Potters EMERGING
The magazine is an independent journal. The publishers do not accept any liability for errors or omissions. The views expressed in the features are not necessarily those of the editor. Reproduction in part or whole must be with the consent of the editor. All rights reserved. 2024.
Introduction The online pottery magazine
Welcome to the new edition of the magazine.
Looking back at the traditional shows such as Ceramic Art London which is a selling show from the Crafts Potters Association to the final year show at the Royal College of Art which is still voted the best college, it is reassuring that so many overseas makers and visitors still consider the UK the place to be at. Pictured left is Jessica Mok from Hong Kong and studied at Manchester at New Designers (below).
I was hoping to see examples of work from the London colleges and the largest cities from around the country at New Designers. But for some reason they were not present. Very odd!
This was partly made-up for by the Welsh and Scottish colleges who were there, and not forgetting a strong showing again from Morley College – the only London stand I could find.
The range of pure research and experimental work was on show at the Royal College again even with their reduced term-time. For me the ‘standout’ work was from Ksenia Volkova who used a mix of ceramics and illustration in her work (below).
Next year will be test of who will be the dominant London College and how they will show the work of their students?
Front cover: Shinhye You
Jai Sally-Carrington
Ceramic Art London
Tim Fluck
This is the 20th year for the Ceramic Art London (CAL) show and it’s new home was Kensington Olympia in April.
It has grown to be one of the most important and largest selling ceramic shows in Europe. Applications are open to everyone and this year 118 makers made it to the selection.
Organised by the Craft Potters Association, it is guided by a panel of external experts. This year Professor of Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art, Felicity Aylieff was just one of the very distinguished panel members.
One of the newcomers to the show was Tim Fluck. He primarily works with slip cast porcelain forms. The work explores the notion of utopia as a process, in which the promise of an ideal is never realized but remains on an endless loop.
Another maker who has been working away since graduation from Brighton College of Art is Louise Bell. Her ‘Ancient Toys’ are inspired by their universal appeal dating back to 1600BC .
Throughout the show, which was very busy even on the first day, prices started from £100 going up to £10,000 for museumquality.
It will be interesting to see who makes it into next year’s show, and hopefully the building work in the area will be finished by then.
John Higgins
Alison Coaten
Oriel Zinaburg
Simon Olley
Ashraf Hanna
Lucy Baxe
Bjork Haraldsdottir
Jaeeun Kim
Timothy Fluck
Clare Palmer
Mitch Pilkington
Melina Xenaki
Daniel Boyle
In Ho Song
Sharon Griffin
Cleo Mussi
Dukhee Kim
Elly Wall
Jemma Gowland
Spotlight on one of the new makers showing at Ceramic Art London and what brings them to London.
Shinhye You
She commented, “I began majoring in ceramics for my BA while living in Korea. Always interested in craft and creative making I had tried other crafts with materials such as glass, metal, wood, etc. Ceramics became the main form expression in the arts as it reflected my personality.
“All arts courses are available from high schools to BA and MA, even practice-based PhD. They are quite skill-based, along with creative thinking and there are residencies and master classes to be found in traditional areas of ceramic making that were historically famous, including Icheon. I studied for my BA and MA in ceramics before arriving in the UK.
One of the most important shows in the ceramics world has to be Ceramic Art London, which is organized by the Craft Potters Association. Now in it’s 20th year the show had some 116 stands with makers from all over the world.
With so much to see, and of such a high standard it is hard to profile just a few makers. The comprehensive catalogue does an excellent job.
But what brings so many from to want to take part? One reason seems to be that many were attracted to the Royal College of Art postgraduate course in ceramics and glass. One such is Shinhye You from the Republic of South Korea and here she outlines her story.
Ants of the Stoneage
Windy, 2023, Porcelain
“I decided to apply to the Royal College of Art (RCA) because it is known as the best art school in the world. The UK is a melting pot of culture. I was attracted by the size of the international art market.
In Korea, there are numerous talented and amazing artists but the pool is too small and there are just not enough chances for artists to get recognized. It ends up diminishing the diversity of art market. One problem is the cost of RCA courses for international students, but I would have never had the chance to see the pros and cons if I hadn’t come to the UK. Now as a graduate, I learn by throwing myself into the market and promoting myself.”
