I make functional, woodfired stoneware and porcelain, intended to be enjoyed in everyday use. All pots are thrown on the wheel and are fired in a wood-fired, ‘Anagama’ style kiln over three days.
I am interested in how the pots record the passage of the flame through the kiln to give a range of decorative effects through flashing and fly-ash deposits. Experimentation with the clay body, the way in which the pots are stacked in the kiln and the firing schedule is ongoing. I also use various ash and shino glazes.
Pots are always available from my own showroom which is open by arrangement and currently also from
BuyDesign, Harestanes, nr. Jedburgh, Scottish Borders
For up to date information about courses offered, events and exhibitions please see my website.
I have wide experience of teaching practical skills and run intensive throwing courses and one to one tuition by arrangement.
I first encountered clay whilst researching for a doctorate in engineering at Warwick University and attended classes with David Jones.
After several years spent working with rural development projects in newly independent Zimbabwe in the mid 1980’s I set up my first workshop in mid-Wales whilst working at the Centre for Alternative Technology and after attending short courses with Phil Rogers and Takeshi Yasuda.
I moved to Dunbar, near Edinburgh in Scotland in 1990, initially firing in a small gas kiln. I constructed a two chamber, wood-fired climbing kiln in 2004 but now use a large ‘Anagama’ style kiln completed in 2011.
2008 Potfest in the Park
2008 Galerie Handwerk, Koblenz, Germany
2007 Potfest in the Park
2007 Zimmer Stewart Gallery, Arundel
2007 Feat of Clay, Strathearn Gallery, Crieff
2005/6 Pots in the Woods, kiln opening events
2004/5 Clay in Bloom, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, touring exhibition
1999 Peter Potter Gallery, Haddington
1995 Teapotmania, Norfolk Museums Service, touring exhibition
‘Earth, Wood, Fire’, Ceramic Review, Issue 269, Sept/Oct 2014 –article by Giles Sutherland about my kiln and firing.