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.
Ant first encountered pottery in primary school. His teacher, Mr Wright introduced him to clay and planted the beginnings of a lifelong passion. He started out as a science teacher but gave up teaching in his late twenties after years of evening classes and moved to Lincolnshire to set up his own pottery workshop.
Daniel obtained a BA (Ceramics) from Royal Melbourne Information Technology University (co-presented with Hong Kong Art School) in 2007.
Daniel creates carefully sculpted porcelain vessels. The start of Daniel’s creative process begins with throwing. He is fascinated by the patterns and ongoing variations that emerge during this stage. The unique traces left on the forms evoke for him a sense of a path paved with the sedimentation of memory.
Maria's early creative training and work was in graphic design at a time when the industry was changing from drawing boards to computers. As her work became more computer based she realised she missed using her hands and making things, that realisation led to ceramics, initially experimenting in a shed in her garden, but later to an MA in ceramic design at Bath Spa University. Since graduating she has exhibited nationally and internationally and now works from her studio in Frome.
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.
Michelle studied Ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1994. The course focused strongly on sculptural ceramics and encouraged a fine art approach to creativity. Students benefited from a wide range of visiting artists, and Michelle was fortunate to have Magdalene Odundo as an external assessor, who inspired a dynamic and fearless approach to the materiality of clay. It was the hands-on nature of the material, and the opportunity to learn a craft, that first drew Michelle to ceramics. Since then, she has continually sought to explore its boundaries, expanding her knowledge and skills through daily practice.
Valerie studied fashion and textiles at Brighton and Bristol art colleges. Valerie’s art is about a combination of brushstroke and knowledge of colour acquired through a lifetime of painting. Ken learned to pot with potters in Bristol and London and has had a long association with potters throughout the country in his work for the craft ceramic materials industry and kiln manufacturing.