Since leaving the RCA she has been living in East London that has a studio nearby. Through the studio she has been involved in group exhibitions and fairs. Plus working as an assistant to several makers as a second job. While continuing to make and exhibit new work.
For her CAL is a major platform where you get to meet all kinds of people related to ceramics. London. It has a reputation for quality and cutting-edge work which in turn offers successful sales as those attending have a commitment to ceramics.
Lullaby, 2023, black clay stone
Her work is a combination of everything involved in her life at the moment. She makes ceramics and writes stories and songs. The ceramics are the visual form of the stories that she writes. These stories follow the principles of magical realism. Depicting a realistic work and adding a surreal element to the virtual world, they blur the boundary between the real and fictional worlds.
As the ceramics exist in a visual form it becomes a bridge and invites people in the stories. they depict a world where everyone gives birth to a stone after they pass away. The stones, referred to as living stones, gain life after their owner dies and consume the dead body. It continues to live and grow organs. her ceramics are the stones, and the stories depict either the life of the owners or the stones.
She commented, “I’m putting effort into becoming an established ceramic artist. It will include looking for future opportunities and developing my practice, which is a lifelong project”.
https://shinhyeyou.creatorlink.net/
Walkinghead
Book Review
Hand Built
A Potter’s Guide by Melissa Weiss
Quarto Publishing Group
Imprint: Rockport Publishers Pub Date (UK): Apr 18, 2024
Price: £19.99
ISBN 13: 9780760393000
Paperback Pages: 160 300 colour photos
Pottery expert Melissa Weiss shows you the basics of crafting without a wheel, how to harvest and work wild clay, plus using natural glazes.
Handbuilt pottery is the perfect way for new potters to dive into this unique medium because it doesn’t require access to a potter’s wheel. Weiss takes an organic approach to harvesting and working with local clays at home.
It is always interesting to see how other potters from around the world work, and this book is no exception. It is aimed at potters working at different levels and one that honors tradition, but also looks at new ways of approaching clay.
If you’re just starting, you’ll find the basics you need. If you are an experienced potter then it will show you new ways of working.
Melissa Weiss takes you on a journey of digging and processing, using clay she finds herself In the book she looks at creating cups using a Japanese technique called Kurinuki – a method of carving a pot from a solid block of clay.
She introduces you to making bisque molds, using them to make platters and dishes. The book explores different techniques for creating feet and handles, plus ways of how to attach them to the work.
Throughout, she introduces you to the work of some very talented contemporary makers from around the United States.
About: Melissa Weiss lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and a true handmade maker. Each pot she makes contains clay that she digs up on her land in Arkansas. From there, she drives the clay back to her studio in Asheville where she cleans it and incorporates it in to her clay bodies. Melissa makes a variety of ash and celadon glazes and fires her pots in a gas reduction kiln. She teaches classes in handbuilding at intervals throughout the year, including at the famous Penland Art School and the North Carolina Pottery Center. She also operates an 8,000 square foot art cooperative called Southside Studios that houses studio space for 20 potters. Melissa participates in shows in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago and exhibits her work in galleries from New York City to Fayetteville, Arkansas.
www.melissaweisspottery.com.
The World of … Jai Sally-Carrington
It is always interesting to see how other countries develop their own makers and the educational system open to them. In this feature we look at the work of a new talent from Canada, Jai Sally-Carrington, a transgender and non-binary figurative sculptor.
They* took first ceramics class aged nine years old with a local artist from Vancouver (BC) named Suzy Birstein. As a child, they always needed to keep their hands involved with art materials, so did many art forms, but ceramics was the one that stuck. Going through high school which had an arts programme allowing them to practice ceramics, while continui ng to take classes with Suzy. They commented, “We’ve always loved the malleability of clay and the ability to turn it into any shape. Since they were a kid they have always loved sculpting animals, and clay felt like the best way to turn them into real creatures”.
