This year we took a few artists on a day trip to Troy Town Art Pottery in Hoxton. We don’t often have the chance to do a lot of pottery in our current studio so it was fantastic to meet some professional ceramic artists and use a fully equipped pottery studio. Troy Town is a non-profit studio run by artists who hold residency there and has one of the only kilns of its kind in London. It was founded by artists whose focus is on celebrating the art of pottery as sculpture and not solely as a functional craft. It’s a beautiful space which has an air of mystery surrounding it. We entered through a quiet alley off of Hoxton’s busy street market through a tranquil garden and into the workshop.

The studio is full of an eclectic array of ceramic wonders lining the shelves. They even have a pet axolotl who is the subject of many sculptures around the room. We were warmly welcomed by Alice from Create London who, like us, are also given support from Bank of America - Merrill Lynch. We were given a tour by the artists and then settled in for a workshop on making coil pots. Everyone got stuck in, carefully rolling out clay ‘sausages’ and sealing them together. Some of our artists had never worked with clay before, such as Shruti, who was incredibly focused and had a great time perfecting her piece. Herald was in his element and got very creative adding a handle and face to his pot. When the time came to pack up Hisba didn’t want to stop! Her creation was the tallest vase in the group by far. Our artists were all so grateful to Troy Town’s resident artists for the experience and were captivated by their works on display. We learned about their kiln, different materials, techniques and glazes.

As always, one memorable part of the trip was traveling to and from the workshop. We always have fun meeting up and taking the bus together. It’s also one of the most beneficial aspects of what we do, helping our artists navigate the city independently - and having some banter along the way! It was a splendid day out from start to finish, exploring a different part of London, seeing new art, and getting our hands dirty. It was wonderful for our artists to have the opportunity to try a new skill in a workspace so passionately dedicated to the medium. Big thanks to Troy Town & Create for hosting us.

Learn How to Make Your own clay planters at home