CLAY CRAFT 

Part 1

Articles written by Chris Taylor Ceramic Artist for ClayCraft Magazine. Tales of Pottery and running a working and teaching studio in Dumfries and Galloway.

In August 2017, after 17 years living in Devon, my family and I moved to Dumfries and Galloway to start a new life.

I had moved to Totnes in 2000, meeting Lauren in 2003 when she was working for Dartington Pottery and I for the potter Colin Kellam. By 2005 we had both moved to North Devon and set up our own studio and that is where we stayed for the next 12 years. 

Fast forward to 2017 and I was making and selling pots alongside lecturing part time at Plymouth College of Art whilst Lauren was bringing up our children. Things had become pretty routine so we began talking about the possibility of moving somewhere new.

Lauren was keen to move back to her hometown of Dumfries which seemed to me a good place to raise our family however our biggest hurdle was working out how to have a stable income and still be able to do what we loved. We had made and sold pots since we met but had found that we never knew from one month to the next how much we would sell. As a result, teaching pottery classes part time had become a financial stabilizer and turned out to be a welcome contrast to the solitude of working alone in the studio. So we began to look for teaching work in the South West of Scotland in an attempt to replicate our current situation, however the only University which offered a high level ceramics course was in Aberdeen - much too far from where we wanted to be.

That Spring I traveled to London to run a workshop in printing on clay for the Kiln Rooms and was struck by how thriving the place was. Their studios were being used by members over a longer period of time and in larger numbers than those at the Art School in Plymouth were. It seemed to me that this way of learning was really connecting with people.

On my return home we spoke about the experience and came to the conclusion that though people in London and Dumfries may have different requirements, if the Kiln Rooms could provide an opportunity for so many enthusiastic pottery makers in London surely we could offer something to the community in Dumfries and Galloway?

So we did some research, looking at what kind of opportunities and needs there were for people wanting to learn to make with clay in South West Scotland and then spent time creating a business plan before finding a premises we could work from, eventually opening Clay Works Studios in October 2017. 

Based in a grade A listed building on The Crichton estate on the edge of Dumfries, we had the opportunity to develop our pottery teaching program to suit a whole range of individuals. 

Taking time out of your day just to make something with a group of people who have common interests can be an incredibly positive experience, however for those that get the bug and want to take things further we are keen to pass on our high level of traditional making skills.

We run weekly pottery classes in line with the school terms for people across a range of abilities whilst we also allow Open Access to the studio for 14 hours a week for those who want simply to use the workshop in a self-directed way. 

Our new two and four day intensive throwing courses run during the school holidays and have been developed in response to the demand from people from outside of the region who want to learn to make.

Clay Works Studios is constantly evolving and we are always looking to tweak and improve the workshop, but one aspect which is ever present is the sense of community and inclusivity within the studio. Studio space is not at a premium here however many of the people who use us choose to come to interact with other like minded people. I suppose we are offering a space which, by its communal nature, overcomes that sense of solitude which we felt when working alone in our first studio.

This is an abridged version of an article  that was first published in issue 68 of Clay Craft magazine in 2022.