Arts & Crafts
Brickfield Brickathon
Words by Katie Bunnell
Join Rosanna Martin and the Brickfield team for a hand brick making marathon on Saturday June 5th from 10.30 am – 4.30 pm.
In 2019 John Osborne, the last brickmaker in clay country joined the Brickfield team. Back in the day when John made bricks by hand at Wheal Remfry brickworks nr St Austell, a pair of brickmakers working as a team would make over 700 bricks in a day. This inspired Brickfield’s first Brickathon in 2020 when our 16 person team made 370 good bricks and in the process generated a huge amount of pride in shared labour as well as a real appreciation of John’s craft skill and energy.
For 2021 the challenge of course is make even more! Roll up your sleeves and limber up to throw some clay into moulds!
This workshop is open to all ages and abilities. We do have smaller brickmoulds for smaller hands and those preferring lighter clay loads. Please let us know if you have any special requirements for site access.
Places are limited and booking is essential. Book here on Eventbrite.
The bricks we are making this year will be hardened to building strength in the Brickfield mini beehive kiln. The firing will take place during the next Whitegold Festival on June 26th when the site will be open to the public to view the kiln and have a go at making a brick.
Our aim is to use the bricks made in the Brickathon in brick structures co-designed by Falmouth University Architecture students and the Happy Wanderers, an intergenerational dementia friendly walking group. Prototype structures are currently available to see on site.
Brickfield is a community brickworks based in Imery’s disused Blackpool Pit in the heart of Cornwall’s china clay country created by ceramic artist Rosanna Martin and curated by Katie Bunnell and supported by Austell Project and Imerys.