Pittenweem Pottery

The Pottery

The Art Gallery & the Pottery are next door to each other and were originally part of the farm complex. When we moved in, we used the space to store all sorts of junk - including wood for the fire.

It took two months to prepare this space and make it accessible for wheel-chair users too. Many visitors during the Pittenweem Festival commented that this raises the standard to which other venues should aspire.

Making the Gallery functional was a high priority so as to get it ready for the hundreds of visitors during the Pittenweem arts Festival. The actual pottery area was a cramped cupboard type outhouse in which the boiler was housed also. One of the problems with this was that I would break pots while taking them to the kiln - the other end of the complex. This year (2009) we used the outhouse next to the Gallery and this proves to be a much better solution. For one, visitors can watch pots being thrown or decorated, or can simply have a look at where it all starts. It's been a joy to see young children get enthused and want to become potters when they visit the pottery. The other benefit is that I have around 8 times the space and can produce more items.

We are very much interested in archaeology and after study of design etc, Steve has come up with his own versions of archaic looking pottery. Indeed, one archaeologist asked if the pot on this page (terracotta) was Samian ware. Terra sigillata is also a term associated with Samian ware, meaning that it would be finished with a gloss sheen, not by glaze but through polishing prior to firing and after firing, or by using a special slip and gently buffing. This made the vessel more desirable especially as it would hold water better and improved the aesthetics.

Steve in the new but old workshop. Plenty of room, a plumbed in sink, electrics and plenty of benches and storage space. Best of all, the floor is a slopping concrete floor which is ideal for washing and keeping the dust down.

This terracotta pot above, is what we refer to a being 'green'. That is, it still has to be fired to take out all the moisture and to turn it into a ceramic. When it becomes a ceramic, it cannot be changed back into clay (apart from using it as grog in clay). Below, this pot in Romano style has had a first firing.

Home The Potter The Pottery The Pottery Process Around Fife Contact Us Links Submissions

There's no green about these items. Made from Buff, white and black clays, with Greco/Romano influence and of course, the Egyptian figure.

To see more pottery photos - Click Here or if you wish to purchase, please click here.

For those familiar with the wise & foolish virgins, you may be interested in this Pittenweem version of the Romano style oil lamps used in the first century B.C.E. The oil lamp is based on archaeological finds and interpreted in our own way. Bearing in mind that I have only seen photos of the artefacts, historians have assured me that I have the correct scale for the lamp.

The pottery before it was fully organised. I've cleaned the walls, but left them rough. It's organised so that I can work well and visitors can watch but at the same time keep away from precious work. I work with 2 X strip lights which keep it bright - especially important for decorating.