POTTERS
HANDMADE BRITISH CERAMICS
Throughout the year we invite or select guest ceramic artists to exhibit their work at our shop for a limited period of 1-2 months.
If you would like to be considered as a guest artist please contact our Manager, Katie, at pottersbristol@gmail.com with your artist statement and a selection of images or fill out this online form...
Katherine Kingdon - March and April 2023
At Potters, we are delighted to be featuring the work of Katherine Kingdon as our Guest Potter for March and April 2023.
Katherine works out of a shed in Newbury and describes her making process to begin with a firm grounding in “ceramics and teaching, making and mending, poking about in museums, mothering and general pottering.” She keeps a lively sketchbook that feeds into her 3D work.
Katherine studied for a degree in Ceramics at Leicester Polytechnic before her masters in Applied Art and Visual Culture from London Guildhall University, she later studied for a PGCE at Westminster college, Oxford.
Her work is rooted in characters and storytelling, Katherine’s vessels and figures draw the viewer in and hold beautiful illustrative detail. Each piece wanders through a narrative, compellingly describing scenes with a backdrop of music and humorous drama. With each viewing, the work grows and new details jump forward, the figures are alive and expressive, while also delicate and sensitive.
‘I enjoy the ‘in the moment’ creative decisions that have to be made when working in this way. It’s what makes each piece unique. I also aim for an element of ambiguity in the subject matter, suggesting a narrative, but allowing the viewer enough space to question, interpret and begin to create their own.’
Katherine’s work will be here to enjoy and purchase until the end of April, don’t miss a chance to visit Potters and take the work in.
Previous Guest Potters
MARINA BAUGUIL NOVEMBER 2022
Marina Bauguil was raised in France, Africa and England, and she now resides in Manchester.
Her passion for clay started at Falmouth School of Art and Design where she completed a Fine Art degree, majoring in Sculpture before studying Ceramics for two years, graduating in 1992.
Inspired by a range of cultural sources, her work explores her relationship with and reverence for the world of nature. She believes that human beings need a strong relationship with the natural world in order to live a balanced life. We were once deeply connected – through our hearts – to forests, rivers, mountains, plants and animals, and our modern way of life is eroding this connection.
As in animism (the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls), She aims to create pieces filled with breath, spirit and life. Hence, she uses the Japanese word kami (a divine being or spirit in Shinto religion) to describe her work. It is her hope is that her pieces will inspire the viewer to rekindle the relationship between their own inner nature and the natural world.
Marina's work is mostly figurative. She often begins with a meditative approach when starting a piece, working intuitively as she goes. Paper porcelain is her preferred medium, but she also uses other clay bodies. Each piece is fired multiple times and finished with fine touches and gold lustre.
JESSICA THORN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022
Jessica was captivated by the alchemy of clay during her foundation at Plymouth College of Art, so continued to complete a Applied Arts degree. After graduating with a Ceramics BA she made her way back to her hometown of Bristol, where she acquired a space in the ceramics studio Maze, marking the start of my journey as a craftsperson. Since then she was awarded a place on the Crafts Council Hothouse program, took part in a one year Ceramic Artist is Residency, has exhibited in many fairs and galleries and am now part of a co-operative studio in the heart of Bristol.
She teaches hand-building beginners courses, and creates porcelain functional-ware inspired from antique kitchenware. Made from porcelain the clean simple design of each piece aims to capture the spirit created from these honest conversations and the feelings of joy when cooking.
ALI TOMLIN JULY/AUGUST 2022
Ali Tomlin creates wheel thrown porcelain, mainly for its smooth, white surface which makes it perfect as a canvas for her colours and mark-making.
Ali creates beautiful elegant contemporary ceramics with a dry, chalky surface, applying a bold, but muted palette of stains, oxides and slips.
She takes delight in splashing and sponging away areas, adding inlaid and sgraffito lines, aiming to create imperfect and unpredictable marks. Most of the decorating is carried out on the wheel to convey a feeling of movement and spontaneity.
Mainly Ali loves working with colour, line and marks, and luckily there's a never ending supply of them!
K Ceramics is a small ceramics studio run by Kate Clark. Kate is a trained graphic designer, who had always wanted to translate her two-dimensional ideas into three dimensions. Clay gave her the perfect medium with which to express the tactile qualities she wanted to combine with her background.
Since 2016, with professional development and experimentation, She has evolved a style that she enjoys using and looking at. “I'm very much inspired by Japanese simplicity and appreciation of the hand made. I combine this with tactile textures and patterns derived from what I see around me. I enjoy making small batches or one of a kind pieces.”
It is recommended that you handwash these pieces due to the complex textures that may be involved on the surfaces of each piece.