In this conversation, Russell Kingston discusses his practice in the context of New Members of the Craft Potters Association at Contemporary Ceramics. He reflects on his working methods, sources of inspiration, and the ideas that underpin his work. The exhibition runs from the 2nd – 25th April 2026.
Interview by Dee Honeybun
The Exhibition
Contemporary Ceramics: How has your work grown for this exhibition?
Russell Kingston: My work is always growing and moving forward. By making new shapes and designs this keeps it fresh and interesting for me, and hopefully for everyone else.
Moving Tradition Forward
Contemporary Ceramics: Your practice is deeply rooted in the North Devon slipware tradition while also aiming for a contemporary freshness—how do you personally define what it means to “move a tradition forward” without losing its original character?
Russell Kingston: I think its working within the same ethos and materials with a love for what these are. When I make pots today, I am sympathetic to the history, where the forms and glazes came from, understanding the influence that knowledge of a tradition brings whilst being aware that if you simply reproduce old pots they look old. It important to make work that relates to nowadays, to make work that feels fresh.
On Confident Mark Making
Contemporary Ceramics: You describe working quickly and with minimal tools to preserve a sense of human touch and energy—how does this emphasis on immediacy and gesture influence the final personality or “life” of your pots?
Russell Kingston: The work has an organic-ness in its marks and form that would be lost if I laboured over it. With the way I slip-decorate, the marks need to be confident, if not, the hesitations are captured in the pot.
Developing a Distinctive Voice
Contemporary Ceramics: Your slip decoration draws from both historical slipware and modern practitioners while maintaining your own visual language—how do you navigate the balance between looking back to tradition and developing a distinct artistic voice in the present?
Russell Kingston: The balance develops over time. With my earlier pots, where I was learning, I jumped about within the vein of slipware and different influences. As I got more confident in my making, my voice came – you just have to listen to it. I found the more that I made pots for me rather than what I though would sell or be popular, the more my work sold and was popular… and then this spiraled over time amplifying my voice.
On Change
Contemporary Ceramics: How has your practice changed over time? What has been a seminal and/or inspirational moment?
Russell Kingston: My skills have become more confident, and the freshness of the sliptrailing gives so much more life to the pots. Slip is a liquid so if you are fluid in your movements, this compliments the material. As for a seminal moment, it was when I picked up a sliptrailer. I was doing sgraffito at the beginning, as that is one of the traditions of North Devon Slipware, but after my first mark with a sliptrailer I was like…well this is me for the forceable future. That was over 10 years ago!
