Studio Devona

Fish Lady Statue

This was my first ever attempt at a full human body sculpture and took several weeks to complete. I worked on her during summer evenings while the water feature in the garden was flowing into the pond and I had candles burning around and the smell of incense. I have good memories of times making her and nearby the cats would sit and watch. It took me two attempts on her head.

I created her to begin with by using front and side templates of a woman then carved a block of clay in those directions first a bit like how ancient Egyptians did statues. I then used my minds eye to remove material that did not look right in diagonal directions leaving only what looked good and eventually when the form of the woman was pleasing to the eye I began to refine her until I was happy.

The final areas to work on were the face and the bottom of the statue with the fish. I used images of fish from Egyptian art for this and the bottom the the statue was inspired by scalloped patterns from 1900's sea-themed items.

The firing process was very carefully done so that she did not crack in the kiln. I hollowed out the inside so that within I could hide a time capsule later on. A number of my creations do contain time capsules.

The final touches on the statue were the glazing of her hair and the fish which were done using Copper, Bronze, Gold and Platinum gilding.

Vase with Buttercup Flowers

When I first set up my studio in 1998 I experimented with throwing pots on the potters wheel. The technique which I really enjoyed eventually was coiling pots rather than throwing them - coiling allowed me to create larger pieces over several days or weeks which became more like sculptural art onto which I either then carved or added features. I used a grogged cornish white clay at that time which when fully fired gave a cream colour with white flecks in it.

The buttercup vase was a shape I planned with a thick rim and I used a buttercup plant from the garden to then create a plaster mould from which I pressed flowers using clay. I joined them onto the vase and around the outside I layed them out in several patterns so that when the vase was finished I could turn it to view the layout from various angles. The buttercups were gilded with gold too.

Summer Fields Dish

Using Cornish White grogged clay I made this dish on the wheel by the throwing technique. You can see the cream colour of the clay after the firing with the white flecks on the rim. At the time in the studio we were using homemade stoneware glazes - this one I called summer fields because during the firing process the glaze ran down the sides creating what I saw as a lovely pattern like the look of wheat ready to be harvested. The glaze pooled at the bottom looking like the summer sky.

Ancient Skull

In 2024 I worked on this skull which I modelled using a basic ancient human or ape-like shape. It is about 20cm tall so the clay inside had to be hollowed out to avoid it exploding in the kiln. You can see it did get a couple of splits on the side though. For this creation is used a black clay which is mined in Spain from an area rich in manganese hence the black colour. The higher the temperature this clay is fired the more black it goes but on this piece I wanted to avoid warping and cracking so it came out more of a brown/grey colour. As a feature I mixed lots of natural micaceous hematite powder in with the clay which when fired leaves the surface sparkling like glitter - you can just about make this out in the picture. In case you wonder what the stones are... these are natural iron hematite crystals I like to collect.

Ceramic Flutes

I had been buying wooden flutes from around 2020 to learn to play and thought it would be nice to make a few in clay. A flute is really just a long hollow tube with various holes and a shaped mouth tip. The positioning and size of the holes is what creates the notes and the shape of the air channel makes the air vibrate and makes it sound. It took a while to get this right but I managed in the end. These ceramic flutes sound lovely though they have the disadvantage of breaking if you drop them on a hard surface so care is needed!

Some of my working flutes I decorated with mouse designs and added flowers too.

Woman's Head

During 2006 I created two women's heads. The first one had the look of shaved Egyptian Princess and I intended to add a wig of other crafted materials afterwards but never finished it. The other head I was much more pleased with and she had pure gold gilding adding to her necklace and hair pin.

Larger pieces and Heads

2006. Showing a collection of larger coiled pottery I had made and a couple of heads I had worked on as well. The large vase in the middle when it came out of the kiln weighed 4 stone! The others items also had gold gilding added to them later on.

Egyptian Shabti Figurines

Since the 1970's when the King Tut exhibition came to the UK I have had an interest in archaeology. I never saw the real exhibition though Dorchester has a nice replica museum. Ceramics gave me the opportunity to sculpt small figurines which I could either glaze or paint in acrylics. I did a number of Egyptian themed items and sizes of Shabti's as well.

