ceramic

a selection from my series of ceramic vessels and other pieces

I hand-build the pieces, using mainly stoneware clays such as craft crank or a grogged white raku body and occasionally a grogged red earthenware.

I make raku bowls from raku clay and after first firing, I use raku glazes. The firing of these pieces is in a specialist raku kiln built and heated with octane gas outdoors. The chemical content of the glazes and the methods used during and immediately after the firing, contribute to the exciting crackle effect on the surface of the bowl.

The vessels are intended as non-functional craft pieces for interior or exterior display. Given their size and the nature of highly fired clay, the larger stoneware vessels are more appropriate for situating outdoors and will withstand frost. (Cont’d below)

Clicking on a thumbnail below will open the work in a slideshow

I use a range of hand building methods to create the vessels such as coiling and slabbing the clay. I use grogged clay for both its ability to support the building of large pieces and in particular for its rich textural qualities, allowing me to exploit accidental effects in mark making and forms. For surface treatments, I use a range of tools on the clay as I build.

I use slips on a few of the red earthen or stoneware pieces. But mainly, following the first firing, I employ oxides, underglazes as well as different mixes of glazes. The quality of the fired clay surface plays an important part in the final design and frequently I let the oxides and glazes work with the clay body. 

I am inspired by the natural world especially the environment of the south coast with the rugged chalk and flint cliffs, the tactile nature of the pebbles, eroded driftwood and corroded metals and rock forms of the wilder beaches. These elements and the endless rhythms of the tide inspire my use of surface decoration. I experiment with oxides and glazes to evoke the blues, purples, ochres, umbers and sands of the beach, the sea and sky. The rugged, mountains of the Alpujarras have also influenced some of the pieces.

I will work to commission but recommend that if you are interested in any of the pieces, to come and view them in situ, in the studio where I work, but with many pieces set up outside in the garden.