Introduction. A context, Clay.

In this series of blogs I am hoping to explore more deeply what I like to do as a potter and why I do those things.

I thought that I would start at the beginning, with the clay itself. People have been digging into the ground for many thousands of years, using what they found there to improve their lives. Human curiosity and creativity is insatiable. Somewhere, someone, 10,000 years or so ago¹, realised that clay when placed in a fire creates a different material and ceramics was born.

My pots are merely a tiny step in this long lineage, connecting the distant past with life in the 21st century. Like so many UK potters my work is partly informed by Japanese and Korean ceramics. There is a rich history of the transfer of ideas between these nations. Bernard Leach, of course, promoted this connection, having partly grown up in Japan and worked with potters and thinkers of his day. Japan and Korea have their own history together, and recently I have become aware of the beauty of Korean ceramics. I love the idea that they have in those countries, of National Living Treasures as a wonderful way to celebrate and nurture craft.

The challenge that faces me is how to combine some of these ideas with living in SE England, in the Kent countryside and coming from a very British home and the pottery traditions of the UK.

Potters use what is called a ‘clay body’ to make their pots. This is a mixture of clays and other minerals, formulated to fire to a particular temperature range, or to serve a particular function. In order to hold up sculptures, structural materials are added, and to make a clay body easier to throw on the wheel, materials are added to make the clay plastic. Of course, there are those of us who choose to simply dig it out of the ground, process it and use it. I’m attracted to this idea, but the practicalities make it feel as if it’s a step too far for me; I have enough difficulty in my process without adding more complexity and time!

¹ in the early neolithic period, see B, McKillop & J. Portal (2024) p.19. Precious Beyond Measure, a History of Korean Ceramics. London: Reakton Books