Source
I am resolutely drawn towards fusing my artistic exploration with eminently utilitarian design. Making and firing functional pots, which are used everyday and which are only fully realised in the hands of their user; this is my chief source of inspiration. As my vision for a set of values and aesthetic constantly and gently shifts, so the body of production grows and changes.
I draw deeply from the tools, materials and processes of production. In so doing, I aim to capture the soft fluidity of clay on the wheel, slip and raw-glaze. This slideshow incorporates a random selection of inspiration, predominantly snapshots from the studio and kiln site, or from the rural environment in which I live and work.
Salt-fire kiln props
Salt-kiln props
Silicon carbide: the underside of a shelf post salt-firing, exhibiting glass-salt drips
Orange crate
Chair loom detail
Test tab: Each kiln will include trials for new slips and glazes, or new variations on existing recipes. They are often numerous and form a vital aspect to the evolution of new work
Kiln firebox bars, old and new
Wheel tools
seed heads
Large brush ferrules
This motif derives originally from a scrap metal fragment. I often apply something similar as a brushed latex resist, between layers of contrasting slip or between slip and glaze
Wheel-thrown founderings
Kiln draw rings
Studio tools
Weights and measures: The ergonomics of a pot, that is to say the way in which it succeeds or fails in the hands of it’s user, relies upon the careful development of weight, scale and detail of that pot when it is being made. This is something that I am often re-evaluating in relation to using my own pots at home. For example, an oven dish needs to be light enough that it is not a burden to lift once filled with grub, but equally sufficiently robust to provide longevity in everyday use
Studio Cill
Old firebox bar supports
Flaking alumina, kiln shelf base-plate
Kiln prop wadds