Circular Clayconomy is a research project that addresses the cultural environmental responsibility of creative practices in Norfolk through the lens of studio pottery. 

 

Ceramics has been at risk of becoming an endangered craft due to barriers like high costs and declining education. Despite being sustainable in the long term, contemporary ceramics production can have a high environmental impact: mining and shipping raw materials worldwide, significant energy consumption from kiln firings, and plastic use. Using local resources like wild clay can reduce this impact.

 

Wild clay is abundant near ponds but underutilised due to limited knowledge and labour-intensive refinement, creating a disconnect between artists and their materials.

 

Partnering with pond conservationist Andrew Hind, this research project aims to develop a regenerative ceramics practice that repurposes Norfolk wetland conservation waste, such as wild clay from pond maintenance and coppiced wood. We will investigate practical applications of the waste, design a ceramic-making process inspired by ancient techniques, and then eventually trial our findings through a community pottery workshop. Facilitating the workshop at a wetland site, participants will learn about local ecology, harvest and refine wild clay, and create pottery with specialist guidance.

 

The long-term goal of Circular Clayconomy is to develop a sustainable educational programme bridging environmental science and art, raise awareness for wetland conservation, reconnect the public with local resources, and lower barriers to accessing the endangered heritage craft of ceramics.​​​ Please contact info.lowbae@gmail.com if you are interested in funding, supporting,  contributing or taking part in this project.

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Project details:

 

Context:

Pottery and ceramics have been on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts since 2017. As of 2025, industrial pottery is still critically endangered for extinction, and studio pottery is currently viable (but not risk-free). The risk of extinction could be from factors such as high financial barriers to accessing the craft, the craft’s labour-intensive nature, declining ceramics education options in the UK, societal devaluation of craftsmanship and more. 

 

The common lifecycle of contemporary ceramic-making involves: 

1. Sculpting and refining clay into pottery

2. Air-drying pottery completely (~2 days to 3 weeks)

3. Kiln-firing clay to ~800-1000 °C to turn it into stone (bisque-firing, 24-48 hours)

4. Hand-decorating or glazing the bisqued pot

5. Kiln-firing the pot again at ~1100- 1300 °C to complete (glaze-firing, 24-48 hours)

 

Once pottery/ceramics is fired (passing quartz inversion at 573 °C), it becomes permanent, durable and reusable, which makes it a sustainable medium. However, the production itself can have a high environmental impact:

 

Materials: mining of clay and ceramic raw materials around the world

Transportation: worldwide shipping from mine to suppliers’ refineries; domestic transportation from suppliers to consumers (studio potters)

Operational cost: energy and water consumption to operate a studio, such as electricity for pottery wheels

Kiln firings: most energy-consuming as each firing spans 12-48 hours. Most kilns are commonly fuelled by electricity, sometimes also by gas and wood.

Plastic: use of plastic to regulate the dampness of pottery-in-progress, also packaging for shipping pottery

 

To reduce the environmental impact and lower overall energy consumption, ceramicists and hobby potters can utilise local or secondary resources in their production, such as using wild clay for making or opting for wood firing. Fun but little-known fact: you only need to dig about a metre deep into the ground to reach clay, and clay is exceptionally easy to find near natural water sources like ponds! However, making with wild clay is uncommon as it is an undereducated practice; wild clay can be time-consuming and labour-intensive to refine; results can be unpredictable compared to commercially refined resources. This leads to a disconnection between the artist and their source material, and detaches potters from the environmental responsibility of their craft.

 

Partnership:

Andrew Hind is a pond conservationist and environmental scientist. In partnership with individuals (such as local farmers and landowners) and organisations (for instance, Norfolk Wildlife Trust and UCL), his work promotes pond restoration and wetland conservation in Norfolk, which improves biodiversity and freshwater access for agriculture. Andrew and I connected in 2025 over our shared interest in wild clay, ancient pottery practice, and education. Since his work involves disposing of large amounts of wetland conservation waste, such as wild clay and chopped wood, it sparked the conversation on repurposing the waste for ceramics making. 

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Project:

Circular Clayconomy mainly reflects on the cultural environmental responsibility of studio pottery and individuals in Norfolk.​ The project aims to raise awareness for Norfolk’s wetland conservation and reconnect the public with local resources, encouraging reflection on environmental responsibility through creativity. It will also be a ceramic education opportunity aiming to lower barriers for the public to access the heritage craft.  

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Working closely with Andrew, I will visit Norfolk rural sites to inspect the wetland conservation procedures and investigate practical applications for the conservation by-products, such as wild clay from pond maintenance and coppicing waste from woodland management. Through consultation with Andrew and referencing ancient pottery techniques, I will design a ceramic-making process that utilises the waste from start to finish, and tailor the approach to accommodate the local ecological needs. We will also utilise the consultation meetings and site visits to prepare for the workshop, such as conducting risk assessments, pre-refining a batch of wild clay ready for pottery making, setting up the workshop environment etc. 

 

I will then trial my findings by delivering a community clay workshop for free or at a low cost. Facilitating the workshop at a wetland site, participants will:

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• Learn about the local wetlands and the importance of pond conservation to our ecology

• Learn about using wild clay in pottery making, its history and environmental benefits

• Experience harvesting and refining small batch wild clay on site

• Receive demonstrations on basic pottery-making techniques and experiment with creating wild clay pottery

• Be given a small batch of wild clay to take home and experiment with

• Reflect on our cultural environmental responsibility, and discuss creative ways to utilise local resources to reduce our environmental impact 

• Complete the evaluation form to provide feedback on the workshop experience

 

The workshop will be open to adults in Norfolk with the ability to travel to rural sites.  This workshop will be great for people who are interested in pottery or have existing experience working with clay; people who are interested in environmental science and sustainability; local creatives who are interested in expanding their creative skillset; and people who previously couldn’t access the heritage craft due to various reasons.

 

For future expansion, we intend to include primitive pottery firing as an additional workshop:

• Learn about ancient or primitive pottery firing methods, such as pit firing.

• Learn about local retired kilns around us (lime, brick, pottery etc)

• Experience building a small adobe kiln on site

• Fire pots in an adobe kiln (pre-made by staff)​

Workshop details:​

Time: to be confirmed

Dates: to be confirmed

Location: to be confirmed​​​

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Accessibility:

 

​Please see below for the accessibility details of the course and venue. We aim to be as accessible as we can be with limited funding. Please email info.lowbae@gmail.com if you wish to further discuss how we can support or accommodate you.

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Physical access:

to be confirmed.

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Travel: 

to be confirmed.