Potfest, Compton Verney - pots, pots, and more pots

Potfest, Compton Verney - pots, pots and more pots, 2

The final post on Potfest which we visited in June.

Sara Moorhouse:

I first saw Sara Moorhouse's ceramics in Cardiff in 2011 and was bawled over by the vibrancy of the colours (I had never seen colours like this on clay, and still have not) and the precision of the surface work. I continue being a great fan of her work.

'The development of my work into ceramics, colour and spatial perception began with a Masters degree at Cardiff in 2003. The work explores the ways in which spaces within the landscape appear altered depending on the ever-changing colours of season, weather, time and farming. The bowl acts as a canvas for paintings that distil specific landscape scenes, perceptibly altering the size, depth and shape of the form by the applied colour. The forms can be made to seem wider or narrower, deeper or shallower, heavier or lighter, or they may appear to undulate, bend, move or hover by the juxtaposition of finer lines. The viewing of both inner and outer surfaces together enables me to exploit colour connections and visual play from one side to another, emphasising or flattening the dimensionality of the form.

As part of the research-based practice I returned to the basics of colour theory and tested out ideas on the three-dimensional conical form. I found that colours behave differently when viewed across three-dimensional space than on a two-dimensional surface, particularly on the inner bowl form where illusions can appear much stronger. The illusory spatial colour phenomena were then used on forms to suggest specific landscape scenes, such as Table Mountain in South Wales and the Rigi in Switzerland, as colour arrangements allude to spaces and atmospheres found therein. 

My pieces are hand thrown and turned, the movement of the wheel often reflected in the slight asymmetry of the form. The lines are applied by returning the bisque fired bowl to the wheel and painted with ceramic colour by hand. A matt glaze is then applied to stabilise the enhance the coloured surface'.

Justine Allison:

'Since leaving Camberwell College of Art in 1998 I have been primarily working with hand built porcelain. My work addresses the boundaries between function and decoration. Form is paramount; function is a driving motivation, but it is the aesthetics of a piece that are key to my making.

My work is very much concerned with the simplicity and beauty of the clay and incorporating pattern and texture as well as glaze to create subtle, unique variations. Thinness and movement are very important in each piece'.

Ania Perkowska:

Paul Wearing:

Roger Cockram:

Adrian Bates:

Nicholas Marsh:

Tony Laverick:

Russel Kingston:

Paul Taylor: