Bev Bell-Hughes lives immersed in the mountainous and costal surroundings of North Wales – each day an opportunity to journey, looking and experiencing nature’s change. Ideas will form subconsciously in her mind relating to observations past; marks left in the sand by the receding tide; sea weeds flowing in ribbons; the erosion of surfaces be they shells, rocks, driftwood or bone.
With no predetermined design for how a finished piece will eventually look, Bev makes intuitively with flattened coils into which sand and other clays are added to change their workability and texture. The clay is pushed and pinched into shapes that echo Bev’s memories of the landscape around her, craters and holes immerging in the material’s surface as each organic form builds.
This exhibition profiles the works of seventeen esteemed makers, each of whom have recently been awarded Selected Member status by the Craft Potters Association.
An exhibition of works to coincide with the launch of Adam Buick's new book 'Raw Earth'. Adam uses a single pure jar form as a canvas to map his observations from an ongoing study of his surroundings. He incorporates stone and locally dug clay into his work to create a narrative, one that conveys a unique sense of place. The unpredictable nature of each jar comes from the inclusions and their metamorphosis during firing. This individuality and tension between materials speaks of the human condition and how the landscape shapes us as individuals.
‘I build up the surfaces of my pieces spontaneously, riffing on ideas of space, narrative and joy. I get to a point where I can push things a bit, hoping something exciting will happen – and sometimes it does.’
“Everything created, either functional or decorative, has equal importance,
and the integrity of this thought is the driving force behind my daily practice as
a potter.”
The driving force behind all of Paul Jackson’s
highly decorated work is a desire to express
his Cornish surroundings, with their strong
sense of colour and style. Paul uses white
earthenware to form energetic vessels
which are then decorated with colourful
and painterly abstract decorative motifs,
some influenced by Russian or Islamic art.
Richard Phethean makes ceramics
using coarse textured red and black
earthenware clays referencing
ancient pottery as well as European
slipware traditions. Richard utilises
brush and resist techniques to create
cubist‑inspired abstractions that adorn
both his domestic vessels and altered
and assembled forms.
