timeless forms and soft glazes
The Melting Snow collection is an ode to Heritage Pottery, while also marking a departure towards a more personal voice in this context. Melting Snow addresses landscape differently to my previous work, marking and evoking a point where the permanent and impermanent briefly meet and one becomes subsumed by the other.
The range began with tea bowls, after seeing a piece by Andrew Marshall, which one can consider as functional ware that acknowledge the yunomi and chawan of Korean and Japanese origin but sought to express their own voice. Rather than seeing the surface of the glaze, with its softness, texture and changing hues as an end in itself, I felt it should mark the starting point for a wider Seasons collection.
Melting Snow embodies snow's softness, how it blankets an object and then recedes. There are gentle variations in surface, opacity, colour and texture. Soft voices and subtle contrasts juxtaposed with generous making and exquisite textures.
The work is thrown and turned in a slow manner, making the ware more contemplative in its rhythm. The decoration of the bowls begins at the green stage with slip and specially collected river-sand to bring texture and individuality to each bowl. The final firing is also at a lower stoneware temperature so work is vitrified but a little 'softer' than higher-fired ware. It is this commitment to processes that exemplifies Heritage Pottery. All pieces are stamped with my unique "MT" mark and made from a casual rustic clay body. You can view and buy the work at:
- Cambridge Book and Print Gallery
- Currently stocking two chawan and a lidded vessel alongside work from the Seasons Collection.
- Buy Melting Snow directly
- There are several lovely little tea bowls currently available in my shop.