In 2011 they moved to Montreal in 2011 to attend Concordia University and graduated in 2014. Although most of their training came from attending residencies and practicing sculpture in their own time. They commented, “Practice definitely does not make perfect, but it sure gets you good at what you’re doing If you do it often enough!”
They tried to be in a ceramics studio as often as possible. For many years, they built clay objects in their living room and then biked them to a kiln in the neighborhood, Finally in 2020 they got their own kiln in the home studio. Then, in 2021 went to University of Washington, graduating with a masters in fine art in 2023. There they studied under the renowned artist Doug Jeck.
* In the feature the terms He or She is replaced with They or Them.
Bird Boy
Today they describe the work as figurative sculpture. Blending human, and animal forms to express themes of human identity. They’ve been sculpting animals, since they were a child, and when the themes of the work became more about human experiences, using the sculptures begin to take on a more human form. But still using the particular characteristics and mythologies as certain human qualities. Using their work as a journal entry for many years.
…
using the particular characteristics and mythologies as certain human qualities.
The work is dependent on having access to a kiln and the development of techniques. Jai commented, “I really enjoy atmospheric firings, because of the unpredictability of the surfaces after the firing. The process really depends on where I am and what is available to me at the time. When I moved to Montreal for Undergrad and stayed for ten years, I was mostly using electric Kilns, because that was what was available. In 2018 when I did a residency on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, with a wonderful artist named Judy Weeden who taught me how to do smoke firing. It was the first atmospheric firing and I was hooked”.
Grumpy Birds
Reasoning with the inner Demons
In 2019 they participated in their first wood firing, and when at grad school, they operated the soda kiln many times. Currently, Jai is a resident at Baltimore Clayworks, Here there is a wood fire kiln which they have been using as often as possible.
Jai’s work uses the textures of clay, so in atmospheric firings they mostly leave the figures as either bare clay, or sprays on a flashing slip. Then they will add glazes minimally around the figure to add colour.
At present Jai is a resident at Baltimore Clayworks, Maryland. There they are a Lormina Salter Fellow, which means at the end of the residency, there will be a solo exhibition at the gallery.
While living in Montreal they had their own small home studio, but for many years they heavily relied on the residencies they were attending.
These amount to one residency a year for six years ranging from one month to three months. The Baltimore one is their longest residency yet. Next, Jai will move to Vancouver Canada, the place that they grew up in and moved away from in 2011. Jai’s family is still there, so they are excited to be going back, and will be looking forward to building their own studio.
Jai has several solo exhibitions coming up in Canada and the USA, from July 6-August 23rd 2024 is their exhibition Trans Passions, held at Baltimore Clayworks in Baltimore, MD, USA. Then in Seattle, Washington, USA, at Pottery Northwest, an exhibition called Untangling Knots. It opens July 26 and runs until September 20th 2024. In November there will be another exhibition held in Vancouver, BC Canada and another in Seattle USA. All the information about their upcoming exhibitions is on their website; join their mailing list or follow them on instagram to keep up to date."
www.jscreatures.com @jscreatures
Emanation
Royal College of Art Ceramics and Glass Exhibition
This year’s postgraduate show took place in June at their London campus. It was a mix of students from ceramic and glass plus other disciplines. The choice of work here is random as I found it while attending the show.
The main comments from the students I spoke was just how good the facilities were as compared to those in their host countries. The other comment was a wish to have the course over two years as they felt there was so much more to develop and experiment.
If I have missed any of the students – sorry, not intentional.
This cohort must represent the broadest range of host countries there has been.
Microplastics Invasion. Zeyong Lin. Jewellery & Metal MA. Mixed Media
PhantomFilament Trap. Xin Zhong. Jewellery & Metal MA. Silver plated copper wire, white wax, cotton and polyester yarns.
(above)
“Throughout my work I invite the viewer to investigate ideas by creating relatable poses and forms to facilitate a deeper engagement”.
Youth . Marina Caspe. Ceramics & Glass MA. 28x36x43cm.
Soft Solitude. Parita Thanyasirin. Ceramics & Glass MA.
www.serenamariaceram ics.co.uk
“ I am a ceramic artist, whose practice traces my Cypriot heritage, influenced by artefacts of antiquity. The work coalesce the gestural and the geometric through the interplay of surface and form. Within this work I adopts and disrupt traditional form and decorative methodologies inherent to Cypriot ceramic craft throughgestural manipulation of the clay”.