More Shabti's and a Vase

2005. I created several sizes of Egyptian style shabti figurines, the taller ones being 20cm and the smallers ones half of that. In that year I also designed a nice shaped vase where I used letters from my name mingled with flowers.

Pottery Music Shaker

2019. I created a master shape in clay which I used to form a two part plaster mould from. Then I was able to slip-cast copies of this shape and insert small fired clay beads into each one. When completely fired they would rattle with a nice sound and were sold as musical shakers. These were an acorn and oak leaves design.

Majolica

2001. Experimenting with the technique of majolica where a pure white glaze acts as a canvas on to which you can paint coloured images. I decided to try out some tree's and lavender on these pots and necklaces.

Unicorns

2016. These were slip-cast from a ready-made plaster mould which we bought in. Once fired the unicorns were covered in a smooth pure white glaze and some features like eyes were detailed.

Dartmoor: Bennett's Cross

A well known ancient land mark on Dartmoor near the Warren House Inn is Bennett's Cross. Thought to be medieval or much older the cross is shaped from a natural slither of granite. The cross is about the height of a person so it often looks like someone who has been stood there for centuries and is an inspiration.

I decided to make a sculpture of it from clay which was about 30cm tall and when that was fired in my kiln I then made a three part mould from which I created around 15 plaster castings. Those I hand painted using acrylics and sold them to cover the cost of materials.

The original sculpture I have kept and like a lot of my work I put a time capsule inside it.

Scorhill Stone Sculpture

One of my most favorite places to visit on Dartmoor is the amazing Scorhill stone circle which dates back to at least the Bronze Age or older. The tallest stone still standing has an unusual shape and aligns with the setting sun at mid summer. I decided to challenge myself to make a one 10th size sculpture of it which turned out nicely. I first took photographs from 8 different directions and then with a block of clay I removed the clay that was no needed. From then I carried the sculpture all the way to the circle where I made observations and adjustments until I was happy.

Bellarmine Jugs

Once again archaeology inspired me to create a set of replica Bellarmine Jugs. These were originally produced in the 17th century in the Rhineland and were exported around Europe and Colonial sites. They were also known as Witches Bottles because in superstitious times people put hair and nails and urine in them and buried them at door threshold to ward off evil spirits. Original pieces are very sought after and can cost hundreds of pounds so I decided to make a few myself and put my own designs on them.

Pottery Toadstools

Toadstools are lovely to see and especially to observe when you get up close to them in the autumn months. But these delicate life forms are seasonal and soon are gone so I decided to try and replicate a few of them using clay. I made several batches of them, all individual, and sold them all to people for decorating their gardens or grotto.

I made them by rolling the stems and forming the tops then joining them as they were drying. The coloured glazes were added after the first firing so they were fired in the kiln twice.

Face of Summer

2015. 30cm across and I made this face up as I went along based on a sunshine idea. I fired the clay then added the bright yellow glaze and fired it again. After that I added metallic copper to the forehead and mouth in a gilding process to add some more shine to it.

Kali

Back in 2016 when I wanted to do some pottery work using the wheel  Kali was a maine coon cat who enjoyed sitting on the wheel head and spending her afternoon sleeping there. Needless to say not much pottery got done on those days. Fond memories of those days RIP Kali

Mine Engine House

In 2000 I used the slab building method of cermaics to put together a model of an old mine engine house. I used pictures from a book for this one though the idea was inspired by Wheel Betsy, the old engine house on the main roadside north of Mary Tavy in west Devon.

After it was completed it was used as a candle holder so the lid lifted off to light the candle then the glow would come through the windows.

Terracotta Garden Tiles

During 2015 I needed to create a feature in the corner of my garden which the chiminea sat on so rather than just use concrete I made some tiles out of red clay. After being fired I tainted them with black clay to bring out the features then fired them again.

Bud Vase

I made this in 2000 and initially it was meant to be a bud vase but when I was throwing it on the wheel I was so pleased with the shape of the narrow neck on the top that I decided to make it as an incense stick holder instead. The thing with ceramics is you do not always have to make what you set out to do - be inspired as you are making instead. This one has a stoneware glaze splashed over it for special effect.

