clay - throwing the Ossi way with Markus Böhm

STURT SUMMER SCHOOL 3rd - 8th January 2012

This successfull workshop took place at the Sturt Pottery with 7 Students. Within less than one week all the participants had been able to show remarkable progress with centering and throwing bowls.

The following advertisement was taken from the official Sturt Summer School flyer:

Learn to be familiar and comfortable at the potter’s wheel. Learning to throw can be a long and frustrating process but with the right techniques it can be fun, although good pots do not come overnight! An Ossi is a person from East Germany.

A throwing culture developed in East Germany with a clear structure and with names for every particular position of the hands. This makes a very complex learning process much easier and provides a good foundation for further development into larger pots and more challenging forms. These methods save energy and prevent back problems, being developed by potters who worked long days throwing pots. This course concentrates on learning and practising throwing techniques, not on producing pots. Most of your pots will be cut in half to check your progress. This course is for those with some or no experience.

Markus will also show films and pictures from Germany. A selection of pots will be bisque fired after the course.

Markus Böhm started to learn throwing 28 years ago having grown up within the strong German tradition of handcrafts, where knowledge and techniques have been passed on from master potter to apprentice over the centuries. Markus teaches and also works in his own studio in north-east Germany. During the Summer School Markus will be assisted by his wife Ute, a professional potter since 1983. Currently Ute is the Chairman of the Board of Examiners for the Crafts Chamber for hand craft potters. A number of the apprentices they trained during recent years won the competion as Germany’s best apprentice.

The Summer School runs for 51⁄2 days between Tuesday 3rd and Sunday 8th January and the classes are held from 9am to 4.30pm (12.30 on Sunday). Tea and coffee are provided.