Information/ Statement

Artists statement

Change the world - Re-model it in clay

I work with clay because I find it a very plastic and constructive material which responds to my touch and to my ideas. My work is figurative and symbolic. I choose my subjects through a process based on filtering observations through my accrued experience.
Some of the imagery I use is linked to my identity as a man - guns, cars, machines and the like. During my lifetime the expectations of what it means to be a man have changed and continue to do so. Changes in your own life and in the greater world inevitably make you question assumptions about your life and work and what you want to do with it. The work has to evolve in response.

My ideas come instinctively and flow in an associative way from one to another. In this sense my work has a life of its own, I need to make it, it needs to be made. Each project that I make has grown through a sequence of observation, collection of ideas and references, drawing and building in clay. Ideas come in their own time, I take notes, sketch whenever I can and collect images in my sketchbook, on my camera and in my memory. The process is only really fixed when the work is fired. I find pottery and it’s history fascinating and draw on this repeatedly.

I work in ceramics and also have skills in computer graphics. Although I do not currently use computers directly in my ceramic work the combination of ancient and modern techniques is one of the things that interests me. I also like the way my work comes about. It didn't always seem so clear to me what to make and why. That discovery has taken me some time so now I really feel a sense of conviction about what I make. I have had to learn to trust my imagination to provide a stream of ideas that I can experiment with and develop.

Themes
I explore themes such as the cars series over a period of time in different configurations and contexts. I developed the still-life as a three dimensional motif in my early work and various forms of installation now make up the bulk of my output.

Although I have largely stopped making vessels I find it is a persistent and recurring concept which is universally understood and desired and although I don’t usually make or design cups and saucers as such I think the medium and it’s history inevitably create echoes and references in the things I make. My work is modern, it’s part of my life in the 21st century but it is also part of the continuum that pottery represents.

Techniques
I hand build in earthenware and stoneware to make my sculptures. I use a variety of hand modelling, slab building and press moulding techniques and some dragging methods for rims, edges, handles and other finishing touches. I work extensively with coloured slips and I am continuosly testing glazes and other surface finishes.

The technical limitations of working in clay are both a challenge and a source of guidance and inspiration, working within the constraints of this medium forces ideas and technical solutions to come to the surface. I am not averse to including other materials in my work.

Download a pdf of this statement

Students | History | FAQ