Manor Oaks Wood-firing Group

Lots of really good news – things are beginning to move on apace. May 6th saw the official opening of the Manor Oaks site with special guest star Emmanuel Cooper to cut the ribbon and other activities going on across the site. Sue France of Green Estate opened proceedings with a welcome and thanks to all for the support given, followed by a speech from Paul Billington, Director of Culture and Environment at Sheffield City Council. Emmanuel Cooper spoke warmly about the importance of ceramics-focused projects for ceramicists at all stages of their career and then attempted to cut the ribbon with an extremely large pair of Sheffield forged scissors. Many attempts and several persons later the ribbon was finally cut to laughter and applause. Narrenda Bajari of Yorkshire Artspace then thanked guests and invited them to the opening night of a further exhibition at Persistence Works that evening. Beautiful refreshments were laid on by Green Estate lovingly assembled by the Manor Oaks cafe team along with bubbly and various entertainments – ceramicists from Persistence Works displayed pots in the Sheffield Wildlife Trust’s Chelsea garden display which has been transported to the site, Emilie Taylor displayed work from a community arts project she had done and the studio holders opened up for visitors with some activities to join in. In addition the cafe was serving delicious cakes and refreshments, there was a tour of the future nature garden, the Discovery Centre was open, and the resident archeologists were on hand to talk about and show local artefacts – particularly local pottery shards – we were able to see some examples of John Fox’s ware as well as older pieces. It was a beautiful day and well attended. The rain kept away – just – and it felt like the project had really begun. See the photos for a taste of what it was like.