Sustainable Pottery

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 print issue of the Anglian Potters Newsletter.

Judith Annakie-Eriksen shares some zero-waste practices of fellow exhibitors at a recent craft show and asks the question “Can potters can do more?”.

Craftworks Show

In May this year I participated in the Craftworks Show, which coincided with London Craft Week. This new craft exhibition in the iconic Shoreditch Town Hall ran with the theme of “honour the past, celebrate the present and secure the future of craft”.

The 100 exhibitors represented a melting pot of high quality traditional and contemporary crafts, a curated display of the red list of endangered crafts, educational opportunities focusing on heritage craft, as well as a strong talking programme where sustainability in craft featured significantly.

Awareness of environmental responsibility and of the ethical purchasing behaviour of customers is growing. In an effort to gain a marketing edge business owners, whether large enterprises or one-person set-ups, are using their platforms to make green value statements.  Often these claims of being a zero-waste business or employing sustainable practices are not accompanied by any evidence.  In response to this, the UK government has published The Green Claims Code checklist, to ensure that businesses are operating within the law, and to help consumers make informed ethical decisions.

Definitions:

According to the World Economic Forum, “Zero waste is the principle of minimizing waste production as much as possible, then composting, reusing, or recycling any other waste generated”.

Whereas Earth5R defines sustainability more broadly as the aim “to reduce environmental impact across various areas of life”. Sustainability therefore takes a more holistic approach advocating for green energy, being water-wise, supporting local small business, and consuming ethically.

Zero-waste can therefore be deemed as one of many components of sustainable living and working.

With all this in mind, I was particularly interested in the Craftworks Show discussion “Crafting a Sustainable Future: exploring zero-waste craft”. Perhaps some good tips from processes and techniques would emerge from the conversation that could be transferable to the world of pottery.

Duncan McKean, interior designer and best known for his appearances on the BBC’s upcycling television programme “Money for Nothing”, chaired the session and offered some of his own insights as a designer maker.

Born out of necessity

Panellist and young designer Willow Bloomfield’s creative journey started following an apprenticeship as furniture maker when he began experimenting with metals from scrapyards. Born out of necessity owing to the high price of the precious metal, Willow sources scrap copper boilers and whiskey stills, out of which he refashions the items into flat sheets and reinterprets the metal into light sculptures … giving the copper new life from its original intended use. Good planning, as in mapping out exactly how to use his source material, is an approach to his way of working, whilst maintaining a degree of flexibility when things do not quite go according to plan was a tip that he shared.  “Mistakes are often an opportunity to make something new”, he says.

“The best things in life are free”

Charlotte E Padgham describes herself as a jeweller and artist as she undertakes a multifaceted and circular studio practice where materials, designs, tools and processes are always being analysed to ensure that they are being put to best use.

No waste leaves her studio, and she even uses her own hair to make pigment, to create jewellery, or to transform into paint brushes. Constantly on the quest to source something for nothing, the adage of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings true in Charlotte’s case where she has built collaborations with other industries to source waste materials for her practice.

Study your materials

A background in fashion and textiles and her love of nature led research artist and author Caroline Hyde-Brown to study embroidery. Her own work features leaves, seeds, fallen branches and tree bark. Not only is her studio practice zero-waste, but she also seeks out other waste to transform into embroidery and weave.  Caroline believes that zero-waste and sustainability requires a conscious decision to adopt a low-cost and simpler lifestyle. Breaking down the word “sustainability”, she chooses “to sustain herself as an artist and maintain the ability to move forward creatively with materials that other people either overlook or discard”.  Speaking as a scientist, Caroline stresses that working with unconventional waste or natural materials necessitates a curious spirit to observe and study the materials, as well as a tenacious attitude to experiment how far a material can be pushed to its limit.

Whilst their approaches differ, what unites these makers is that they are foragers of waste, of used products, and of natural materials. Each artist has found their own niche for recreating their works into desirable objects, and indeed with a new story to tell.

Emerging themes for potters

So, can any of these practices be applied to ceramics? It is a question that I often ask of myself, especially when sorting my domestic waste into my local council’s strictly designated receptacles for the weekly rubbish collection.  I would like to think yes, as ceramicists, we can certainly do more individually and collectively, and I have broken down the Craftworks discussion into five emerging themes for consideration and hopefully further debate in the ceramics community.

Information gathering

Every new journey needs a roadmap. Undertaking an audit of your current pottery set-up is most likely a good starting point for gathering information. The outline checklist in the text box is one of the more basic tools found whilst researching for this article. There are of course many free online resources to conduct more comprehensive investigations. The amount of detail into which a potter may wish to delve during this review phase is entirely a personal choice and will partly be driven by the size of the practice and the nature of the processes being employed.