Serena Maria Dicks Ceramics
Death is not end of life. Forgetting is …
Jacqueline Xu Ceramics & Glass.
Hulu
Zoe Wu Ceramics & Glass MA
Porcelain, steel, thread, fabric
@zo_ceramics
“Repetition through hand sculpting and casting forms families of objects that evoke relationships between individuals, and the attreactions and tensions that hold us together”.
Costa Rican Landscapes
Victoria Loyola
Ceramics & Glass MA
Earthenware 120x30cm
(above) “The textures and patterns reflect the diverse geography of Costa Rica, from the dense rainforests to the serene beaches, creating a sense of place and connection”.
Best Friends Forever
Adrianna Majer
Ceramics & Glass
MA Glass
@adamajer_art
“I use toys and found objects that would be shared with friends and played with”.
Gathering: Assemblage of Abundance
Hanna Fastrich Ceramics & Glass MA
Stoneware, Stainless Steel, Acrylic 150x150x75cm
Hannafastrich.com
“Through my study of architecture and craftsmanship, namely ceramics, traditional Japanese woodworking and metal work, I am exploring the navigation across the boundaries of object and space as well as what it means to make something that sits in between artistic and tangible function”.
“I have focused on the theme ‘Object Narrative’. Sources objects found within nature to tell their stories. The process involves discovering objects that inspire the sculture’s form, then creating an area on the sculpture that narrates the story of where it was sourced, referencing its environment”.
Mantid. Jian Gao. Jewellery & Metal MA. Mixed media 21x17x18cm/ 1 mins www.phmorphic.info
Di Mare. Gaby Mlynarc zyk . Ceramics & Glass. Porcelain and Parian clays, marine based bio plastic, charcoal, Egyptian paste, found ceramic, sand. 80x60cm www.clay-junkie.com
“My current work is an examination of the great pacific garbage patch and the sea life that has unwittingly made it home. I imagine how this fragile marine ecosystem will evolve and transform as it proliferates and takes over these islands of human detritus, because of course nature always wins”.
Frutti
Never Again Ksenia Volkova
Ceramics & Glass MA
Porcelain, underglaze, glass 13x7x6cm www.ksenia -volkova.com
“I focus on both illustration and ceramics, discovering new ways how to combine the two. I use figurartive language to express the messages in my art, crafting metaphors that explore intanginle emotions.”
Reflection
Shuyu Meng
Jewellery & Metal MA 45x40x5cm
Beril Nur Denli is a ceramic artist with a diverse background. She gained professional experience by contributing to architectural offices before she started producing ceramic work in 2018. Her traditional making process is imbued with improvisations and explores the complexities and intricacies of life, resulting in dynamic forms that reflect her personal journey.
For 4 Zhijun Dong Jewellery & Metal MA 25x40com @dzjun_e
(below) Glaze Lithofacies Hwajeong Y eo Ceramics & Glass MA Hwajeong Teo Glaze 52x30x9cm www.hwajeongyeo.com
Yuna Seoyoon Kim lapse by Ceramics & Glass MA Glass, Steel 1280x890 (cm)
“I am an artist focused on exploring the properties of glass and the interplay of light and shadows as it passes through.
Captivated by how these elements create intricate visual narratives. My creative process is influenced by nature”.
Healing Sands. Fatima AlQassimi. Jewellery & Metal MA. Ha ndcrafted bronze bowls and small vessels.
Dani Daeun Kim
Explore series
Earthenware ceramics, Stoneware ceramics, Wool, LED
Dani who comes from Seoul in the Republic of South Korea is now based in both London and Seoul. Her work starts with acknowledging and overcoming the secretive profound emotions she has experienced in her past life. Recently she has been exploring interactive sculptures that offer experiences of emotional fluctuations.
