games room.’

Description:

Our honorary ambassador Kate Malone MBE is inviting 30 London Potters members to have a picnic at Kent farmhouse to on the 17^th August. During the picnic, Kate would like attendees to take part in a critical analysis of work with each other. This is intended to be helpful for our own development from being open to listen to other’s perspectives on our work.

What you need to bring:

• Picnic blanket
• Your picnic lunch
• Optional (but we hope you would): please bring your work to take part in a ‘critical analysis’ conversation. This work could be a completed piece, work in progress e.g. glaze tests, designs, maquettes

Travel information:

• Detailed joining instructions will be sent to you once you purchase your ticket so you can make travel arrangements
• There will be an option for you to notify us if you would like to car-share when you book the ticket. If you choose to car-share, your details will be shared with others who wish to car-share

Please see Kate’s invitation including her intent for ‘critical analysis’ below:

A Picnic Invitation and Opportunity for Critical Self-Awareness 

in your ceramic practice 

As an artist I am constantly observing, absorbing, responding in a deeply personal way to the world. I wonder at things in nature, antique shops and peoples’ homes to try and filter the curves and surfaces that I like and don’t like, to see which proportions I feel are beautifully balanced and ones that don’t work for me personally. This is a matter of having a critical eye. It becomes instinct. By appraising the shape of a leaf or curve of a stem and storing filtered judgements in my subconscious, I draw upon them to make decisions when I’m inventing new forms, making and glazing. During making I’m constantly looking at the whole piece, its weak visual points, trying to perfect detail. Could I have made the form better, or detailed it better?

This constant analysis is not heavy-duty self-criticism, but a pleasurable balanced process. We should constantly appraise our own work while making. Once fired, Ceramics last tens of thousands of years. It is our responsibility to have a critical eye and make decisions about whether to move a piece forward or start again. Our work is always an evolution, building on the last piece, trying to improve or simply playing with changes. This is common to all artists and is second nature to us.

I would like to share this critical analysis with others. We should not be shy to speak about our work, criticise it, and when we’re comfortable with other people, discuss each other’s work. One person might like a vase with a narrow neck, personally I love an open form that presents its inside spirit to the outside world. This doesn’t mean to say a narrow neck is wrong, but talking about these things widens our learning and scope to improve. It’s a matter of our different opinions which we should enjoy, rejoice in, and share.

For this reason I am holding a picnic in my garden in Kent on Saturday August 17^th especially for Kent Potters Association and London Potters – to enjoy each others’ company and common ground, celebrate the fact that we are a creative group enjoying clay and ceramics. I have plenty of room so even if the weather is poor there is a large enough space inside. So please pop the date in your diary and bring along a piece, a set of glaze tests, or a photo of the piece you might like to discuss. We can ‘couple-up’ to do pottery ‘speed-dating’ and for those who are happy to chat in groups we can enjoy some group discussions. There may be a few surprise visitors there as well. Bring a delicious picnic and a blanket or seating and we can all share the pleasures of our ceramic lives at our farmhouse in Kent.

All proceeds from the event, the raffle and donations will go to firedup4.com. Placing soft clay into small hands where it is most needed.

Welcome. Kate Malone MBE