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.
Clive Bowen was born in Cardiff in 1943. Initially studying painting and etching at Cardiff College of Art from 1960 to 1964, Clive went on to train as an apprentice with Michael Leach at the Yelland Pottery in North Devon from 1965 until 1969. He worked alongside Michael Cardew at Wenford Bridge before setting up his own pottery in 1971 when he bought a small agricultural property at Shebbear, near Holsworthy in North Devon and set up a workshop in the former farm outhouses.
Kim's work is inspired by the history, geology and people of South Wales, where she has lived and worked throughout her career. Some of her ceramics work is a direct response to historical events, whilst other pieces explore wider, more general themes and narratives. The geological structure of the South Wales Coalfield is a current theme, acting as a metaphor for the way that communities bury and distort the past, creating memories that fit their contemporary needs.
Lise was born in Norway in 1974 and grew up surrounded by nature and the urban environment of Oslo. She trained as a bespoke women’s tailor before embarking on an Art and Design Foundation Course at Bournville, UCE, followed by a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design at Ravensbourne College, UK.
Her interest in ceramics as an alternative creative outlet started with short courses at Putney School of Art in 2012, where she continued her learning for several years before joining communal studios in London. After nearly 20 years working in fashion, Lise switched to ceramics full-time in 2019 and co-founded a London studio and gallery in 2020.
Lea Phillips makes a wide range high fired stoneware pottery, mostly functional plus some larger one-off pieces. All the ceramics are wheel-thrown, fired in an electric kiln and decorated with free abstract designs using vibrant colourful glazes made to her own recipes. A firm believer that oxidised firing is no barrier to interesting surfaces Lea enjoys glaze development and the challenge of combining form, colour, and pattern.
Petra trained in the South East and then gained a degree at Cardiff before joining Wobage Workshops, South Herefordshire in 1995. She and her husband, Jeremy Steward, also a potter, live on the edge of the Royal Forest of Dean. They were invited to join the Wobage studios as part-time apprentices to Mick and Sheila Casson, a role they maintained until Mick’s death in 2003.
Emily mostly works with a red stoneware clay that fires to a rich dark brown, with iron speckles showing through the glaze. She occasionally works with porcelain as the white body is ground for wonderful bright glazes. Most of the glazes contain barium and copper, a combination which give rise to interesting matt green glazes in an electric kiln.
