Wind blown fibre clay forms (two views), rubbed manganese and copper oxides, underglaze & clear glaze, 1100c. Photos: Kay Alliband

A weekend workshop at Gymea TAFE

Well, there I was, up to my eyeballs in clay - the usual rush to get my Port Hacking entry finished on time. It had occurred to me that this piece might not survive the firing even if I did manage to lift it and get it into the kiln.

The postman came. C.S.G. newsletter arrived. Flick, flick, flick. And there it was - ‘Fast Fire Fibre Clay Sculpture Workshop with Steve Harrison’. Quick reference to Pottery in Australia mag - “Specially formulated clay body which can be fired in under two hours.” Just what I needed in case part 1 of my project didn’t survive!

At 9:30 am on Saturday morning, 20 of us assembled in Gymea Tafe Ceramics Studio. Steve, in his usual laid back manner, showed us some previous examples. We would make and bisque fire similar sculptures on Saturday, then patch up, make additions, glaze, and fire by Sunday lunch time. In the afternoon a portable fibre kiln would be made and then kilns unpacked. The sceptic in me was saying “get real - this can’t be done with clay.” This was balanced with the knowledge that Steve is always pushing boundaries or exploring new territory.

So away we went. First we made a wire armature of our sculpture. This was done with trellis wire mesh (a fairly heavy wire mesh) cut with long nose pliers and bent and fired with tie wire to hold its shape. For some of us girls not used to working with wire, this was the tough bit, but in the end we succeeded. The wire forms were then covered with blue Chux held in place with masking tape. Not a good look! This was to stop the soft fibre clay from falling through the wire mesh. The whole form was then covered with 12mm hexagonal ‘bird wire’, which was easier to manipulate than the trellis wire. The sculptured forms began to clearly take shape - leaping fish with gaping mouths, torsos and ‘holey’ abstracts.
Then it was on with the rubber gloves and dust masks and outside to weigh up and mix our own batch of clay. Water and ceramic fibre mixed into wet, sloppy slosh, and in went the paper pulp, clay ceram and lastly the grog. When mixed well the resulting modelling medium was quite plastic - a bit like scone mix, or kids playdoh.

The ‘clay’ was pressed all over the form. The fine bird wire held the clay, the Chux preventing it falling right through to the inside, and the trellis wire supported all, preventing a very messy collapse. Gradually forms became more defined, details developed and it was explained that “the thickness of clay is not a problem as long as the wire armature can support the weight.”

“OK,” says Steve, “over to the kiln room.” The sculptures were heavy, squishy and the wire forms flexed as we struggled across with them, as large and wet as they were. Some of the girls hitched a lift, with their pieces, in the back of Steve’s ute, which was quite a sight! The soggy, wet forms went straight into kilns. The fibre gas kilns were put on full blast and 1000c was reached in an hour. I didn’t hang around to see the steam and smell the smells!

Sunday morning, to our amazement, out they came, all in one piece. A jaw dropping experience! And they were surprisingly light. Small cracks had appeared in some, where the wire armature had flexed during transport over to the kiln.

Any cracks were filled with clay left over from the previous day and details were added. To do this, a small amount of clay was rubbed well into the fired surface, and then additions were just stuck on.

The forms were glazed with low temperature glazes (to mature around 1100c) and then put back into the kilns - the bisque forms with more wet bits attached and glaze covered/ Would they hold together? Would they collapse as the wire structure weakened even more with the second firing?

Of course not - this is a Steve Harrison workshop! I was no longer a sceptic. I now realise that some of my creative wild dreams can become a reality. Thanks Steve!

It was during the wire forming stage of the sculpture with Steve that I decided to do a variation on the process. I have been working with coiled slabs, and this technique, if I could get it to work, would enable me to defy the normal clay forms dictated by the weight of clay.

My wire form was made from trellis wire and reinforced with steel welding rods. The paper/ wire clay was then pressed in from both sides. The wire ‘wind blown’ form then became a ‘slab’. It was interesting that the “clay” did not dry out at all during the hour or so that I spent out in the sun and wind pressing the “clay” on to the wire. I thought the drying would help the stability as the ‘clay’ stiffened up. As I progressed, some of my ideas changed. The piece ended up horizontal rather than vertical, with holes poked through the ‘clay’ and mesh, lines roughly scraped on with a knife and areas of exposed wire and pointy bits added after bisque firing.

The surface texture was emphasised with a rubbing of manganese and copper, and a small amount of underglaze and clear glaze added in areas. I discovered the fibre/paper clay had a different surface character to clay, but just as much aesthetic appeal and potential.

Kay Alliband won the 2002 Port Hacking Potters Award for handbuilding.