Well I don’t call myself a superhero, not often anyway, but if other people want to I’m okay with that. My first ‘incident’ happened when I was ten and involved a radioactive spider, a chemical spill and prolonged exposure to gamma radiation – luckily both my parents are alive and well so I’ve never felt the need for indiscriminate vengeance or an embarrassingly fake voice.
Oh wait, you wanted to know about the pottery, didn’t you? That’s just one of my cover identities, but if you insist...
I grew up with ceramics, it’s in my blood. As a baby my cot was next to my mother’s potter’s wheel, which is probably one of the very few situations where the mother gets more messy than the child. Growing up, instead of being sat in front of the TV to keep me out of mischief, I was handed a block of clay. I learned to love creating: to make something from nothing, order from chaos.
Fantasy was my main interest back then, so by the time I was into my teens I was making fairy castles and selling them alongside my mother’s work in galleries. Before I had learned algebra at school I knew how to mix the components of a glaze and handle a gas-fired kiln. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
Moving to England, while a good decision overall, put the brakes on my claywork. You can hardly set up a studio and fire a kiln while flat-sharing in the middle of bustling London. So I waited – impatiently – until I had enough money to buy my own place with a large enough garden and shed to get back into the family business.
Now I have clay at my fingertips again (sorry for the pun) I’m able to pursue my two loves – history and sci-fi/fantasy. Both of these genres present very well in clay and I’m enjoying all the different possibilities of using various glazes, highlighting compounds and even glow-in-the-dark paint to bring the piece to life.
I love the thought that I can make something unique for others to enjoy, something inspired by the TV shows or movies that we’re all fans of but with the unmistakable character of a handmade item.
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