I work in porcelain and stoneware and fire my work in a gas, fibre lined brick kiln.
The disciplines of production require full attention to make simple pieces, well proportioned, that I hope have a ‘rightness’. The porcelain glazes are soft and understated, minimal in colour, a palette of whites, iron blues and greens and chuns are favoured. I also use a copper red. Visually the pots are ‘quiet’ reserved, in some cases austere. The glazes enhance the forms and elicit a tactile response. To engage the viewer is important. To ‘know’ a pot it must be held its weight felt, the rhythm ‘read’ and the rim and foot considered. The potter’s task is completed when the viewers hands turn the pot and later use it.
Stoneware allows me greater freedoms to show directness and vigour in my work.
I use a ‘shino’style glaze, iron red, tenmoku and ash glazes. These strengthen the expression of my work, a legacy of time spent in Japan.
