Then and Now, My Ceramic Practice

Claude the cat in the studio of Potter Simon Wright, Bath

Stain glazes on bisque fired vases

First collection of ceramics

I first started pottery in 2017. We lived in a tiny flat on Walcot Terrace Bath just a few doors down from a house that displayed ceramics in their window with a brief note advertising pottery lessons. Here I learnt how to throw on the wheel, turn and decorate my first pots. My pottery teacher at the time was incredibly generous, lending me books and telling stories about his life as a potter, our one hour lessons flew by and I fell in love with applying my artwork to my thrown and clunky forms.

Moving to Bristol it became harder to keep up with my weekly lessons, and life, and then lockdowns got in the way. I started making again early this year, although felt like it was time to learn some new techniques. I’d long been a fan of potter Jessica Thorn, and when I came across her 6 week hand-building evening class in central Bristol it felt like the perfect fit.

Porcelain pieces by Jessica Thorn

We learnt a new technique each week, followed by plenty of time to use our new skills. The class was a mixture of abilities and Jessica made sure everyone was making pieces that echoed their individual style. As I was keen to incorporate my illustrations onto the pieces Jessica helped translate my sketches to techniques, creating slab built vases, mugs and pots with perfectly flat surfaces to paint onto. These pieces were inspired by items I inherited from from grandparents including blue and white willow style vases and mugs. I wanted to create my own versions of these meaningful pieces.

The technique of slab building turned out to be the perfect way of creating my sketched designs, and I loved the smooth surfaces it created and how small details could be added by hand. I created 2 vases, 2 mugs and one bud vase. The decoration of these pieces, as with my previous collections was done via the use of a stain. This powered pigment is mixed with water and is painted on in layers, a lot like watercolour and therefore has a wonderful resemblance to my painted work. This took a little getting used to, but the unpredictable quality is what makes ceramics so beautiful for me, and a gentle reminder to loosen up a little. I decided to echo themes in my recent personal work and created designs that celebrate the outdoors and capture escapism in nature. 2022 has been one of the hardest years for me mentally, the start of the year I had to step back from illustration and prioritise myself and a lot of this time was spent in the outdoors. These pieces are my way of saying thank you to nature and providing some relief in harder times.

The final pieces were all painted up and as I made my way down to Jessica’s studio to have them fired I felt a huge sense of pride in what I had created. I can’t wait to see how these fire, and to use them in my home. My aspiration is to continue making these pieces for the everyday, so if you are interested in a future release do reach out or join my newsletter. If you feel in a bit of a slump as a creative I would wholeheartedly recommend a short course like the one I booked with Jessica, it was inspiring seeing behind the scenes of another craftsperson, meeting new people and dedicating time each week to learn new skills and grow confidence. Thank you for reading if you got this far and do reach out via email if you’d like to chat!

Eleanor