With a lifelong fascination of ancient, often primitive ceramic techniques and form, I place great value on these creative influences spanning other cultures and ages.
This leads me to consider my work as a continuation of these creative journeys, allowing my thoughts to be rooted in historical pottery whilst re-‐imagining and moving into new directions.
As a hand building ceramicist, my technique has evolved to enable the making process to enhance the surface quality. Using large coils of clay, I pinch them into shape and grow the form. As the pot builds, it is refined to finesse the line of the curves.
This process of refinement is carefully considered. It is a tactile experience using the minimum amount of tools possible. A celebration of clay, embracing its beautiful characteristics, leaving rips and tears, indentations from fingerprints and marks of the making process.
Thin layers of Terra Sigillata, a superfine clay slip, imbue a soft sheen without masking the honesty of the clay, allowing its natural beauty to shine through. The final layer of surface decoration comes from my unique saggar firing process. A mixture of primitive wood firing practices have led me to discover ways of finding colour and abstract markings.
The foraged wood and plant life used in the firing and the elemental conditions on the day all direct the decorative results. Adaptability to the changing seasons is crucial in my goal of finding the essence of a fleeting moment in time, etched onto a surface. The precarious nature of this style of firing brings enormous vitality and gives me an emotional connection to my work.
I’m not looking for perfection, constantly questioning what perfection even is, seeking to find something pure in the simplest and most organic fashion.
This body of work draws together the past and the present, capturing movement, energy and life. A collaboration of nature and craft.
Having been introduced to clay whilst studying Art and Design at Foundation level in Cheltenham, I went on to graduate with a degree in Ceramics from The University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, in 1996. Working life began as a pottery technician, and shortly afterwards I became a teacher of Ceramics. Now working from my studio in the Cotswolds, I am devoted to my career as a Ceramicist.
