Geoff Crispin

Historical

1980 1998

Whiteman Creek Pottery was set up during 1978-1980. The pottery produced raw glazed, wood fired domestic stoneware made from local raw materials drawn from the surrounding areas. Clays were dug and processed at the pottery. These ranged from primmary kaolin, secondary "ball clays" to sticky black secondary clays. Other raw materials used included Pretty Gully limestone, Fineflower ironstone, Copmanhurst silica, Wood ash both mixed hardwood and soft wood (poplar trees), Hanging Rock weathered intermediate rock (possibly .....)

The pottery operated around a cycle of mixing, making and firing of about six weeks. Clays were wet sieved and mixed using the wet method and dried out on a drying bed in the sun. Clays were wedged by hand - no pug mill. Pots were made on a kick flywheel type wheel. All pots were sold at the pottery or through a number of galleries up and down the North Coast of NSW, Australia.

The wood was gathered initially from the surrounding paddocks where farmers had ring barked trees for many years. These trees had to be felled, cut to length and carried back to the pottery. They were then split down to the right size using wedges and a block splitter. It would take about 2 days for two people to split enough wood for the firing.

The kiln was a two chambered configeration with a single Bourrie firebox. The maximum wood length was 32 inches. The second chamber was fired using small split wood through a stoke hole entering the throat of the second chamber. Both chamber were fired to approx cone 10 orton although initially this was Wenger Cone 9. Firing time was about 30-36 hours using about 1 tonne of wood.

Oval dish, ash glaze	Bottle ash glaze	Packing the kiln with bread crock
Table setting with domestic ware. ash glaze.	Floor pot, ash glaze

From 1986 onwards the pottery production changed over slowly to wood fired porcelain. By 1990 most stoneware was stopped and porcelain became the major production ware.

The porcelain was initially local raw materials but now (2007)is a mixture of local materials and commercial supplies.