Ornaments

2010. A couple of small stoneware items that were unglazed. I made them hollow and put some clay beads inside so that when you picked them up and tilted them they would make a gentle sound asif talking.

Copper Mine Vase

2014. Using the potters wheel I threw this nice vase. I left the tool marks on the side while I was shaping it and during the process small slithers of clay came off which I then stuck back on the outside to create effects. When glazed at stoneware temperature I used a couple of colours and poured them down the side to give the effect that the pot had been sitting in an ancient underground copper mine where water from the earth had deposited copper onto it.

Knotted Pendants

1999. A couple of small coloured pendants made from clay. I made a master to begin with and used a knotted design, then I made a mould into which I could press out copies.

Faces

Over the years I have made a few faces, either by shaping the clay as I was inspired or by setting out to create a realistic looking face. Here are a few results.

2000. Two faces in the kiln after being fired with crystal glazes on them.

2016. A Green Man face being made with oak leaf design. Gritted clay is good for larger pieces as it gives strength to the clay.

2013. A life sized mask formed from my own face then adapted. This one had a lot of work done on it including the final firing in the kiln when I gilded it totally in 24ct gold. The gold process uses real gold which is just a few microns thick when painted onto the glazed surface. As it heats in the kiln the resin that made it stick burns off leaving the thin layer of metal bonded to the glaze which is a cheap way to use real gold but made an item look pretty.

1999. Two porcelain faces used to create an artistic looking grotto of serenity and meditation.

House Number

2019. My house number at that time and during garden work many years earlier I had come down onto a thin layer of fine pale yellow coloured clay on the bedrock which I saved for special projects.

When fired the yellow clay would turn a lovely orange/red colour so I thought it would be nice to create this special piece. I used a little plaster mould to press clay into to make the flowers.

Mugs and Vases

2008. Using plaster moulds bought in to create replicated mugs using the slip-cast method. These were glazed and then the animal decals were added. At the time we used decals with animals, tree's and butterflies.

Cat Ornaments

2008. During the 2000's the famous Babbacombe Pottery in Torquay finally closed down and their tools and moulds went up for sale. Visiting the pottery in those last days during closure we bought a number of their vase moulds and cat ornament moulds and produced our own from these. Here are some of the cats.

Fantasy Fossil Fangs

2001. Having discovered the novelty of a clay that was pure black when fired I embarked on a project creating individually made fantasy fossil fangs, the inspiration came from real fossils in my rock, mineral and fossil collection. I sold quite a few of these at craft fairs to kids who liked them.

Skull

2017. So many art items in the world include human or animal skulls and while they may seem simple at first it is good for anyone doing ceramics or model making to attempt a skull as there is a lot to gain from the appreciation of how evolution underlies the face. In forensic archaeology they are able to reconstruct the face of ancient people from the skull and again I find this of interest.

I created a simplifed human skull using pictures from text books then made a four-part plaster mould from which I could slip-cast replicas. I made some small musical skull shakers, skull decorations and even a salt and pepper pot from these.

Studio 2010

Part of the studio back in 2010 when it was based in Exeter. All sorts of projects happeneing at that time including the production of Clay Pipes, Crystal Vases, Sculptures and Ornaments.

Tribute to a Dartmoor River

In 2020 I wrote a poem about a place on Dartmoor where I enjoyed sitting on a granite boulder in the middle of the river Dart on hot summer days. I would go there each year and spend many an afternoon with my feet being soothed by the cool water and meditating to the sound of the water.

To make this one-off tribute I gathered some sand and gravel from the river there and mixed it in with the clay. I shaped it to look like a natural stone and on one side I used a very fine clay on its own into which I carved my poem. The item was fired to a fiarly high temperature in the kiln so that it would endure the elements of being in the river for years to come and when all was done I chose a sheltered place in the river to hide it close to where I used to sit which I had named Devona's seat.

From then on I would check up on it each year to make sure it was still there. I found it with a chip off one side on one occasion and later on the algae of the river had taken a hold on it which was nice to see. I think my hope was that in years to come after I was gone it would be found but in reality I am not sure the stone will survive for more than a few years.

