Charles was born in New York City in 1939. After graduating from Union University in 1962 with a degree in English Literature, Charles spent the next three years teaching at secondary level. From 1965 to 1971 he worked for a publishing company, dividing his time between the USA and Africa. By 1972 he was juggling a variety of commitments: teaching, travelling, writing and theatre work, mostly in Kenya. Charles did not come to study ceramics until 1983, setting up a studio while working as a college technician and teaching. In 1994 he was gifted the use of space on a farm where he could build his own wood fired kiln, which he has been working with since.
Charles’ work is unconsciously influenced by significant periods of time spent in USA, Africa, and UK. Loose and elemental, his work reflects the rugged landscape of Wales, particularly of the farm environment.
“As things come out of the kiln with fused sand from the floor attached, distorted, occasionally with bits spalled off, I have begun to cultivate the wreckage that occurs in a wood kiln.”
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.”
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.