Years ago, in my teens, I visited Cricklade Pottery and spent a magical hour watching Ivan Martin throwing pots; I was fascinated, and I opted for pottery as a hobby at school. There it came under the eye of Ernest Brent who was really a woodwork teacher, but he helped me make my first pots, and after that I was on my own.
After school I drifted in to archaeology, and that’s all about broken pots. As a digger I excavated at several pottery workshop sites and dug up tons of pottery, and as a museum curator I handled masses of pots. It wasn’t until retirement approached that I acquired a wheel and then a kiln and I started again.
For several years I went to Jane Hanson’s classes and learned lots about clays and glazes and building from scratch by hand from very small to almost very big, and slab-building and slipware. Slipware fascinates me.
When I came to Yarnton, Caroline Haurie gave me very useful guidance on throwing, and when she returned to Canada she gave me lots of her workshop materials, including her big kiln which has challenged me to make bigger pots throwing sections and joining them together.
Amanda Bonfiglioli came by and saw what I was doing, and accepted the challenge of decorating some pots. It was a challenge for me too, especially the glazing! Motivated by our collaboration I am inspired to throw more mugs, bowls, plates, and oddly quirky shapes too, providing a canvas for Amanda’s inventive brushwork. Who knows what's next?