Contemporary Ceramics gallery and shop exhibits the greatest collectable names in British ceramics along with the most up and coming artists of today. Our distinguished makers are all carefully selected members of the Craft Potters Association.
All of our makers are members of the Craft Potters Association and each of them have a story to tell.
After studying glass and ceramics at the University of Sunderland, Craig completed an MA in ceramics at the Royal College of Art. He was drawn to clay for the immediacy of its modelling properties, enabling him to realise his ideas with dynamism. His work is inspired by the elegance of a bygone era, particularly the work of cartoonists and illustrators from the 50s and 60s such as Miroslav Sasek and Ronald Searle, whose economic use of line define characters and tell stories.
James and Tilla Waters create their pieces from a studio in Mid-Wales. Carefully considering where hands hold pieces and edges meet mouths, their forms have classic clean lines with beautifully balanced proportions.
John comes from a family of engineers going back several generations, so it was natural for him to follow suit. However, he made an unenthusiastic engineer, and after several years teaching he went back to college and gained a place on the 3D course at Manchester College of Art where he was introduced to clay for the first time.
Angela has been working in ceramics for over 50 years. Her first experience of clay was at after school class, leading to a Foundation Arts Course in Derby, then a BA in Wolverhampton, and an MA at Royal College of Art London. The latter two degree courses were very open-ended and encouraged exploration of other materials and a wide variety of working methods. This suited Angela as she has always been interested in both industrial production processes and sculptural techniques.
"In my work I explore ideas around the half-forgotten memories and images that persist from childhood – perhaps a vintage wallpaper, the stylised narrative of my Mother’s Willow Pattern plates, or the familiar shape of an opened sardine tin. My aim is to bring these elements together in a finished piece to combine a gentle nostalgia with the absolute, archival permanence of the ceramic medium."
The Peak District Pennine landscape and seasons are the backdrop to everything Timothy does. He makes pottery on the border between function and sculpture: in essence vases, bowls, bottles and cups, though these are really just what he calls 'serving suggestions'. His work is multiple-fired, often starting with the wood kiln and ending with lustres.