I make thrown ceramic vessels, occasionally some domestic functional ware but my main passion is for one-off art pieces. I strive to create surfaces which are interesting and varied, rarely glazing the whole vessel, I prefer to leave areas where the clay body itself can be seen and felt in contrast to the smooth glossy glazed areas, I feel it gives the clay space to breath and the light a chance to play across the surface, reflecting in some areas while being absorbed in others.

I aim to make work that has contrasts, plays with the seen and the hidden, the glimpsed & the mysterious. I love Japanese woodblock prints of Kabuki theatre and landscapes and often find the work I create has a subtle nod towards this, be it in its form or choice of palette. At the moment I’m finding myself drawn towards deep glossy blues contrasted against a matt red blush, using a warm toasted clay body.

I am also interested in alternative firing techniques like raku and pit firing, where I use waste products like avocado & banana skins, muscle shells, dried dung & seaweed to create colour and interest on the pots burnished surfaces. The pit fired vessels I make tend to be small spheres which feel wonderful cupped in your hands, their surface sometimes has the appearance of marble its so smooth & the patterns created by the fire are so free and organic, the potter can decide what ingredients go in, but then it's up to the flames to create the work, you have to relinquish control and that is quite freeing in contrast to firing in an electric kiln which you can programme how fast you want the temperature to rise, how long it keeps top temperature, the rate of cooling and so forth, but with a pit firing nature has a huge influence - wind speed, the type and dryness of the wood, whether or not it suddenly starts to rain mid-firing, there are so many more variables which the potter has no control over, it makes every firing unique.

I’ve been wanting to make larger work ever since I visited the studio of Stephen Parry two years ago, he makes gas & wood fired vessels some of which need winches to lift, and he was so generous with his time and knowledge (if you’re into pots and going to Norfolk he does the open studios event there and I highly recommend a visit!) I made the most of the lockdowns by measuring the inside of my kiln and setting myself the challenge of making pots that completely fill it which was great fun and a great workout too! So this year there are some much larger pots here than usual. The widest I can fit in the kiln is 40cm diameter by 60 cm tall, I had an anxious wait for one as I’d gone a bit wider than I had realised, each day I’d measure it as it dried to see if it was going to shrink enough to fit, I ended up having to remove the temperature sensor from the kiln in order to get it in but it got there eventually! I do love working at that scale, there’s something so comforting about a lovely curved form which you can wrap your arms around, however space is at a premium here so I’ll always be producing more modestly sized pieces as well.