Gaby Guz

Gaby’s current focus is making saggar-fired, wheel-thrown pots. What originally drew her to this type of making was the interplay between the highly controlled form, and smooth, polished, surface texture of the piece on the one hand; and the ‘seemingly’ random nature of the surface marks created by smoke and metallic, chemical reactions, on the other.

However, this has now changed. With her increasing knowledge of the science behind the art, and education about the chemical reactions that happen during the firing process, rather than having random marks, she is designing the surface decoration. Through experimentation and observation, she has developed her own version of the saggar firing process, which allows her to have much more control over the surface decoration. She uses patterns from mathematics, nature and art as starting points for the design.

Her saggar fired pieces also reflect her love of ‘earth ‘colours such as siennas, ochres and umbers which she also uses in her life drawing, an essential part of her creative practice. Making pots in this way, nurtures both the scientist and the artist in her. The final and most thrilling stage of the making process is the ‘hatching’ of the piece: the shedding of its outer layer to reveal the pot within.