Wattle and Daub

Hilary and Helen embarked on a new project together this year, combining their traditional skills of basketmaking and ceramics; two ancient crafts so intertwined in history and in life that it was natural to explore how they connect and complement each other.  

Over the course of two weeks this summer they built a wood fired kiln made from willow and clay in the garden at Heckleburn.  The willow framework was covered in a mixture of clay, sawdust, wood chips, sand and water.  

Always keen to involve others in the making and creative process they held workshops in coiling both in clay and natural fibres.  The results were beautiful.  

You can watch the making of the kiln in time lapse videos on the HQ Facebook page.  Scroll down to May 2017 and you can watch them all in the correct order.  Whilst it took over two weeks to build the kiln each day is squeezed into a few minutes so it doesn't take long to watch it and it's very entertaining.