What did I do for my workshop in Williams Lake? After an enjoyable Greyhound bus ride (8.15am – 4.15pm) up the Fraser Canyon, then beside the Thompson River and north up the Cariboo Highway, Joan Beck met me. As before, when I gave a workshop to Cariboo Potters in 2000, I stayed for the three nights with Joan and her husband Reg. Their home is a short drive out of town, on Fox Mountain, where life is quiet and there are NO street lights!

After a light supper we drove back in to town and I presented my power point presentation ‘Gillian McMillan’s Jugbirds’. It covers my journey from England, stoneware and Emily Carr College, to earthenware and jugbirds. People seemed interested in the idea of brightly coloured slips but needed reassuring on the durability and safety of earthenware versus stoneware. Some of the group weren’t coming to the workshop next day so I was encouraged to go ahead and give the shorter PPP on my happy month as an artist-in-residence at Medalta, Medicine Hat in 2010.

On Saturday the ten registered participants watched me start the day with some wheel-throwing with D’Arcy Redart clay, cone 04. Joan and Lesley were around for most of the time to make sure I had what I needed and that all was well organized. Because some of the group had only taken one or two pottery classes so far I showed them how to use a tile cutter and my thrown, bisqued plate moulds. Their tiles and plates were then left to firm up ready for decorating the next day. I also threw an oval mould and a squared one which can dry out and be bisqued for their future use.

My throwing demo was a jugbird body and a cylinder to make into a spout later. I also showed them how to use the extruder to produce my V-shaped spout/bill forms. I was able to show the next stage of fabrication on a leather-hard jugbird I’d brought on the bus. The spout was inserted. Then on another I shaped the spout, showed how I attach a handle and added the eyes. I painted this one with slips on Sunday.

Later I threw a cylinder, a pancake base and a smaller cylinder. Next day those became one of my vases with a hole through the middle. The hole serves as a handle and helps flowers to stand upright.

The group took me to a nearby cafe for lunch, and on Saturday evening we met at Lesley Lloyd’s country home for a magnificent potluck supper. Thank you Bill for delicious salmon and everybody for such a wonderful variety of tasty dishes. Potters are the best at potlucks!

On Sunday I showed various ways that slips can be applied: painted on, trailed, sponged, resisted (with latex or cut-out newspaper) and then sgraffito. As usual with tile-painting the results are so varied. It’s great to see the ideas that come from a simple demonstration.

After lunch, another generous potluck, people finished their tiles and plates and started getting the room cleaned up while I assembled the first jugbird I’d thrown and the vase. The guild will now have some pieces to colour as they please, fire, and keep in their collection. It was slightly alarming to see that they still had the work I’d made 14 years ago, before I had started making jugbirds. They’re in good company as I recognized work by several other BC clay artists who’ve been guests there.

My photos in this blog were taken on my camera by Lesley on Sunday. I shall be most interested to see photos of all the work made over the two days, mine and the tiles and plates made by the group. The slips and glaze recipes are what I use so I hope they all work out well.

Again, thank you all for inviting me, for being such an enthusiastic group, and for helping out all the time with getting supplies from the downstairs pottery room when needed. I had a very happy weekend in Williams Lake and a comfortable return bus ride home.

Thank you for the photo below, Cary Burnett.