Championing the very best independent ceramic makers for over 60 years

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.

 

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Meet Our Makers

All of our makers are members of the Craft Potters Association and each of them have a story to tell.

Karen Downing

Karen throws carefully considered porcelain pots for everyday use. Her forms are elegant yet robust: these are pots to be held,  filled, drunk out of and eaten from. The purposeful use of one material (porcelain), a single creamy white glaze, a deliberately restricted vocabulary of form and the process of repetition throwing combine to create both unity and diversity in her work.

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Lisa Katzenstein
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Taja

Taja came over to UK from his native country Japan to study oil painting and settled in Devon over 40 years ago. He was inspired by so many potters in the south west, so he started making pots using his friend’s pottery workshop. He is largely self-taught. He found that slab and coil built pottery suits him the most. He started experimenting with porcelain clay about 20 years ago after being inspired by enormous blue porcelain wall tiles at a new Japanese airport especially the water-like quality of the blue glaze.

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Alastair Knights

Alastair has a lifetime of experience as an artist/maker, teacher, mentor, and plantsman.

He was taught by Emmanuel Cooper, Walter Keeler, Dan Arbeid, Richard Slee, Mo Jupp, Robert Kesseler, Gillian Lowndes, and Gordon Baldwin, etc. Gillian and Gordon in particular were pivotal in transfoming his thinking and ambition.

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Sarah Went

Sarah makes functional pieces for the home. She has multiple influences including English Delftware and East Asian celadon ware. Her work is also inspired by coastal landscapes, plants, paint colours and fabrics. Soft natural colours are a strong characteristic of Sarah’s work.

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Bridget Drakeford

Bridget started making pots full-time while living in Scotland in 1976. At first, she made domestic stoneware, firing in a gas kiln and gained skills in all aspects of pottery. Having had no formal training Bridget’s determination and hard work meant she gradually developed her own technique.
She has always loved porcelain and gradually changed over to this material finding that it suited the style of work she was searching for. Eastern ceramics were very influential and she loved the Chinese and Korean shapes and glazes.

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