ABOUT ANNE

A Dorset girl and lifelong maker, I love the fabulous Jurassic Coast and my pieces are influenced by aspects of this environment. I am a passionate ceramicist and stitcher and also find inspiration from my fascination with texture and ‘fragments’.

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Having recently retired from teaching I am really enjoying the opportunity to spend hours immersed in my pottery studio studio alongside the River Frome. I use a variety of stoneware and porcelain clays and mix them to achieve the colour, texture and properties that I need for each piece; I like to make individual pots which have a personality of their own. Although I enjoy throwing, I find myself increasingly drawn towards hand building, which seems to offer me more opportunity to express my ideas. I currently enjoy making one off pots inspired by the changing moods of the sea, bowls representing rock pools with textured outsides and smooth colourful interiors, and one-off plates and platters which bring a little wow to the table.

Glazes are all handmade and my favourites are the result of much experimentation. I particularly enjoy silky smooth surfaces and very matt glazes, and love the unpredictable nature of volcanic glazes using silicon carbide. All work is fired at cone 6 in an electric kiln. The firing profile is slow and steady with a long controlled cool to develop crystals in the glaze, resulting in a complex and interesting finish.

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My stitching has been with me since childhood and although has sometimes been in the background, is having its ‘moment’ now alongside my ceramics. I make my own substrates from handmade paper and love using hand dyed, textured silks. Pieces are made into wall art designed to be hung at eye level so that the tiny stitches and colour mixes can be appreciated close up. Currently I am exploring uniting stitch and ceramic in one off porcelain pieces inspired by ocean sea beds.

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​I live on the edge of the Purbeck Hills and often walk the coastal path with my husband and dogs. We share our pottery studio and work alongside each other developing forms and glazes and sharing a love of life, a passion for ceramics and a gratitude that we live in such a beautiful part of Dorset.