Category Archives: featured workshop
My studio has been featured!
I wrote this article for the Artists in Business blog, as they have a “In The Studio” section and feature a few artists every month. I had a message today saying I’d been featured for December, and here it is:
Ceramic Artist Charlotte Hupfield
“My passion for ceramics started from an early age, and it was at university where my skills, techniques, understanding and creativity developed. After graduating in 2008 I have continued to develop my ceramics over the past 18 months.
I began by working from home which wasn’t ideal as it got rather messy and storage space was limited. When everything took off 6 months ago I decided it was time to have my own creative space to produce work.
My workshop in the garden has been a life-saver and I don’t know what I would do without it now. It’s nice to sit out there at my leisure with a cup of tea. It’s also great to have so much natural light coming in through the windows. I have the occasional friends that sometimes come to say hello, such as the robin who watches me through the window, and the squirrel who jumps about on the roof! There is a big Christmas tree right outside the window, so I’m looking forward to the sight of it decorated nearer to Christmas.
I enjoy cleaning, tidying and organising my workshop every now and then but it soon gets untidy again! I made my own ceramic plaque which hangs on the outside next to the door. My plaques have been quite popular this year and I’ve made several for other peoples’ craft cabins and studios.
It gets a bit stuffy in the summer but it’s nice to have the door open with fresh air coming in. On the other hand, I’m just starting to experience the winter weather! I’m lucky to have a hallogen heater which heats up the small space and soon makes it feel warm and cosy.
My current work ranges from handmade items inspired by the natural world such as vases, bowls, sculptural vessels, coasters, plaques, clocks, letter racks, candle shaders, as well as smaller items including magnets, keyrings and brooches. I’m looking forward to lots of future design and creativity in my workshop.”
Making a vase
I’ve been making a few of these vases recently and thought it would be nice to show one being taken out of the mould. This shape is my favourite, its so slim and elegant. Although my vases are cast in moulds, each one is still individually unique because I decorate them in different ways. No two vases are ever the same!
I haven’t made much else over the past month, the workshop has just been used for dumping all my stuff in after craft fairs and I haven’t been bothered to tidy it, but its been nice to have the break!
The vase above will have a rustic and natural decorated surface like the vase below, but it will have scorred lines running down it. Its a present for Daves mum for Christmas, I hope she likes it. This actual vase in the photo below is for sale in my Folksy shop, with other new products coming soon.
I’ve got lots of new ideas for new things to make, such as ceramic buttons and tea, coffee & sugar pots. I’m going to wait til the new year before I start on a new batch of work. Until then, I can’t wait to……
I also couldn’t resist showing you how Molly has grown!
She has been a little under the weather this week with sore gums from teething but she is much better now, and back to her original mischievous self. You can see that beady look in her eyes here! Still worried about what she will do to the christmas tree when it goes up next week, I can just imagine her biting a bauble and trying to run off with it, taking the whole tree with her…….
Workshop snaps, work in progress…
I have noticed a big change in the weather whilst out in the workshop this week, it has been sooo cold! I’m lucky to have a halogen heater which soon heats up the small space, making it feel nice and cosy. I’ve noticed someone watching me from outside while I’m working… he’s small and fat with a red chest – Mr Robin is back! I think he’s waiting for the mealworms, although all the greedy starlings eat them all.
I’ve had a busy couple of days in the workshop and thought I’d take a few photos while its looking tidy(ish). Above is a selection of new vases, sculptural vessels, a pile of coasters and some new Christmas tree decorations in the shapes of stars and trees. I’m glad to be getting ready for Christmas early this year, I hate rushing at the last minute.
Here’s my main workspace where everything gets prepared, with the big Christmas tree right outside the window in the garden. You can see some of my vases in the moulds which were cast earlier today, they will be ready to take out tomorrow.
This is a shot of my wall full of inspirational images and photos, with pieces of work drying ready to be smoothed with finished edges. I do this when the clay is leather-hard (not too soft and not too dry). I’ve made a few trial letter racks, not sure how they will turn out as its a new idea but I hope they look ok.
These sheets of paper pinned on the wall are full of new design ideas that I’m currently working on. I also use them as a noticeboard to jot down ideas when I’m making batches of work. They are also handy for writing down the time when I’ve poured casting slip into my moulds for each item so I know how long they have been in, its sometimes hard to keep track of time when a few things are on the go at once!
I got given loads of unwanted bags of different glazes a few weeks ago. I made test samples for each glaze, and these are my favourites. You can’t quite see in the photo but the top left sample has little cratered bubbles on the surface, and the bottom left has lots of tiny brown specks in it. The glaze on the bottom right is a deep brown with exploded red patches, I think this one will be nice to use on some of the Christmas decorations as its got a warm Christmassy feel about it.
Other new work on the go is a range of smooth pebble shaped keyrings, candle shaders, bowls, wall plaques and lots more mini sculptures as I’ve sold my last batch.
I’m really pleased with my work in progress so far, so I’m off to treat myself with a chocolate eclair now!!
Grand Tour of my new Den!
It’s finally set up and ready to go!!! I have been so excited arranging where I wanted everything to be placed and finding homes for my tools and materials etc, although I have been a little impatient as I haven’t fully insulated it from the inside yet. It gets way to hot in there at the moment though! I’ve decided to leave it til the end of summer. I have filled all the gaps with expanding foam as you should be able to see (mostly to stop the spiders coming in), which will prevent wind and rain.
I still have a list of things which need to be done, such as a roller blind to put up (did initially want mini curtains but thought they would attract too much dust from the clay), a pin board where I can keep images, ideas and jot down notes, a plaque needs to be hung on the front which is waiting to be fired as we speak, a padlock to go on the door, some sort of coating to treat the outer wood from weathering, and of course the insulating.
I’ve put together two large collages of images which are displayed on the walls – one full of inspirational images and some of my own photos, and another of other artists and ceramic artists work whose I love.Here’s me working! I was beginning a sculptural vessel. Do you like my pink apron?
I have two work benches which fit all the way along the windowed wall, so its nice to look out at the garden while I’m working.
This is my shelving area and where I keep some of my moulds.
Theres plenty of storage space under the work benches to keep my glaze materials, oxides, scales, clay, moulds, safety equipment, tools, newspaper, etc. The benches also have shelves on the bottom which is very handy.
Thats it for now! I wasn’t sure whether or not to show you these images because it is not completely finished, but these can be the inbetween stage photos! I’ll show you some more when the other things are done… in the meantime I’m sure you can guess where I’ll be spending most of my time?!
