Pottery Progress

The pottery is finally beginning to take on its true identity and atmosphere. The building is nearing completion, with windows now giving an open view of the gardens, and internal fixtures and fittings making it more recognisable as a studio. In case you missed it, our video telling the ‘Inside story’ of the pottery, in which I interview Ed Burgess, the architect, about his design, is still available on YouTube.

For those involved in setting up the courses, deliveries of equipment and materials over the next few weeks are adding to the excitement and anticipation of opening the facility and welcoming the first students.

August will be a month for fundraising to pay for some essential equipment such as the kiln, wheels and pug mill.  If you have expressed an interest in supporting the pottery in any way, whether as a volunteer or by making a donation, please click on the following link to be taken directly to our crowdfunding page.

On the practical side of things, we are delighted that a technician has been appointed to help with the smooth running of the courses.  Birgit, one of the tutors, has been doing an amazing job, leading on the practical development of the pottery. Among her many organisational tasks and despite all the work involved preparing for her own shows up and down the country, she is busy making plaster batts for future students to use!

The pottery wheels and other equipment will be arriving at the end of August in good time for the pottery opening. The first courses will start on 19 September. In fact, plans are being developed as far ahead as Christmas, when we hope to join in the usual Dulwich Village festivities with a Bell House Pottery stall. There will also be some whole day masterclasses for more experienced potters. Watch this page to keep up to date with the new courses as they are finalised: www.bellhouse.co.uk/pottery

If you are still thinking about joining in with this new venture there are some spaces, particularly on afternoon sessions in the Autumn. Courses are also now available to book through to the end of November.

In the meantime, if you have already signed up for a class in September, a holiday is a great opportunity to find some inspiration for patterns and designs in objects and nature around you, as demonstrated in the design below- product of a holiday in Cornwall.

Pottery inspired screen print by Jim Belbin

The next news update will be the last before the opening. Time flies.

Jacqui Pick - Volunteer

August 2023

Bell House Pottery - 3 months to go!

Countdown to the new pottery opening for use. Three months to go!

Most people familiar with Bell House in any way will already know about the wonderful new facility which has been taking shape over the past months, tucked away between the outbuildings and the garden, not at first obvious from the road.   Gradually, as buildings do, it has been emerging from the usual confusion of a building site and is now nearing completion.   Classes are planned to start in mid-September and booking is already going well.  A great deal of interest was shown by everyone who came to ask about the pottery and look at the architect’s model, which was on display on the Open House and Dulwich Festival days. Even those who had no experience of pottery were enthusiastic about this new local resource and its potential.

The building itself is very carefully designed to exploit the lovely position of the site, overlooking the gardens, and to complement the existing style and atmosphere of Bell House and its grounds. Sound principles of sustainability are at the heart of its construction, and will continue to be adhered to once the pottery is in use. For example, solar power and a ground source heat pump will provide much of the energy needed, and clay can be recycled routinely from any items not required by their ‘creators’. Encouraging news for those of us beginners who are bound to have a few mishaps!

If you have already booked a class, or if you are thinking of doing so, what can you expect in the autumn?  A spacious and bright room, with a warm atmosphere, closely connected to the natural world of the garden outside, with all the inspiration that might provide… Classes of eight- small enough to allow plenty of attention and support but providing a friendly atmosphere in which to learn together…  Enthusiastic and experienced tutors, each bringing different styles and techniques as potters…  And, as autumn moves into winter, an afternoon or evening to look forward to as you acquire a totally new skill or explore an existing talent.

Pottery at Bell House

This Autumn saw Bell House running for the first time weekly Pottery classes guided by expert potters Ekta Chakraborty and Annie Antoine.

The classes have been buzzing - a hive of activity - friends made, conversations flowing, skills learnt and importantly work to show for their time spent. Everyone enjoyed getting their hands dirty working the clay and revelled in decorating their pieces.

All work has now been fired and the results really do speak for themselves.

Big plans are afoot.

These classes were the first toe in the water for pottery at Bell House. 

We are currently building a Community Pottery Studio in the garden which is scheduled to be completed in July 2023. There will be a new and larger kiln, half a dozen wheels as well as every other piece of equipment needed to run a thriving and dynamic pottery space. Our tutors Ekta and Annie have been supporting and advising with the build  as well as several local professional potters including Julian Stair and Birgit Pohl

There are no community pottery studios nearby. Bell House wants their studio to be not only for building pottery but also for building friendships.

The studio will be used in the daytime, evenings and weekends so that all our local community can enjoy potting!

In the meantime, Ekta and Annie say: “We want to be able to grow our workshops over the next year to a number of days during the week and turn the pottery into a friendly, creative hub with regular, repeat, diverse participants.”

The new classes for 2023 are now available to book - go to our events page to learn more.

We also look forward to interviewing Ekta and Annie in the new year to find our more about their love of pottery and to hear about the building progress of Pottery studio.

But in case you need some more persuading to sign up for a pottery class - this is what Annie and Ekta say about working with clay.

“Clay is a great medium as it’s so tactile and very forgiving with mistakes. Nothing ever goes to waste, everything is recycled. It’s grounding and a mindful practice and also known to be beneficial for people on the spectrum or with ADHD.

Not only do you gain a new skill and hopefully learn something about the science of clay but you also devote time to yourself and your friends. It’s a slow process to be able to create an object with clay and results are generally never exactly the same and so this encourages the potter to enjoy the process, slow themselves down and focus!”