Been thinking about picking up the craft? Looking to get your hands stuck in some mud and let time fly from a hyperfocus on this fine motor-skill task? It’s fun, it’s a challenge, and it’ll give you an extra thing to enjoy your life with. This 12-week wheel throwing course is aimed at not just giving you a go at throwing, but providing you with the proper skills and time needed to do it independently. It’s aimed at both beginners and advanced throwers.
We’ve just released it and it will be held in our new pottery space in Piccadilly East/Ardwick at 85 Northwestern Street, M12 6DY in the new year. We’ve extended the classes to 2.5 hours and at £380 we’ve discounted it for the lucky first few to book onto.
You’ll be taught by our master potter Sam Andrew who has been teaching wheel throwing for over 10 years, and has learned pottery since a young age.
Here’s what we were able to get people to achieve in one of our tasters (red clay) and our 2-day throwing workshops this summer (grey clay).
Exciting! After 18 years in Moss Side/Whalley range we’re moving. We’ll slowly be growing into the space. Coinciding with our 25th year, and our annual winter open studio our opening event is on 6th December 5.30pm-8pm and 7th December 10am-4pm, where we’ll hold an exhibition, social and sale, with new works by Sam Andrew, the tutors and members of the studio. Come join us, it’s a perfect spot to grab a mulled wine and peruse some unique handmade gifts from functional ceramics for daily use to sculptural ceramic art pieces in this new industrial space.
Location
It’s located at 85 Northwestern Street, M12 6DY. It’s behind Mayfield just off the ring road in between Power League and Curry’s clearance. It’s only 10 minutes walk from Piccadilly station with plenty of free street parking space during the evenings and weekends.
There’s still much to do before the opening including lighting, furniture making, plumbing, and moving over items from the old studio.
All classes, workshops and pottery collections will be at the new space from 6th December onwards.
Our top picks from 2024’s Manchester Open Art Exhibition at HOME. There are 490 works in this exhibition, picking the top ones isn’t easy. In fact, it’s much more of a ‘5 pieces I like in the exhibition’, than a ‘top 5’. If we had lots of awards and lavish pots of money to give our top 5, we’d be giving it to them. But unfortunately they’ll have to do with my wispy digital praise and a theoretical pat on the back. I’d put all of these on my own walls if they were mountable.
This one struck me quite early on in the exhibition, possibly because it was near the beginning, at number 11. But more so because of it’s kind of depressing, possibly macabre atmosphere of empty chairs in a desolate room, with a littered floor of paper, crumbs and mugs. Add stripes to the chairs and you’ve got me. I love the styling and the questions it induces for me keep me intrigued. As it’s sold I won’t be able to buy it, but I did envisage it on my wall.
There’s nothing more fun than a furry painting made of carpet that’s smiling at you upside down. Even it’s belly button smiles. Playing with perspective, this big hairy legged, bendy, orangey-brown bikinied person jumps into a swimming pool, which for some reason has large lipped fish in it. There are drips that aren’t part of it, and it’s carpet texture makes it naff, which just enhances it’s charm. This one makes me smile and reminds me to have fun and not take things too seriously.
As a potter, craft is important to me in any artwork. A teapot is an object that requires one of the highest levels of craftsmanship in ceramics. This meticulously crafted teapot, not made out of ceramic, but paper, is intricately layered and delicately dainty. Clearly some great skill has gone into making this, but very different from the skills needed to make a teapot from clay. It’s time for tea and if you put tea in this teapot, it would likely turn into mulch after a short period of time. Which wouldn’t make good tea at all. Maybe not it’s intention, but it’s uselessness points me back to the ceramic teapot, which functional by nature, ends up on a shelf unused since the invention of the bleached teabag. I haven’t appreciated paper so much before.
Ella Booth-Pryce, Fridge.
For some reason, I didn’t notice one of the biggest pieces in the exhibition the first time I went round. Maybe because my piece was in front of it, or maybe I thought that’s where the curator’s put their lunch. You can buy this handmade paper fridge for the price of a real fridge, except with it’s contents included for free. There’s something about the handmade nature of this piece that appeals to me as a potter, with the time, care and attention to detail in the making process. With it’s wobbly edges and wonky writing, it is scaled naivety and imperfection, and makes me want a paper version of all my things at home too.
This last one beamed out to me, you can tell its a painting, yet it seems so real, that the bun a crumb texture make me salivate. You know it’s a good painting when it appeals to your desires and evokes deep emotions. In all it’s deliciousness it makes me hungry and there’s just something funny about that.
So that’s my top 5 from the Manchester Open Art Exhibition. If you haven’t seen the exhibition, or, like me, you missed many pieces the first time you went, then it’s on until the end of April. There more details about Manchester Open here.
Sam Andrew
Sam Andrew is a ceramicist creating Nerikomi tableware and ceramic art pieces focusing on material reuse, pattern and perception. With a background in Clinical Neuropsychology Sam learned ceramics since a young age and changed career a decade ago to design and make ceramics.
In one of Manchester’s most visited exhibitions, and 4,377 visitors in 2024’s opening weekend, Manchester Open is HOME’s flagship exhibition that runs every 2 years. From prints and painting to ceramics and digital art, this year showcases a whopping 480 artworks. The artworks are created by an eclectic mix of locals with any experience level and background, including established professionals, students, graduates, new and emerging talent, enthusiastic amateurs and first-time artists. 4 of our own associated artist’s works are featured. Visit Tue – Sat 12:00 – 20:00 and Sun 12:00 – 18:00every week until 28th April 2024.
