Recently in the workshop I’ve been sniffing out potential recipes for the new stoneware work.
Thinking that the stoneware suits a more traditional, rustic look than our porcelain has lead me to classic glazes like celadon, tenmoku, chun. Even the names are seductive: these glazes have been used and loved so much that they’re not called just black, green, blue. They have places, stories and history associated with them and when traditional thrown forms (as many of ours are) are combined with classic glazes, there is often a sense of “rightness”.
I had a different approach with our old porcelain glazes; they were about the pleasure of colour, usually relying on modern commercially prepared glaze stains for colour rather than metal oxides and combinations of basic raw materials. I suspect that my interest in current trends (I’m loathe to use the word “fashion”) influenced our glaze palette and appealed to our customers accordingly. I have always wanted our work to look contemporary: there are some potters around today who are highly skilful in making traditional pots in traditional ways (wood-fired, ash glazed etc.) but I have no interest in trying to replicate pots seen in museums made in a previous age.
So my challenge is to find glazes which have that quiet rightness; which suit the rustic quality of the clay and our hand-made process and would be at home in a stylish, modern context. This group has the traditional celadon, tenmoku and persimmon glazes alongside lilac and yellow which are a little more bright and clean. It’s important that each glaze is nice on its own and within the group. Not all of these recipes are finalised and in production yet, there’s a bit more fine tuning to be done (and there is a chun in the pipeline) but I think we’re getting close and I like using a bit of old and a bit of new.
We have a small group of stoneware in our online shop and if you’re in London a selection of pieces from the range can also be purchased at The New Craftsmen in Mayfair.