Katherine Staples Clay Studio and Gallery offers pottery classes at new venue at Wymondham Windmill and invited LincsOnline to give it a go

“Most people who walk in say they’re not creative but they leave with a totally different attitude.”

It’s an easy statement for Katherine Staples to make - a clay artist on a mission to share her passion through pottery classes.

Katherine discovered a love of ceramics while studying for a crafts degree at university, and went on to complete a masters in studio ceramics at Loughborough University.

Her second child arrived just six weeks later, and the arrival of her third child coincided with her role in a 500-piece, month-long collaborative exhibition.

Today, she splits her time between making her own sculptures - often commissioned works - or teaching others how to enjoy ‘playing with clay’ from her recently opened cabin studio at Wymondham Windmill.

It is positioned among shops selling gift, clothes, furniture and bikes, plus a business offering horse riding lessons on a simulator, all in the shadow of the windmill and designed to offer visitors a shopping experience.

Moving to the new cabin gave Katherine more space than she had in her garden studio at home in Whissendine.

“I don’t even know how I fit it all in at home,” she said, adding her new space means she now has a gallery showcasing paintings, pottery, sculptures and jewellery by fellow artists she admires, and well as pieces she has crafted.

The studio itself includes five potter’s wheels and two kilns.

She has also added silver jewellery-making courses to those she runs, from one-off taster sessions through to honing advanced techniques. She is considering adding classes in textile work and Raku - a type of Japanese pottery.

Class sizes are typically small - up to five for those involving the potter’s wheel - so Katherine offers plenty of one-to-one tuition, but the studio can also cater for corportate team-building days, or hen or stag events.

“Ninety per cent of people walk in and say they’re not creative,” said Katherine, “but clay is so versatile.

“I absolutely love the fact that I can take a piece of clay and make absolutely anything that I want to make.

“I make sculptures because I love creating different shapes, but I also love sharing the joy of clay with other people and seeing what they can achieve. Everyone has the ability to be creative.”

Gift vouchers are available, particularly useful in the run-up to Christmas, and Katherine can personalise the vouchers for the recipient.

To find out more drop in to Katherine Staples Clay Studio and Gallery at Wymondham Windmill, LE14 2BU, visit www.katherinestaples.com or call 07760 427758.

Katherine invited LincsOnline editor Kerry Coupe along for a taster session. Here’s how Kerry got on making a mug.

My last art lesson was when I was about 15, back in secondary school. But a friend who is a ceramics artist is always raving about the joys of clay, so I jumped at Katherine’s offer to give it a go.

There was a torrential downpour as I navigated my way through Rutland, and arriving in the dark meant the beauty of Wymondham Windmill and the new shopping cabins was somewhat lost. But the warm glow of Katherine’s studio stood out like a beacon, drawing me in.

Katherine and her colleague Steph Bull were running the small class, and welcomed us novices with a glass of elderflower cordial. Katherine explained we’d be making mugs and, talking us through the process, she showed us mugs made by people who had attended similar classes.

The first stage was to roll a ball of clay with the dimensions of a generous-sized Christmas pudding into the right shape. Wooden batons were placed either side to ensure it was rolled to the correct depth, and a template was given to cut out a rectangle.

Next it was time for the design and we were told to leave a gap about two thirds of the way into the design for a handle - it can’t be placed where the two ends of our rectangle would join because it would create a weakness in the structure.

I probably let trepidation about ‘ruining it’ get in the way of being as creative as I could have been. I chose some stamps to make a leaf and dragonfly-shaped imprints into the clay - probably the easiest option available. I attempted to use a mould to make a butterfly but because the leaves I had delicately imprinted onto my stretch of clay were quite small, I found it too fiddly to cut out the butterfly using a knife and ended up with what looked like a dung beetle in my hands - not quite the intricate insect I’d been aiming for!

Having completed a design I was relatively happy with, it was time to score the ends and join them together using slip, a mixture of clay and water, using fingers to smooth the join on the inside and outside.

Trying to make it roughly cylindrical, the hollow shape was then placed on another piece of clay so we could cut around it to make a base. Katherine explained that if you do it the other way around, you always end up with a base that’s too small. It is then stuck on using the scoring and slip method.

Next was the most difficult part - adding a handle. Some in the class chose to skip this altogether, instead using their fingers to make an indent where they would hold it to take a sip. But with some gentle persuasion from Katherine, I cut out a simple shape and then put it on the mug in a handle-like fashion, with more of the score and slip technique.

That was when I encountered a problem. The handle didn’t stay stuck. I was initially concerned I’d be holding it in place for hours until it dried on, but then Katherine whipped out a special weapon - a hairdryer! Blasting it on a low heat, some of the moisture was removed from the clay, encouraging the handle to stay in place.

The final stage, now I had something that resembled a mug, was to paint it. Watered down clay mixed with pigmentation creates a range of shades, and having seen a beautiful white bowl with a simple design, I decided to try to replicate that by only painting my leaves with a light green. Looking around my classmates and wondering if I was being a little bit boring, I through caution to the wind and painted the handle the same green colour.

During the class, Katherine and Steph took the time to explain why things were done in a certain way and encourage my artistic side, even when I wasn’t altogether sure my simple design was worthy of their praise.

I left pleased with my efforts but I found it hard to envisage how the finished mug will look. We were using white earthenware clay, so the grey matte clay will turn white and glossy giving it what I hope will be a much more polished look.

With my part in the mug-making process completed, my ‘work of art’ was off to the kiln for a first firing - known as a bisque firing - for about 48 hours. It was then due to be glazed before heading back into the kiln for a further 48-hour stint. Firing it at a high temperature and using good quality earthenware clay means my morning cuppa will be in safe hands.

I’m looking forward to meeting my finished mug - and to seeing the windmill and the shops at Wymondham in a better light.