James Welland
As a boy, I lived on the Somerset Levels surrounded by basket weavers, thatchers, potters, cider makers, smallholders, and the like; all processes requiring practical and creative skills. With this background, craft and practical ability became part of my early life and a thread that continues through to today. Often making things— tables, benches, stone walls, lights, and other stuff— exploring materials and transforming objects into something new, my recent foray into ceramics builds on my interest in materials, practical ability, and creativity. At present, making what I think are aesthetically pleasing, mainly wheel-thrown functional pieces in natural tones, often foregoing colour and concentrating on the tone and texture of the clay and shape of the object.
Debbie Lawrence
Hackney based potter specialising in wheel thrown vessels in reclaimed clay.
Exploring forms inspired by the silhouettes of industrial cooling towers. The texture to the exterior of these pieces is often left raw and unglazed, then brushed with manganese oxide before the final firing. The interiors of these architectural pieces are glazed to allow the vessels to be functional.
Large vases are thrown and coiled with undulating surfaces; porcelain slip is applied by hand, then scored and scratched to create more depth and texture.
