I had a week in Portugal in October 2023, teaching glaze workshops and visiting Oeiras Ceramic Art exhibition. I was invited to be an ambassador for the exhibition, together with other ceramic artists including Alberto Bustos and Yola Vale. We attended the opening night of the exhibition and gave a series of workshops and talks in Oeiras.
I was invited by ceramicist Luciana Cravo and business owner and exhibition organiser Catia Fernandes to teach two glaze workshops, one at Luciana’s studio and the other at Catia’s Ceramista shop and atelier. We spent the first day making glaze tests and then fired overnight and discussed the results the next day.
The kilns fired to a higher temperature than expected (cone 10 and above 1300C) but there were some great results with lava glazes and crawl glazes. The students also made glossy, matt, satin matt and crackle glazes. Each student made a base glaze and added various colouring oxides.
Some of the students from the glaze workshops were also at Oeiras ceramic art exhibition. I met Catherine Portal, Philippa Mollet and Leonora Lockhart, who I had met previously when she attended my book launch in London.
Luciana Cravo makes lava-glazed sculptures inspired by weathered rocks found on the beach. She was extremely welcoming and looked after me throughout my stay in Portugal, taking me for delicious lunches of bacalhau, pasteis de nata and also showing me around the national museum of tiles (azulejos) in Lisbon. We also visited the workshop on the top floor of the museum where tile panels are restored. Thank you for inviting me Luciana and Catia!
