Once again I have been fortunate enough to join a group of crafts people and artists at the Holy Cross in Shipton on Cherwell. It is lovely to show my work alongside so many talented people.
I have been making pots for over 40 years. I first became interested in pottery at secondary school and obtained an O level in pottery. I intermittently potted at evening classes over the next 20 years.
I trained as a doctor and became a paediatric anaesthetist working at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. After seeing an article in a local newspaper about Richard Phethean, a local potter in Oxfordshire who ran workshops I decided I needed to spend more time potting. I set up my own small workshop in 2006. Since then I have been gradually developing my potting style. I am mainly an earthenware potter using coloured slips with a clear glossing glaze fired in an electric kiln. I am now retired as a doctor and aim to spend more of my time just making better pots!
15 years years ago in addition to my earthenware pottery I started making woodfired stoneware working with Marcus O’Mahony in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. This work is very different to my earthenware pots. Form and texture play a much larger influence compared to slipware. In 2017 I helped build a woofired kiln in Argay, Scotland at Gledfieldmill pottery. We fire this kiln two or three times a year.
Woodfiring adds a completely new dimension and complexity where the characteristics of the pots are more determined by the types of glazes and idiosyncrasy of the wood fired kiln. The thrill of firing a wood fired kiln and the anticipation of opening it at the end of a firing is difficult to match in the world of ceramics. I have learnt many new skills and techniques some of which I have translated into my earthenware pots. One consequence of working with Marcus is that I have been making less functional ware. However, the heart of my potting is still to make pots that can be used every day and are attractive to the user.
In the autumn of 2023 I had opportunity to attend a pottery workshop at Tamba Sasayama, Japan working with Shigaraki clay and doing a 5 day firing in an Anagama kiln. This has given me new ideas for making pots and adding further dimensions to my work.
I donate a third of my sales from my pots to the Oxford Children’s Hospital Charity.