A bit about my practice and influences
I am a Ceramicist based in Bristol, selling my pottery under the name of Mareware Ceramics. I have been working with ceramics for the last five years and primarily wheel throwing for the last two. Skilled making underpins my working process, I carefully construct each piece using a combination of wheel throwing, press moulding and handbuilding techniques. I have been developing two main lines of work over the last two years, my Portrait Wares and Zea Mays Collection.
The first (portrait wares), is inspired by the stylised figurative ceramics of Ancient South America; the strong line of Alasdair Grey’s portraiture; the beautifully decor found in Lusterware of the Middle East; and finally the groundbreaking use of colour and shape by Picasso, Matisse, Klee and Hans Coper. I throw the base objects, add molded facial features then paint with my own rich cobalt blue slip, finally using the sgraffito technique to carve features and personality into each piece. In my latest series of work from this line, my Lovely Lady vases, I enjoy pushing the material’s limits; playing with form, balance and negative space.
The starting point for my Zea Mays collection was the shore-lines of the UK, which I have explored extensively through my passion for surfing and sea swimming. In developing this I have experimented by using drift objects as mark makers on the raw clay. My chosen drift object is the dried core of a sweetcorn, I use this to press and cut pleasing textures and movements in the clay. These textures are then picked up by the rich cobalt and copper oxide brushwork when glazed. The collections expressive brushwork and surface decoration has been influenced by contemporary ceramicist such as Adam Frew and James and Tilda Waters. The yellow bands painted on each pot create a feeling of balance, their rigidity contrasting with the expressive textures and oxides.The thrown forms, balance of this collection have been inspired by traditional Japanese pottery.
