Hi both,

Related to the theme the day key issues for me are what access and understanding we have of clay - the core physical foundation of the city, its material and substance. Planned activities at Stave Hill will see the transformation of an ecological site into a site of excavation and production, informed by its ecology and geology.

I’m imagining the (fired) outcomes to be physical and metaphorical building blocks for constructing new structures, designs and models for the city, tokens and mementoes maybe that refer to our relation and position within it. The project, with none of us being experts in ceramics, is by nature very experimental and ‘failure’ (however it is measured) is part of it, but very much related I feel to the overall issues we are addressing with the project, and thus should be celebrated too.

Shane

Hi both,
Just thought I’d give you a visual account of where I collected clay today on the Naze in Walton. 
It’s a beautiful and very unstable landscape, pounded by the sea, exposing the crag and london clay (pictured here on the beach), that washes out to sea. Interesting to see the rejects bricks, from the old local brickery (that used this very clay, probably destined for London), which now make up the supporting wall and foundation for the beach huts. Notice the break away bricks making their way back to sea (last couple of pictures)? That is a 60 million year old cycle, and ecology in action!
Talk soon,
Shane