Lisa Mansell and Barry Taylor took part in a poetry and making project with Clayground Collective at the British Ceramic Biennial last Saturday. The project was about poetic responses to ceramics and its relationship with waterways:

“Clay Cargo takes inspiration from Josiah Wedgwood’s pioneering role in establishing the canals.  It sets out to renew the historic links between ceramics and the canal system by staging clay workshops on boats and canalside locations in three cities: London, Birmingham and Stoke on Trent.  This year we have also commissioned poets and ceramic artists to respond to each site”.  – See more at: http://www.claygroundcollective.org/clay-cargo-2014-digging-deeper-into-clay-canals-and-waterways/#sthash.Inmc7db8.dpuf

Three poets were commissioned to write responses: Barry Taylor, Elisabeth Charis and Rachel Long.

Last Saturday, Clayground Collective hosted a workshop in the BCB at the Spode Factory in which the poems were performed by the poets (Lisa Mansell read Elisabeth Charis’ poem) alongside ‘making’ sessions which invited the audience to make their own creative responses (either in clay or in words) to the poems and making.