Studio Pottery, as the name suggests, is made in a studio by a craftsman. Unlike the
potters of the past, these people are not journeymen or industrial workers but
ceramicists; people that bridge the gap between artist and craftsman and designer.
Most of the pieces that they make are unique, some may be made as a run, and all
involve a multi-step process of preparation. Most ceramicists will work on a wheel, in a process called throwing,
Watching a ceramic artist is mesmerizing, as the wheel turns, a pot begins to emerge
from the most delicate and sensuous touches of the artist, a slight pressure of a
finger and lines and spirals begin to undulate across the pots surface.
As well as the shape of a piece, one of the most fundamental parts of ceramic works
it the surface decoration.
The only distinction between Studio Pottery and what people think of as Art is that
most pottery still retains at its core a practical function, despite the trend in Britain
since the 1980's to move towards non-functional ceramics. Pottery is tactile, and for
those who appreciate it, the very process of handling an object adds to the
appreciation of it.
For more information on studio pottery please
click here.