I got hooked when I started throwing. That’s when you use the potter’s wheel, and is how I make all of my work now. Everyone says, ‘Is it like in the film Ghost?’, but that’s the most cringey thing ever! The wheel rotates, you put the clay on the moving wheel and that’s how you make something, rather than at a stationary workbench.
I love the immediacy of it: that you put a ball of clay onto the wheel and within minutes you could form a pot. In saying that, it takes a lot of practice to form anything that resembles a pot. I found it really mesmerising watching other potters, and I wanted that for myself. It feels natural now but it takes years to learn to make the shapes. Translating from head to hands takes a long time. The foundation of my practice is bowls and mugs and jugs and they provide infinite possibilities. I explore clarity of form and functionality. One pot leads to another.
This is just a taster, you can browse the full article with more stunning photography on pages 163-164, issue 101.
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Photography Neale Smith
Words Catherine Coyle
