Soup Celebration event at the LEAF allotment

On 2nd November 2011 the Longley Park Sixth Form students returned to the LEAF allotments to celebrate the success of the project. Rob Barker from Longley Park came with the students, Diane of LEAF was there of course, Sally from Persistence Works Metal program came along, Ruthie led the day and some of the LEAF participants joined in too.

Ruthie took the students around the allotment site and we all talked about how the plots had changed since May. We talked to some students from the Sheffield University School of Architecture who were busy completing the build of an experimental composting toilet for the site as part of their uni live project. A few of the Longley Park students were interested in pursuing a degree in architecture so had the opportunity to ask first hand questions.

Diane had arranged for some apples to be delivered to the site from the group Abundance who harvest unpicked fruit trees around Sheffield. The students then had the chance to use the LEAF apple press to press the apples for fresh juice. First the apples had to be ground up to make them easier to press:

Then the pressing started. This was harder than it looked. The boys went first and there was much heckling from the girls!

A jug and a half of juice was produced from one batch of apples. Then it was the girls turn!

Once the juice was ready we sat down to eat Butternut Squash, Ginger and Coconut Soup that Ruthie had made. We decided not to use the bowls and spoons just yet as they will be being exhibited in the new Parson Cross Knutton Road studios during December. We also drank the fresh juice.



We talked about how the project had gone. Looked at the finished bowls and compared results. Sally demonstrated how to polish the silver spoons to keep them in good condition. We talked about how college was going for the students and where they are applying to go to uni. The was a very friendly atmosphere between everyone in the group and the general consensus was that the project had been a real success.

Recipe for Butternut Squash, Ginger and Coconut Soup...

To serve 4-6 people

1 medium butternut squash

3 carrots

1 potato

2 leeks

1 large onion

4-6 cloves of garlic

Ginger about the size of 2 thumbs!

1 can of coconut milk

A little butter

1 vegetable stock cube

Boiling water

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop up the onions, garlic and leeks and add them with the butter to a large pan on a medium heat. Finely chop the ginger and add this too. Cover and wait until everything has softened.

Now add the butternut squash, carrots and potato cubed. Add the stock cube and boiling water until everything is covered. Add salt and pepper, stir everything and then cover, allow to simmer.

Once the squash, carrots and potato have softened (about 20-30 mins) add the coconut milk and stir. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

The soup is best blended if you have a blender or hand blender. If not you can use a potato masher or fork which will give you slightly less smooth but just as tasty soup.

Serve with crusty bread and butter or on its own. Enjoy!

Day 6: Porcelain Bowl Making at Manor Oaks Studios

For the second half day workshop some of the students had the chance to try something completely different; throwing on the wheel. Most people have seen potters throwing on the wheel on television and in film and don't realise how hard it can be. The students jumped into it and achieved some amazing first time results.

Throwing takes a lot of concentration and body control. Like when riding a bike if you lose your balance just slightly it can end up in an accident. But with some valiant efforts (and some surprisingly good throws) the students ended up some admirable pots for the first attempt.

Luckily for the students, they had been accompanied by a seasoned pro at the art of throwing, their teacher demonstrated the making of an almost perfect bowl.

All in all it was a very successful two days, with students having the opportunity to try the craft method of throwing, the industrial method of slipcasting, and the process of decorating with underglaze.

Miles Gavin, Starter Studio for Ceramics 2010-12

Day 5: Porcelain Bowl Making at Manor Oaks Studios

During the first ceramics workshop, the students had the chance to shape, alter and decorate a slipcast porcelain soup bowl to accompany their silver spoons. Because of the time involved in casting several bowls the bowls were precast by Miles, however the students were given the opportunity to cast their own bowls using plaster moulds later in the day.

The group had the opportunity to cut, bend and reform the bowls into a form they found more appealing. The amount of variation was amazing! Some had very simple elegant carvings on the outside, whereas some became spiky constructions that were a far step away from the original form, all of them were totally individual and interesting.

The students also had the option to use colour if they so wanted. We used coloured slips called underglazes. These are specially designed so as to give as close to a true representation of the colours used when fired as possible. When they are fired and glazed, the contrast between the white of the porcelain and the colours will be even more vivid.

The finished bowls ready for bisque firing. Everything that is still grey on the bowls at this point will fire up to a beautiful porcelain white at stoneware temperatures, meaning that alongside looking wonderful the bowls will also be fully microwave, oven and dishwasher safe.

Slipcasting is the main industrial method used by large scale potteries to make home and tableware.

The bowls will now be fired, and ready for the next meeting in September.

Miles Gavin, Starter Studio for Ceramics 2010-12

Day 3: Spoon making at the persistence Work

Today the group returned to Persistence Works to complete making their spoons. Having done most of the forming work on day 1 there was a bit less less hammering in the workshop today and more of an emphasis on how to get the 2 components to come together. The group put some finishing touches to their spoons and did some final hammering and filing to neaten the edges and make sure the spoon was useable. They also made sure that the 2 surfaces joined well so that they could be soldered together.

While we were there we got the chance to visit the guerrilla garden, or huerta, at the Persistence Works. The garden is based on principles employed in parts of Cuba, creating an example garden to inspire and educate people about growing, allowing for the distribution of seeds and knowledge and providing fruit, veg and herbs for people to share.

