Ian Morrison

Ian’s work is a contemporary interpretation of country pottery. His salt glazed domestic ware focuses on line, surface and balance. He likes to emphasise tactility and evidence of the maker’s hand, highlighting the subtle marks and fingerprints from handling and attachments. This, combined with clean lines make his work approachable and usable, while giving the work extra durability that comes from the firing process.   

The pots are made from stoneware clay that has been specially formulated to deal with the stress of salt glazing. All of the work is lined with a wood ash glaze and is gas fired in a downdraught kiln Ian built himself. The long reduction cycle helps to develop the iron in the clay to give good colour both in the clay and the liner glaze. He works the salt glaze in phases, applying the salt directionally utilising the strong downdraft and large chamber. This creates a varied surface around the form and achieves a vast range of subtle colour variations in each firing.  

“My work is a contemporary look a country pottery. I focus on line, surface, and balance. Salt glaze is tactile, durable, and honest, which is what I want my work to convey.”