Pottery Class

In 2016 local people had an opportunity to try pottery in a room at the Cowick Barton Inn. We provided all the tools and the clay plus teaching expertise and there was a good number of people that came. It took a while for some of their pottery to get completed but the ideas that came to mind when starting off with a blob of clay were good to see. Everyone learned something.

Clock

1999 a gift I made for a friend at that time. She kept a horse so I did her silhouette with the horse and turned it into a clock.

Japanese Garden Lamp

In 2000 I created this Japanese style lamp for a meditation garden for a local care home in Devon. I used a frost-proof critty clay for this and it was fired to a high temperature which also gave the clay a nice rich brown colour.

Crystal Glazed Pottery

In 2002 we were producing vases of a number of shapes and sizes and glazing them with a special technique. The glazes were formulated at the time so that natural crystals would form while the surface was glowing hot in the kiln. It was possible to seed the places on the vase where you wanted the crystals to form and they would grow just as natural crystals form in nature from volcanic heat. We used various natural chemicals to create various colours for the pots and they sold well. It was unfortunate that I was not able to continue making these as they were stunning to look at but I had to concentrate on my main niche of ceramics which I favoured and enjoyed more. The blue vase in the image here was about 50cm tall so the crystals had a lot of space to form on!

Sometimes not all goes well with the firing no matter how careful you are and in the image below you can see that five crystal glazed vases had slipped off their stilts and collapsed together in a heap. When the kiln was cool they were all welded together and it was not possible to rescue them.

Cremation Urns

2016. Again inspired by archaeology I decided to make a number of  urns for ashes which were sold. I used my own designs of simplified fern-like scrolls and oak leaves on these and one of them I gilded with gold.

Guitar Tribute

2014. A friend passed away and his sister wanted me to make a small tribute for him that she could put on her shelf to remember him by. He was fond of playing the electric guitar so I modelled a design into which she could place some of his ashes or a picture of him.

Golden Chalices

2014. I liked the first one I made so much that I did another one. They were thrown on the potters wheel and have buttercup flowers set around them. The petals are all gilded with pure gold as well as the inside. I also added a flower on the bases as well.

Celtic Cat Plaque

1999. My own design here takes the ancient Book of Kells and I created a cat which was fired in several colours and with a antique bronze body. Just a nice decoration for a garden or home.

Time Capsule Scroll

2016. During this year we knew someone who ran a pub in a Tudor building. The floor boards needed to be examined at one stage so while they were up I made this ceramic scroll with a picture of the building on it which we hid there, then the floor was put back. The scroll has gold gilding at the ends and is around 30cm long. Inside we placed a time capsule containing pictures of us and the pub manager with some information about us in out time and about the building and its legends. It is hoped that it might be found in the distant future by someone who will appreciate archaeology!

Loading of my Kiln

2003. A busy time when the kiln was often full of all sorts of items including vases, mugs, ornament cats, clay pipes etc.

Japanese Style Lantern

2001. Another project for a customer who liked horses and ran a breeding farm. The lamp was built using slabs of clay that were joined then fired. The horse features act like windows where a light would shine through. The clay used with a brown colour with grit which makes it stonger and more frost proof when fired to stoneware temperatures.

Medieval Sarcophagus

1999. A colourful ornament for a shelf. I made up this design as I went along and had in mind those old tombestones you find in churches with medieval Lords and Ladies.

Dragon

2000. Cut from a slab of clay which was then modelled this dragon holds an amethyst crystal ball on its back and has a candle holder on the side.

Vases and a Bowl

2001. These were the first well thought out pieces I made using the coiling technique where you add coils of clay and blend them into the pot. The one on the left is a large fruit bowl about 30cm diameter. It has a gilded design with three pieces of wheat on the rim. The front right pot is of similar them. Both had the summer fields glaze inside.

The taller vase is a favourite of mine and I imagines a flock of birds taking off from a field, flying in all directions like crows often do. The birds later got a gilding of real platinum.

Sun Face

2001. This was a productive year making lots of pottery and sculptures. This one was made to hang on the garden fence to look cheerful all year round.

Exeter Craft Guild Shop

2002. For several years we had a stall in the craft guild shop on Exeter Quay. We sold many items but in the end the cost of the stall ate into the profits so we finally shifted to online sales instead.