Beth Greenleaf
Mother of Owls (the central figure, with an owl head) 55cm tall, 70cm deep, 66 cm wide
"In these recent works, I sought to explore the human experience, especially grief and chronic illness, by crafting a personal mythology. Through the use of hybridism, folkloric life, and the deification of human instincts, I crafted a pantheon of beastly gods. Many of these are initially born through encounters in dreams, and recorded in my dream journal/sketchbook upon waking. Each of the characters addresses their own story and has a distinct meaning (both personal and symbolic), but they are all from the same bestiary/world ”
Kaori Miyachi Sogabe (below)
Attempt to Go Against the Arrow of Time
“If my exhibited works were a book, it would be titled "Attempt to Go Against the Arrow of Time," with each piece (fired broken pieces seem as if they've trave lled through time) serving as a narrative chapter articulating why one would want to go back in time, where they would go, and what they would do there. The moving image piece demonstrates how clay as a material can express our body's memories, experi ences, and emotions”
An artist and curator. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London, and pursued postgraduate studies in Ceramic & Glass at the Royal College of Art. Her work often employes narrative methods of reshaping myths and archaeology to present portraits of nature and East Asian women. Her work has been exhibited and featured in the media both domestically and internationally.
Zhiye Zhang
Katya Gerasimova Bosky
Her work is called ‘ A Story’ and this installation is against the aggression in Ukraine.
Russian originally herself, she comes from Saint Petersburg. Now a resident in the UK she has lived and worked in London for more than 20 years.
She works as a multidisciplinary artist. The work is available on her website. Gerasimovabosky.co.uk
A Story installation consists of the following parts:
Performance- she did this twice- at the VIP event and later as there were many requests.
Sculpture installation - porcelain, earthen ware, glaze, metal.
Artist book text, limited edition using hand letterpress, with original illustrations by the author.
Animation - 9-minute video based on her story and drawings. She made it herself which was the first time in her life.
Leyla Borovali
This piece, "Yorgan / Quilt," serves as a totem and an homage to my Turkish culture.
In almost every Turkish household, traditional satin quilts can be found, often given to brides as they marry and move into a new family. These quilts symbolize comfort, warmth, and a sense of belonging in a new environment.
This sentiment was the anchoring point for my journey at the Royal College of Art.
The installation reflects the way quilts are typically stacked and stored in closets alongside pillows.
This inspired the textural asp ects of my designs, which embody the extravagance of these traditional quilts.
Each color wrapping the individual ceramic pieces references different quilts that hold significant memories from my life ”
Born in Chongqing, China Ziye graduated from the Sculpture Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Then a move to The Royal College of Art in the UK to do Glass and Ceramics.
For Ziye the nature of glass as a material, fragile yet hard, just like human life. The audience is invited to see through the work which is a collision and exchange between Chinese and Western medicinal cultures.
The Human Clay
The subject of this maker is to use a metaphor for how life’s experiences shape us. The work is figurative and is made with bare hands, squeezing and pushing the clay around as if it were paint on canvas, waiting for an unexpected expression or feeling to emerge.
Ruptured surfaces suggest a physical fragility and open the darkened interior creating a dialogue between private and public works.
Through their capacity to survive the rigours of the making and firing process, the heads speak of human resilience and our capacity to endure.
Pauline Hughes (left)
Ziye Shen (right)
Minjeong Kim (Left)
She is a multidisciplinary artist based in Seoul and London, working on various body installation works. She explores the depth of human existence, both individually and socially, by interweaving and overlapping different sensations that morph over time. Through themes of barriers, symbolism, and the ephemeral nature of existence, she aims to unveil the complex tapestry of societal relationships. adornment in contemporary society.
Suilven Hunter (below) Liminoid Chair – Glazed earthenware, raw Valais Blacknose fleece, 105x57x65cm
Suilven is a multidisciplinary artists exploring notions around ‘home’, place, space, and feelings of uncanniness. Informed by the rural landscape of Scotland and Shropshire where she grew up, accompanied by a plethora of storytelling, Suilven is fascinated by folk customs, superstitions and rituals.
Minjeong Kim
Heather Gibson (above)
She uses clay as a canvas to explore trace, time, memory and mark- making. Drawing inspiration from geology, archaeology and abstract expressionism, her ceramics serve as a portal into the intricate topographies of human memory, and the unseen landscapes concealed beneath the surface of the Earth.
