Meet the Maker
One of the rare times I've not been covered in clay dust!
Welcome to my studio, where I turn expensive mud into slightly more expensive dust and lead the left-handed revolution one mug at a time. I’m the one doing all the actual work, while Brian, (pic below) a Highland cow with zero upper-body strength and a flammable fringe, serves as "Chief Safety Inspector (Unqualified)."
- My Pottery Style:Intentional Left-Handed Wonkiness" with a side of "Nature, but make it slightly chaotic." I throw on the wheel (counter-clockwise, as the gods intended), hand-build, and sculpt. My work is heavily inspired by flowers and the Shropshire landscape, meaning if a handle looks like a twisted vine or a bowl looks like a wilted lily, it’s a "botanical tribute" rather than a structural failure. If it leans, it’s just "organic storytelling".
- In Another Life: I would have been a medieval alchemist or a very suspicious hermit living in the Shropshire hills. Instead, I’ve been forced to channel my energy into "functional art" so I don't have to get a real job.
- Pros: I’m technically my own boss, so I can’t be fired for listening to Indy 90s music while covered in dust. Plus, being left-handed makes me statistically more likely to be a genius (don’t fact-check that).
- Cons: I have dry, lizard-like hands and I’m one kiln explosion away from a full-blown identity crisis.
- Likes: The sound of a perfectly pulled handle, and when the kiln gods accept my sacrifices without turning them into a jigsaw puzzle. Eating.
- Dislikes: Clockwise-only wheels, air bubbles (the devil’s work), and people who ask for a "Ghost" scene. Cleaning everything in the studio...all the time. Cooking.
- Habits: Losing my needle tool for 45 minutes only to find it behind my ear, talking to the clay as though understands English but chooses to be difficult. Wearing thermals all year round.
- Working Style: A delicate balance of "controlled catastrophe" and "aggressive optimism." Usually start with a grand vision of a Grecian urn and end up with a very enthusiastic soap dish. The process involves 20% actual throwing and 80% wandering around the studio asking Brian where I put the sponge that is currently in my hand. It's a high-stakes game of "Will it Center?" followed by a brief period of mourning when a rim collapses, usually ending with declaring it "avant-garde" and going to put the kettle on.