Continuous learning

There is no denying that coordinating the cycle of making ceramics with a busy schedule of craft shows, along with the more mundane tasks associated with being a small creative business, is a never-ending and delicate balancing act. Time is a non-renewable and precious commodity and many of us find that there is too little of it to allow for structured learning opportunities. In the sustainable world, success relies on the willingness to expand one’s artistry, developing adaptive skills sets, and deepening one’s understanding of the origins, composition and possibilities of raw materials being used in our chosen field. The Craftworks panel members strongly supported the importance of introducing “playtime” and experimentation into practices which are crucial for creative innovation.

Key steps and considerations for conducting a sustainability audit

 

1.    Energy efficiency

·     Use LED lights (they last longer and use less energy).

·     Ensure proper insulation to reduce emissions and heating costs.

·     Switch off devices when not in use.

·     Consider renewable energy tariffs.

·     Install solar energy

 

2.    Equipment Assessment

·     Review existing appliances and replace them with more energy-efficient models.

·     Install a smart meter to monitor energy use and control bills.

 

3.    Environmental Impact

·     Assess waste management practices.

·     Evaluate water usage and conservation efforts.

·     Consider sustainable transportation options.

 

4.    Social Responsibility

·     Examine employee well-being programmes.

·     Evaluate diversity and inclusion initiatives.

·     Assess community engagement and philanthropic activities.

 

5.    Economic Viability

·     Analyse financial practices related to sustainability.

·     Consider cost-saving measures through energy efficiency.

·     Align with global sustainability standards.

 

Source: Partially reproduced from Microsoft Copilot

Develop a circular practice

The next level of progression from the fundamentals of recycle all clay, use water wisely, and always fire a full kiln would require a commitment to a circular way of working based on the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Ideally, any waste generated in a pottery set-up would as far as possible be used in another process to achieve a zero-waste outcome.

The possibilities are too numerous to list in this article, but some popular and simple to implement methods of working include wild clay collection to reduce the impact of large-scale clay-mining. Rather than throwing away faulty pots, some potters grind down the shards to make grog. In terms of energy use, electric kiln users can fire at night during the cheaper energy tariff times or if feasible consider a switch to a green energy provider. Other efficiencies can be gained by single firing or using low fire clay bodies. Why purchase packaging when boxes and filling from your own deliveries can be reused to send out orders to your customers.

Build your network

Most potters that I know work alone and, like me, enjoy the solitude of playing with clay. Networking is such an important part of education, business, and creativity. A new friendship with a mosaic artist formed through one of my network groups has led to exploratory discussions about a collaborative show. I am almost certain that this conversation would probably never have happened had I not sent her a box of my seconds and faulty pots to use in her works. The lesson learnt in this instance is that sustainable practices can and should cut across different creative disciplines. 

Be true to yourself

It goes without saying that as creative people we strive to maintain our artistic integrity. It is our driving force. Developing sustainable ways of working does not mean that originality will be stifled but should rather be approached as an ethical means to innovate and create.

Conclusion

Sustainability is most definitely a lifestyle decision requiring the adoption of a different mindset to create and live a simpler life, as well as to hold oneself and others accountable for protecting our environment. Fully embracing a new mindset means breathing, eating and loving the process.

But where does one start? Start small or aim for the low hanging fruit.  Before long, new sustainable practices will become second nature, which in turn will build preparedness for the next step change.

Clay as a raw material is a non-renewal resource. Ceramics as an end product is considered to be amongst the most enduring and therefore more sustainable creations.  Discoveries are still being made of ceramics artifacts produced thousands of years ago, giving us insights into the evolving lifestyles of ancient civilisations and previous generations. It makes one wonder how pottery produced today will be viewed 100 years from now?  Who knows, perhaps it will be defined as the era when collectively artists and crafters made huge advances in sustainable practices in pursuit of preserving our planet.

Author: Judith Annakie-Eriksen is the owner of JAE Ceramics, a one-woman low impact home pottery business with a focus on creating decorative functional ceramics – www.jaeceramics.com

Sources:

Robert Harrison, 2013, Sustainable ceramics – a practical approach, Herbert Press

Linda Bloomfield, 2020, How to make your pottery practice greener, Crafts Council Stories (https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/stories/how-make-your-pottery-practice-greener?fbclid=IwAR2k_CZiDVydyh6L6hwvNUJebObn6p-RXPfktaTy-6w6dCu5N4tSZpZobuo)

Caroline Jackman, 2023, How to be more environmentally and financially sustainable in your craft business, Crafts Council Resource (https://media.craftscouncil.org.uk/documents/Environmental_Resource.pdf)

Competition and Markets Authority, 2021, The Green Claims Code checklist, UK Government

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-claims-code-making-environmental-claims/green-claims-and-your-business)