Her method is an assemblage of time, layering individua l moments together to gradually construct unique surface narratives.
Kirsty Andrew (Right)
Behind closed Doors: Curtains characterise the barriers inherent to daily life, the duality of our public and private lives. They conceal whilst revealing glimpses of what lies behind (black stoneware and stainless steel wire)
Living Narratives: Each home is unique despite growing out of the same form. It is the personalities within that define them (multiple slip cast pieces, porcelain, parian, glaze, copper oxide)
She is a ceramic artist from Boston, Massachusetts. Her process in ceramic sculptu re is intuitive and organic. The works are born from ideas and questions she finds meaningful and mystifying, such as her Korean American heritage, female labour, fertility, rebirth, and sunyata (the Buddhist concept of emptiness).
In her work, she plays with empty spaces, asymmetry, and anthropomorphism as methods of expression and intrigue. The most recent line of work explores the female body in discomfort, in self- consciousness, in grace, in emptiness, in beauty, and in power.
Two recent large- scale coil-built sculptures (pictured), she searches for ways to encapsulate the tension she feels between two differing ideals of womanhood: the traditional expectations from her Korean heritage versus the contemporary concepts imbued in American culture. Inspired by the Korean Jeju Island stone fertility statues, “dol hareubang” (stone grandfather), she re -imagines and reinvents a feminised version of them which are titled, “dol harmang” (stone grandmother). Through these works, she reflects, expresses, and activates.
Alexandra Kim
Zidi Gong
Title : Cute or Cruel?
Porcelain, stoneware porcelain, glass, w ood
Zidi is a contemporary artist who utilises a diverse array of materials including ceramics, jewellery, and glass to explore the relationship between human society and the natural world. The work is inspired by daily life and the intricate dynamics between humans and nature, focusing on our roles within it and our impact on it. In Zidi’s ‘Under th e subjective lens through which humanity views nature, there often lies a conflict and opposition between nature in its essence and ou r perception of it - beautiful/ugly, cute/cruel... These contradictions invariably permeate human society, giving rise to new societal issues.
"Cute or Cruel?" explores the dichotomy between nature's essence and human perception. Focusing on species with unique evolutionary defences: pufferfish, porcupine, and armadillo. These animals employ strategies like inflation, quill projection, and curling into a ball for self-preservation. While humans often perceive these behaviours as 'cute,' this perceptio n masks the underlying fear and struggle for survival, turning these traits into sources of fascination and targets for hunting. Using various ceramic handbuilding techniques, she represent these species, deconstructing and recomposing their defensive postures to create textures and perforations. The resulting pieces appear complete yet fragmented and hollow.
New Designers
As a showcase for the best of British design excellence and a chance for the manufacturing industry to see so many very talented students in one place, then ‘New Designers’ cannot be surpassed.
Once again textiles were in the ascendance with a fantastic show from the Royal School of Needlework. Again. But where were all the ceramic stands I have seen over the past decade? And unless I missed it what has become of the section in the show ‘One Year On’ following the fortunes of recent graduates.
If there is not one large tradeshow for all the hard work and pure talent, where do the colleges think they are best served in showing what is being achieved?
Jessica Mok, BA (Hons) Product Design & Craft, Manchester School of Art.
Manchester and Hong Kong.
Above: Elwyn Barnes. Swansea College of Art.
Left: Naina Biju. Cardiff School of Art & Design.
Kate Bowler. Cardiff School of Art & Design
Above: Moana Sofia Sidoti. ‘Digitalised Pastry’ project.
Left: Christophe Ceramics
Top left: Nina Meredith Cardiff School of Art & Design
Top right: Stephanie Blomfield. Morley College London. For all at last return to the sea.
Left: Fernada Mendoza Gurriz. Clay Curves. Morley College London.
Above: Anouk Ramsey. Disrupting the Algorithm. Morley College London.
Rianne van Ladesteijn Gray’s School of Art
Left: Max Ross. C’est la vie Ceramics. Gray’s School of Art
Above: Rianne van Ladesteijn. Gray’s School of Art
