Producing both decorative and functional ceramics, Akiko draws inspiration from her cultural background and its aesthetic traditions. She finds beauty outside of what tends to be considered conventionally attractive and presents these findings through her experimentation with materials and processes in the studio. She employs multiple firings and combines varied techniques. These processes produce highly complex surfaces which are simultaneously unnervingly textured yet deeply satisfying.
“Most of my work comes from everyday things… I consider what I can sense in everyday life while I am experimenting with ceramic materials and then I see what I can do with it.”
Adam Frew works in porcelain, creating thrown functional and large one-off pots. He revels in the spontaneity of throwing, the speed of production, seeking to reflect this energy in his distinctive mark making. These marks are continually evolving, but are always energetic and confident.
Adam works in contrasts: of lines or washes, glazed and unglazed, blues and oranges or reds and more recently, applied ridges. “A sense of energy has always been central to my work. Working with the clay in a way that is fluid and quick, and doesn’t require much reshaping.”
Charles Bound ‘s work is unconsciously influenced by significant periods of time spent in the USA, Africa, and the UK. Loose and elemental, it reflects the rugged landscape of Wales, particularly of the farm environment where he lives and works today.
Akiko Hirai makes largely functional ware using the Japanese tradition of allowing the clay itself to show the way in which it wants to be fired. She tries not to control her materials but to let them and the unpredictable environment of the kiln dictate much of the resulting shape and colour of her work.