When I was a little girl I didn’t really ask for big Christmas presents, like children seem to today, and would be elated to find a hearty stash of plasticine in my stocking on Christmas morning.
I’d spend hours creating mad shapes, farms full of strange animals and tiny families for weeks after – always careful not to mix the colours into brown mush. I think that this is perhaps why I should have been a potter?
At University I would sneak into the ceramics and glass department, where I learned a little about slip casting and glazes; enough to convince my tutors that these tiny crumbling vessels and porcelain sequins were inherently relevant to my future textile career. Kindly, they never told me otherwise.
Clays and slips – ahhhh what a joy! Like a mad scientist’s kitchen, the measured alchemy of chemicals and precious powders vs. the element of kiln surprise is unending… inspirational… which is why I find myself day dreaming of making weirdy pots, strangely interesting bud vases and wonky vessels in slips and clay.
So why not? I just think I might have some mad fun, behaving like a bright eyed student all over again and becoming a sort of wannabe potter for a little while…
