About
I am a martial artist, a ceramic artist and was a history teacher. My passion for pottery started at school. However I was diverted away from my creative self by my decision to study History/Politics at university, which was followed up with a career as a CEO for a major governing body of sport for 15 years. There followed 15 years as a self employed potter and martial arts coach in London, during which time I was a member of Greenwich Open Studios, Kent Potters and London Potters. I moved up to Cumbria to support my parents in 2007, where I joined Northern Potters and exhibited in several NPA shows. After moving to Lancashire – and following injury that laid me up for a couple of years – I rejoined Northern Potters in 2017, and then decided to really get back into the flow by doing an MA in ceramics in 2022. Best decision I could have made. I have a fascination with oriental cultures and philosophy, in particular the concepts of the energy within the flow of the Tao(Dao).
Project overview
Energy disrupted
There are many potters making forms, and using glazes and decoration that fall within the rich Chinese, Korean or Japanese ceramic traditions. That is not the object of this project. Its objective is to blend Eastern philosophy with an Occidental and personal experience. I am unaware of other ceramicists specifically exploring the theories of Te, WuWei or Taoism and linking them to Western concepts of void, emptiness, stress and – possibly – modern pre- occupations of ‘mindfulness’ and ‘self’. The work is linked to my own lived experience. In Taoism the flow of energy creates life, and the concepts of Te (the essence of being/virtue) and Wu Wei (effortless action through non-action) are central to this energy. People are imperfect vessels - energy is absorbed and dispersed in our tube-like forms. People are subject to these flows of energy in ways that create personal stories and a sense of self. Substantively we all come from and return to clay. The way a clay body is permanently altered through the processes of manipulation, decorating and firing lends itself as a metaphor for the relationships and vagaries of life. The nature of the medium therefore also lends itself to an exploration of the flow of Taoist energy in an anthropomorphic way. A rationale for this project is to combine a deeply held philosophical belief and personal experience with a determination to develop basic form and skill and an appreciation of the medium.
porcelain vessel - copper wash
porcelain tube with wire addition - copper wash
earthenware body with ceramic and wire intrusions
black stoneware body with nail intrusions - 'Freebie'
porcelain body with ceramic intrusions - 'the Bean'
