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.
John has been making stoneware pottery in the North Lancashire village of Yealand Redmayne for forty years. The firing process requires a temperature of 1320c, and a smoky/reducing atmosphere in the kiln, which results in rich glaze colours and exciting unpredictable effects on the pots. Most of the pots are classically simple functional shapes, thrown on the wheel, but John occasionally alters the freshly thrown pots to produce one of the signature forms for which he is well known.
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.
Birgit Pohl grew up in Germany and porcelain objects in her family home always held a particular fascination. After moving to London, a chance visit to a potter’s studio first opened her eyes to the possibilities of working with porcelain. She learned how to throw on the wheel initially at evening classes and went on to study at Clay College, Stoke-on-Trent.
Jenny Southam studied Fine Art in Bristol where she developed her practice in Sculpture, gravitating towards bronze. After several years working as a sculptor and bronze-casting assistant in Gloucestershire she moved to Devon, where she embraced clay as her medium of choice. For thirty years her family, home, garden and studio has formed an integrated whole.
Akiko Hirai produces both practical and decorative ceramic ware that is held in private collections and museums worldwide. Her Japanese background and aesthetics strongly influence her ceramic work while her pieces are also perfectly rooted in contemporary designs.
Prue is a member of the Art Workers’ Guild, where she was Master in 2014. Her work sells widely, in the UK, USA and Japan, and she has been given numerous solo shows. Prue makes press-moulded earthenware dishes, decorated with quotations and images illustrating the ways of the world – witty, friendly or subversive.