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.
Lea studied pottery at Harrow and completed the studio pottery course in 1982. In the eighties she worked as a production thrower for Mary Wondrausch at her slipware pottery in Compton, Surrey before setting up her own workshop in Guildford making slip and underglaze decorated earthenware. In 1998, she took a break from self-employment to complete the apprenticeship at Dartington Pottery in Devon. In 2000, she set up the workshop at Coombe Park near Totnes in Devon, this time focusing on higher fired glaze decorated stoneware.
After twenty years working in rural Devon, Lea relocated to Dorset and in 2022 set up the Happy Crab Gallery in Weymouth. The Happy Crab is both studio and retail outlet and Lea is enjoying being part of the community in the heart of the town and close to the sea, which provides a constant source of refreshment and inspiration for her ceramics and art.
