Please use the right side menu to access other pages in this category.

 

My pottery background

I began to learn how to throw pots whilst at 6th form College, teaching myself from books. I continued with the pottery at Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University) as part of the 3Dimensional Design course.

My pottery tutor was Alex McErlain, a great teacher and encourager. He trained first under Derek Emms at Stoke on Trent Polytechnic and then under Ray Finch at Winchcombe Pottery. I also got to spend one summer gaining pottery experience under Peter Dick, who had worked with both Ray Finch and Michael Cardew. At that time Peter was producing impressive slip decorated high fired earthenware in a wood fired kiln.

After taking my PGCE I moved to the Wirral to teach art and pottery. My own pottery work became limited to two weeks each summer and the occasional throwing session at school. All pots during that time were fired in an 8 cu ft electric kiln. When in 1998 I moved to the Isle of Wight my potter’s wheel moved with me. A year later I acquired a 9 cu ft propane gas kiln, though it wasn’t until after another few years that a pottery workshop became available. Finally, after several years of doing very little pottery I have now relinquished most of the design work I was doing to focus more fully on making pots and getting back to my drawing and painting.