| Hello, and welcome. |
| My name's Heather McCallum, |
| and I'm one of the potters who work here at Edelman Pottery. |
| Before we go into the workshop, I just want to say a bit about the craft of pottery. |
| Then we'll have a look at the equipment, |
| and you can try making a pot of your own. |
| Like many people, I'm sure you know that pottery as an art form is tens of thousands of years old, |
| and we know this because it stands the test of time. |
| Things like baskets and pictures don't survive in the earth in the same way that pots do. |
| And even if ancient pots are found in small pieces, |
| they still provide a lot of information about the past. |
| There's no doubt that pottery has given archaeologists a fascinating insight into how ancient humans lived. |
| The shape of an artifact may have been lost. |
| But archaeologists can tell whether the pots were for, say, storage or cooking |
| by examining the impressions on the clay, the scratches from tools. |
| And the clay itself can reveal where the pots came from. |
| When I ask people why they want to take a pottery class with me, |
| they sometimes talk about these things. |
| Like our ancestors, they hope that something they create will also last longer than they do. |
| That their work, whether it is good or not, might say something about humanity many years after their death. |
| Of course, you will all have your own reasons for coming here. |
| As far as I'm concerned, what I love most is the concentration you need to make a good pot. |
| That focus takes you away from the stresses of everyday life. |
| If you're elderly, it's also good exercise for hands and wrists, and helps with arthritis. |
| And of course, it's a fun activity for children, because it's so messy. |
| Here at Edelman Pottery we show you some of the basic pottery techniques, |
| so that you can use these to create whatever you wish, a gift for a friend perhaps. |
| Like nearly everyone who comes here, I'm sure this is the first time you will have tried the art. |
| So we'll keep things simple today. |
| Now, before we move on, can I just say a word about what you're wearing? |
| As we said in our email, please remove any watches, necklaces, et cetera. |
| And put them somewhere safe. |
| If you have long hair, do tie it back now. |
| We'll provide aprons later, |
| but I trust your clothes are old but comfortable, not your favorite T-shirt or jeans. |
| So now we're in the workshop. |
| Have a look around. |
| There's a lot going on. |
| To make pottery that will last, you need a potter's wheel, |
| a kiln, which is basically a very hot oven where you fire the pottery, |
| and some tools. |
| So first, the kiln. |
| If you look over in the far corner, you'll see one of ours. |
| Since their invention kilns have changed very little. |
| Though in the past 20 years, a lot of progress has been made in temperature control. |
| Basically, a kiln removes the water from clay. |
| At temperatures of around 1,000 degrees Celsius. |
| This allows anything you've made to set permanently in shape. |
| It's a pretty ugly, heavy object that's hard to keep in a house or flat, |
| so most people don't have one. |
| You may think, "can't I use my oven?" |
| Well, that's possible, |
| but domestic ovens don't really get hot enough, |
| and eventually the clay will crack and fall apart. |
| Some people fire pottery in a fire pit outside, |
| but bear in mind that can be dangerous. |
| You also need to know about safety procedures for kilns. |
| As they release toxic compounds into the air. |
| Every potter needs a potter's wheel. |
| This machine is used to shape the clay into an object with circular walls or sides, such as a bowl. |
| Its invention revolutionized the pottery industry, |
| allowing multiple items to be produced in a day. |
| Lastly, there are a number of different tools that potters use, |
| depending on what they want to make. |
| When you start, your hands can make all kinds of shapes and curves without relying on a sculpting tool. |
| However, there are some basic tools that you will need to handle the clay on the wheel. |
| Some look very strange and have even odder names |
| that you may find hard to remember. |
| Rather than go through them all now, I'll just name a few tools as we go along. |
| We can provide these and I wouldn't recommend spending money on them yet. |
| So, let's try making a pot of your own... |