Creating Santons in Suffolk

I spent much of last week working with Peta Whiting in her pottery workshop near Stowmarket, Suffolk making the St. Oswald’s Nativity santon figures. There is a lot to get done if we are to get these completed in time for Christmas! Santons are small brightly painted pottery figures that form a Nativity scene. They are a wonderful Christmas tradition from Provence. Click HERE for more information. Peta, who has made several pieces for the church has recently been given a set of moulds which are around a hundred years old. St. Oswald’s is to have the first set from them made by her. Ever since the TV ‘Pottery Throwdown’, I have really wanted to have a go at pottery, so this was my big chance! Peta kindly let me into a bit of her world and taught me some tricks and what to do with the moulds, figures etc. It was quite difficult  at first and I managed to decapitate and chop the hands off quite a few figures! After a while, I improved and Peta, rather bravely, then left me to my own devices. All in all we got a good number of figures ready for firing and painting… things that I am definitely not ready to do yet! Anne