FANGFOSS Pottery's 40th anniversary celebrations at The Old School, Fangfoss, near York, are in full swing with plenty planned for the summer holidays by Lyn and Gerry Grant.
At Jubilee Park, in Fangfoss, a mouse hunt will be going on throughout July and August. "Little ceramic mice have been placed around the park for visitors with a keen eye to discover and take home," says Lyn.
From July 24 to August 31, an Art and Archaeology exhibition will run at Thixendale, where the pottery became involved in an arts project inspired by digs at Hanging Grimston.
To celebrate Yorkshire Day on August 1, the pottery has organised a competition around Pocklington. "We'll be placing ten small ceramic plaques in shop windows in Pocklington and are asking the public to name the shops displaying them, with the first ten correct entries drawn out receiving prizes," says Lyn.
The plaques will be in the shops from July 29 to August 6. Competition forms are available from Pocklington Arts Centre, the town council offices, and Fangfoss Pottery and the competition requires entrants to name the ten shops. Entries also will be accepted via e-mail at gerry@fangfosspottery.co.uk.
Children making a mural at a Fangfoss Pottery workshop
On August 1 too, Lyn and Gerry will be in Pocklington market place with some clay to invite people have a go at hand-building. “We're calling it Play With Clay Day and it's an opportunity for everyone to be creative," says Lyn. "It’s free and the creations can be taken away, although they can’t be fired.”
For rather more permanent pots, children may attend a workshop at Fangfoss Pottery from 10am to 11.15pm on August 15, when they can make a fancy plant pot. The cost is £6 per child, including all materials and the firing of the pots.
The final event will be the annual Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts in Fangfoss on September 2 and 3. "This village celebration of arts and crafts is a great day out with plenty to occupy the whole family: free craft activities, demonstrations, flower show, craft stalls, children’s games, traditional fairground rides, refreshments and lots more," says Lyn.
"At the pottery we'll have lots of free things going on. People can have a go on the potter’s wheel, paint a little pot and take it away with them, watch raku firings and discover the skill in making a teapot from start to finish.”
Fangfoss Pottery's 40th anniversary year is going really well, says Lyn. "Everything we've done has been really popular. All the workshops we've put on have been over-subscribed and we've had to put on extra ones.
"Around 30 people rang up to say they'd found the leaves that we’d hung up around East Yorkshire and claimed their prizes, though there are still ten more to be found, mainly on the East Coast. We have 200 people per day following our archive posts on Facebook and entering our free monthly competitions," she adds.
"It’s been a great year so far and has reached far beyond our expectations. We hope this will continue throughout the summer and that people will enjoy everything we have planned and perhaps start up ceramics as a hobby for themselves."
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