Lou's ceramic lamps

'Winter’s Warm Embrace'

Lou Cox is a new addition to the Old Forge Pottery co-operative in Eynsham. She joined the pottery in May 2013 and is exhibiting her work in Eynsham for the first time during the weekend of 23 and 24 November 2013.

Lou designs and makes ceramics, sculptures and ceramic lamps. She says: "My work is inspired by sculptural shapes within nature and the curves of the body. I work in porcelain and other types of clay which when lit up, create interesting patterns to create a warm and cosy atmosphere."

The sculptural lamp pictured on the left is called Winter’s Warm Embrace and is hand built in porcelain. Lou explains: "This sculpture had many inspirational starting points. I am interested in how birds flock together. I looked at starlings and admired the way they dance with each other at sunset. This is called a murmuration and is one of the most beautiful natural experiences. I love the way the birds glide and swoop in group formation and by uniting together the birds are safe and protected from predators. I was also partly inspired by my grandfather, who introduced me to nature and taught me about the stars and galaxies.

"I create sculptures that offer a full sensory experience. The use of light, warmth and textures can also be enjoyed by a person with visual impairment."

Winter’s Warm Embrace is unique and glows beautifully when lit up; come and see for yourself at The Old Forge Pottery. The piece is for sale for £95. For more information email LouCox.Art@live.co.uk.

Eva Smith ceramics at the Old Forge

Blue and white vase (porcelain paperclay)

Eva Smith is showing her work at the Old Forge pottery in Eynsham during the weekend of 23 and 24 November 2013. She says:

"I became passionate about working with clay and ceramics when I started classes at Sunningwell School of Art 12 years ago - both general pottery and later sculpture classes in clay with live models. I have always enjoyed experimenting with a diverse range of ceramics, letting the creative and instinctive process and the clay lead me to sometimes unexpected results!

Ribbon vase (porcelain paperclay)

"My ceramics range from figurative and abstract sculpture, to more functional but unusual hand-built one-off pieces in porcelain, white stoneware and other clays, to thrown pieces. I love using brightly coloured glazes and a range of finishes, often painting these on the bisque fired pieces.

"When a place was offered in the co-operative Old Forge Pottery in Eynsham, with its historic blacksmith's range, bellows, anvil, tools left intact from 1950s, a few years ago I happily accepted! I now spend a day or two a week around the day job in this creative space alongside the rest of the group who pot there, as well as developing skill and ideas by going to workshops and ceramic events.

"I enjoy sharing my work with those interested and am happy to be contacted in between Artweeks events or Old Forge open days/sales. Some of my ceramics are now also displayed in a gallery in Wallingford."

Blue allium plate (stoneware)

You can contact Eva on 01865 724351.

Eynsham artweekend: November 2013

On Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 November from 11am to 5pm some of Eynsham's artists will be throwing open their doors for you to come and inspect their work.

Unique and original paintings, prints, pottery, jewellery, gifts and cards will all be available for you to buy direct from their creators:

• Adrian Moyes and Sue Raikes - 16 Queen's Lane, Eynsham
• Eric White (pastel paintings) 28 Mill Street, Eynsham, OX29 4JS
• Eynsham Arts Group (painting and other media by various artists) Bartholomew Room, The Square, Eynsham
• Graham Rice (paintings) Upper Studio, Unit 26, Eynsham Park Estate, Cuckoo Lane, North Leigh, Witney, OX29 6PW
• Jane Tomlinson 18 Newland Close, Eynsham, OX29 4LE
• Joanna Ripley (jewellery) 27 Queen Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HH
• The Old Forge Pottery (ceramics) 33A Newland Street, Eynsham

Download and print this PDF map to help you navigate around the village. (Just right click the link > save it > print it!)

Eva's passion for clay

Eva Smith is one of a group of potters whose work will be on show in Eynsham next weekend.

Eva became passionate about working with clay after she started classes at Sunningwell School of Art twelve years ago. She learned about pottery in general pottery and later clay sculpture with live models. She says:

"I have always enjoyed experimenting with a diverse range of ceramics, letting the creative and instinctive process, and the clay itself, lead me to sometimes unexpected results! My ceramics range from figurative and abstract sculpture, to more functional but unusual hand-built one-off pieces in porcelain, white stoneware and other clays, to thrown pieces. I love using brightly coloured glazes and a range of finishes, often painting these on the bisque-fired piece.

"When a place was offered in the co-operative Old Forge Pottery, with its historic blacksmith's range, bellows, anvil, tools left intact from when the smithy closed in the1950's, I happily accepted this, as the time constraints of classes limited what Icould do. I now spend a day or two a week in this most creative space alongside the rest of the group who pot there."

Stoneware bottles by Malcolm Moor

Among the many wonderful ceramic items on show at the Old Forge Pottery on Newland Street in Eynsham next weekend will be these two stoneware bottles by Malcolm Moor.

Malcolm describes how he made them: 


"They are thrown in two parts then joined together when they are 'leather-hard'. The four faces of the base are formed by dragging a finger diagonally along the inside of the thrown cylinder on the wheel to create the four edges then the outer faces flattened with a wooden tool.

"The tops are thrown separately then stuck on using slip (liquid clay) before the faint grid lines are scratched through the semi-dry clay then filled with iron oxide.

"A mixture of iron and manganese oxides are painted on the top and the big brushstrokes. After the first firing, the inside is glazed to make the pots waterproof then fired again at a higher temperature. Sparing use of thin glaze on the outside allows the stoneware texture and colour to remain to maintain a link with the earth where the clay came from."

Potters forge their own workshop

Captain Nemo at the wheel

Having your own personal pottery facilities is expensive and requires a huge amount of space. So at the Old Forge Pottery, 33A Newland Street, Eynsham, 10 potters rent the building collectively and share the workshop, wheels, drying racks and kilns. It's not a shop and it's often open to the public so the Eynsham Winter Artweekend is a rare opportunity to see what goes on inside.

Potter Adrian Moyes

The pottery was the brainchild of Eynsham residents Adrian Moyes (pictured with two of his creations) and his wife Sue Raikes.

"The Old Forge building was not being used, so when we went to have a look at it, we were amazed to see that the actual old forge fireplace, including bellows and flue were still intact! "A nice rough working space like this was just perfect for us and so in 2006 the The Old Forge Pottery began life," says Adrian.

The Old Forge Pottery

The old forge itself

From the outside the building looks pretty unprepossessing, but inside it's full of history and creativity. Indeed, the story goes that it was at the old forge that Cromwell's (and perhaps Charles I's too) horses were shod in the 1640s.

Isn't it good to think that a building once used by the village farrier and blacksmith is still used by local craftspeople to make useful and beautiful things?

Anthony gets his hands dirty

Potter Anthony Abrahams is a retired GP who left busy Oxford city life for the peace and tranquillity of village life in Eynsham. He says: "Before I retired, I'd never done anything creative before, but when I moved to Eynsham, I fancied getting my hands dirty and making things, so I joined the Old Forge Pottery co-operative."

Anthony explained that he loves the mysterious alchemy of every part of the process of pottery - from the throwing, to the turning and finally the glazing: "you can never be quite sure how it's going to look when it comes out of the kiln, so it's always a nice surprise."

Recently, Anthony has been creating a number of blue bowls, experimenting with overlaying glazes to reveal unexpected tones and textures. Each bowl is priced about £20. You can see Anthony's work at the Old Forge Pottery, 33A Newland Street, Eynsham during the Artweekend.