Days of Clay @ CoCA
Running alongside the fair, York’s Centre of Ceramic Art is organising a full weekend of hands on activities, talks and workshops with lots to enjoy for lovers of ceramics, including a lecture by noted potter Alison Britton OBE.
Admission for each day is just £4 if you are attending York Ceramics Fair. The evening talk by Alison Britton is ticketed separately. Information below.
Saturday 23 November
10.30am – 4.30pm
Susan Halls in the Studio
Come and help fill part of the gallery with a crowd of watchful clay rabbits. Animal sculptor Susan Halls will be running a hands on workshop showing you a quick and effective way to make a hollow rabbit that will form part of her ‘Meadow’ installation.
6.00pm – 8.00pm
Annual Coca Lecture 2019: Alison Britton OBE
Alison Britton was part of a group of radical women artists graduating from the Royal College of Art’s ceramics course in the early 1970s. In 1993, Britton co-curated The Raw and the Cooked with Martina Margetts, at the Barbican and Modern Art Oxford, which then toured in East Asia and Europe. In her lecture, Britton will reflect on this exhibition and on being part of an emergence of a radical abstract expressionist style of ceramic work. This year’s Annual CoCA Lecture will take place at York Art Gallery and ticket holders will have the opportunity to visit CoCA’s new exhibition Gillian Lowndes: At The Edge after the lecture, where drinks will also be on sale.
This event is ticketed, priced £10. Tickets available here.
Sunday 24 November
In the CoCA 1 Gallery
1.00pm – 3.00pm
Clay Participatory Performance
Join performers Milena Dragic and Mila Romans as ‘artist’ and ‘clay’ as they sculpt out clay movements and then invite you to participate in making, looking and moving clay to become part of the performance.
3.30pm – 4.30pm
Talk: Making Emmanuel Cooper
David Horbury discusses how editing Emmanuel Cooper’s memoirs has provided fresh insights into his pots and practice. David’s book on Emmanuel will be on sale in the shop and he will be available to sign them.
In The Studio
11.30pm – 12.30pm
The Life of a Slipware Potter
Join renowned potter Doug Fitch and his wife Hannah, for a talk about their lives as slipware potters, followed by a hands on session where you can try out slip trailing yourself.
2.00pm – 3.30pm
Texture and carving workshop
Learn about hand building with artist Wendy Lawrence. Take the opportunity to get hands on yourself and create a piece of carved, textured clay to take home with you.
In the CoCA 2 gallery
11.30pm – 12.30pm
Children Curate in conversation with Anthony Shaw and artist Susan Halls
Meet the collector and the artist who helped inspire the children who curated the current Anthony Shaw Collection display.
2.30pm – 3.30pm
Alison Britton in conversation with Anthony Shaw
Following her Annual CoCA Lecture (Saturday 23 November, 6pm), Alison will be talking with Anthony Shaw about the practice and work of Gillian Lowndes in CoCA’s new exhibition Gillian Lowndes: At the Edge.
In the Burton gallery
2.00pm – 3.00pm
Book Reading: The Ups and Downs in the Life of the Fabulous Bernard Palissy
Join Jane Hamlyn for a reading of a quaint little book about the 16th century French Huguenot potter Bernard Palissy and his desperate struggles to discover the lost secrets of Italian tin-glazed earthenware.
3.00pm – 4.00pm
POTSHOTS – starring Johnny Vegas as Bernard Palissy
Produced by Roger Law and Anya Course. Running time: 25minutes. Jane Hamlyn will be available to answer any questions.