Sue Hanna

Sue originally trained as a sculptor at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London gaining a degree in Fine Art (Sculpture). First working in wood and metal, she discovered clay in the late nineties.

A chance encounter with a South African potter led to Sue’s fascination with burnished and smoke-fired African and South American pots. Then in 1997, she attended a transformative course in Greece run by ceramic artist Alan Bain. There she began hand-building pots, working with terra sigillata slips, acquiring burnishing skills, and being introduced to pit firing.

Sue’s early work was solely connected to the human form, then her interest in Central African textiles led her to combine the exploration of the figure in the abstract, with geometric pattern, rhythm, and texture.

Once based in London, Sue moved to Pembrokeshire in Wales primarily to be able to smoke-fire, but also to source the local clay which she uses to make slips to decorate some of her work. The influence of the landscape augments the connection between nature, tribal art, and fire. Hand-built and raku or saggar fired, her finished works display tactile textures and metallic dark forms that draw you closer to the pieces she creates.