Mikk who runs the huerta met us and told us about the organic garden, its history, how it runs, what they grow and why they grow it. The growers have a number of sites around Sheffield which are run for free using shared seeds and the generous time of volunteers. The Persistence Works garden is used as an example and experiment for growing slightly more exotic and unusual produce. This is because the site is in the middle of the city with warm buildings around it and warm utility pipes running underneath it, giving it a slightly warmer climate. We were amazed to see peaches and apricots growing in the city centre! Most of the fruit and veg are not harvested but instead left to go to seed in order to collect the seeds for use next year.

The garden itself is a little haven right in between the Perstistence Works, the BBC building, the A61 and a huge Kid Acne graffiti wall. It was really inspiring to see what is possible to grow in the city centre.

Soldering the two halves together was a tricky job but with some help the group saw their spoons come together and started to get a real feel for how the finished piece would look. After cleaning the surface thoroughly we could begin polishing the spoon to get a shiny finish! It was now that the group really got a sense of what they had achieved and despite being exhausted everyone went home smiling!!

However the spoons didn’t get to go home with the group today as they needed to be hallmarked to say that they were made from sterling silver and what year they were made. They could become future antiques for the group and their families but until then they can be used for yoghurt!

Day 2: Spoon making at the Persistence Works

Today the group went to Persistence Works to learn how to make a spoon with Sally and Drew. The morning began with an introduction to the workshop, and the group reflected on the word exercise that took place at the allotment to draw inspiration for their spoons.

No one of the group had worked with metal before, let alone made a silver spoon. So there was a lot to learn and the group went straight in at the deep end! Drew demonstrated how to make the spoon bowl end while Sally showed the other half of the group how to forge the handle.

There were many new skills to learn but everyone picked them up quickly. By breaking each task down into different stages meant that it was less daunting to the group. First the bowl shape was pierced out of a piece of silver sheet and then the edges were filed smooth. This was then annealed, which is when the metal is warmed with a flame to soften it and make it more malleable. The spoon ends were then formed over a stake with a mallet and after repeated hammering and annealing the bowls form slowly emerged. After we were happy with the shapes we had made we planished them with a smooth polished hammer to create a smooth and even finish to the bowls.

The handle was made by forging the silver rod into shape. This is where the silver is struck with a hammer to shape the metal. Different techniques were used to stretch and flatten the metal in certain areas to create the handles form. By hammering the silver in different directions and with different levels of force the spoon handles started to take shape. This required the piece to be annealed several times so that it remained soft and didn’t become too hard through over working it. This task needed constant evaluation so that the group were really considering how they were hammering and what outcome they were working towards. It was really good to see that everyone had managed to create something completely different.

At the end of the first day the group had worked extremely well and picked up a lot of new skills very quickly. By this point, everyone had an idea in their head of how they wanted their spoon to look and most of the forming had been done. They then began considering how to apply the lettering to the handle and how the 2 halves would come together.

Day 1: Inspiration at the allotment

Today we met for the first time at the LEAF allotment. Ruth, Ellie, Abdullah, John, Keelan and Lily walked over from Longley Park Sixth Form with their tutor Rob. After introductions and a chat we set off on a tour of the allotment led by Diane Cocker of LEAF.

Diane did an outstanding tour of the site. She talked us though issues of growing, taught us about planting, showed us all the different trees and plants and fruits and vegetables, told us about the bees, explained the different areas of the allotment, talked through composting, recycling and many many more things. A couple of the group had not previously been to an allotment, some had not had any contact with growing before, or not since they were young. So the tour was extremely informative and quite an eye opener for the students.

Diane then demonstrated how to plant a sunflower for us and explained some general pointers for planting out seedlings.

And then it was our turn! Everyone including Rob and I planted a sunflower which we will all have the chance to return and see how they progressing. There was much talk of who's sunflower will be 'the winner'!

The students seemed to really enjoy getting hands on with the planting. Everyone took great care to follow Diane's advice and plant their sunflower.

Once we had planted the seedlings I then asked the group a series of questions about the allotment and growing and asked them to write a word or a sentence on a veg marker. Questions included: Do you have a memory of a garden or allotment from when you were young? can you sum up the allotment in one word? Name a smell you have smelt today? And so on.

We then planted our markers in an empty bed. These will go on to inform to word that is written on the handle of the silver spoons that the group design and make with Sally and Drew at Persistence Works.

Mitsy the allotment cat tried to get in on the act...

Some really nice ideas and thoughts came out of this exercise which will feed well into the spoon handle.

After lunch I set the group off on drawing studies around the site. The drawings that they produced will go on to inform the design for their bowl decoration so I asked them to make sure that whatever they drew really inspired them and to make sure that it was really something of interest to them. Whether that be the sheds or the plants or the cat! The group spent an hour carrying out 5-10 minute studies of different areas of the allotment.

After that I talked them through some of the drawing techniques that I use to combine and layer up the drawings that I do. We discussed combining different subject matters, colour, marks and different methods of drawing and applying colour.

The students produced some fantastic drawing and studies that will lend themselves well to ceramic design.