Michel Francois: Throwing masterclass

About this class

Asian tableware fascinates us all In this two day workshop with master potter Michel Francois, we focus on making two classic forms - the Ramen and the Udon bowl Michel graduated from Falmouth University in 2002, after a period as artist in residence at the Leach Pottery in St.Ives, he set up his own studio in Falmouth. His work is exhibited in high profile galleries in the UK and Internationally. He has also co-designed and produced a range of tableware for the Eden project, funded by a research grant from the Academy of Innovation and Research. The Ramen bowl is a challenging piece to make on the wheel without instruction, it has the perfect balance between breadth and depth. without being a huge bowl, it's a substantial size and the skills required to achieve it are very useful for making larger vessels. If you master the Ramen bowl, you can master any bowl! The Udon is the winter version and is rounder and higher and also requires its own understanding. It is the descendant of the Buddhist Monks’ Alms bowl, generous in spirit it was made to welcome and attract food donations to support meditative practice. It is tall and wide with a compressed base that curves upwards. Participants will start by learning how to prepare the clay with the spiral wedge method. We will cover how to centre clay effortlessly with our left hand. We will learn to throw tall and wide and how to finish lips and leave enough clay at the bottom of the bowl to turn a high Asian foot. After finishing the course each participant will feel comfortable and confident in throwing any shaped bowl up to 1.5kg. You will throw and trim several bowls during the workshop but choose two to fire and glaze. All materials and refreshments are included in the workshop fee Fired work will be charged at £10 per kg