ICF (International Ceramics Festival)

Well that was a fun weekend!  I’ve never been to ICF before and didn’t know what to expect.  As it was, it was a really great weekend with much to see and lots of socialising.  All of the fun!

Tom accompanied me to Aberystwyth, but not to the festival, opting to go walking and painting with his time.  I spent my days with my fellow students fully indulging on all that was on offer; demonstrations, lectures, exhibitions, films, etc.  The focus was on sustainability in ceramics which was lightly touched upon by all those involved.  I learned a great deal from all I partook of, but specifically from a few artists whose sessions I attended.  It is about those that I will write about here.

The first and most simple was Rich Miller whose demonstrations I attended.  At both, he had with him a moisture box.  This is basically a large and deep Tupperware container with a plaster bat in the base.  The idea is you keep the plaster wet and store your current build in it to stop it drying out.  I’ve since found myself a box, but have yet to make the plaster base to go inside.  I shall give it a go and see if it works well for me.

Nick Lees was another demonstration that I got a wee tip from.  He suggested sanding wet bisque work with diamond abrasives in order to attain extra neatness.  This is something that could definitely be useful with some of the more intricate builds I do.

Louise Bell’s wheeled animal figures are endearing and enchanting in equal measure.  I love the style she produces and so attended her demonstration making an anteater.  It was very informative.  Bell makes her pieces in parts; three for the body of the anteater.  She then joins them together, piecemeal style, with legs, base and wheels.  Whilst I didn’t pick up any tips to improve my handbuilding skills, watching her work with the engineering of the build was informative in a confirmative kind of way.  Bell mentioned that she purchases her clays and glazes from sustainable sources, openly refusing to using cobalt due to the issue of child labour in the countries in which it is prevalant.  My notes from both of Bell’s demonstrations highlight scraping off slip rather than washing it off to retain more of it in the textured piece, along with using DAS Pronto air dry clay to make sprig moulds.  Both techniques are potentially useful at some point.

My biggest take home of the weekend was the work of Gareth Nash.  I attended the lecture and then one of their demonstrations.  Nash was using stoneware paper clay which reduces the weight of the pieces.  A great tip.  It is also more sturdy at the greenware stage and very easy to mend cracks.  Paper clay can repair bisque fired work, and it can also attach two pieces of clay, even if they aren’t paper clay to begin with according to Nash.  Something to think about that can extend the complexities of a build.  The ratio of paper to clay can affect the shrinkage, so tests would need to be carried out beforehand to ascertain this. 

The research that Nash has carried out in pursuit of their art is extensive.  Fundamentally interested in horses, they have particularly studied ancient Chinese ceramics, including the Tang dynasty.  Their knowledge of horse anatomy and how this has been represented in ceramics is second to none.  Additionally, Nash paints and is a musician.  They are LGBTQIA+ and all of this features in their work.  Their style and range of work was very appealing. 

I would definitely recommend ICF to any ceramicist, no matter what style or methods employed.  There is something for everyone to see and experience.  The artists represented above are just the tip of the iceberg. Aberystwyth itself is a quaint town that is a tad lengthy to get to, not being connected by motorways, but it’s worth the effort in my opinion.  Roll on 2027!