At Red Lion Pottery I have been producing distinctive pots since 2002.
These are mainly thrown functional pieces including bowls, plates and mugs but I also make
more individual pieces like chargers, hanging dishes and special drinking vessels based on traditional Orkney Isles wedding cogs.
Influenced by Japanese potters, I have recently been creating hand carved pieces including wall-pieces, tea-bowls, vases and lidded boxes.
My inspiration comes from oriental ceramics and the natural world - geological formations and the colour
and form of primitive plants, especially lichens and mosses.
I work with stoneware, often coated with a commercial black slip or local red clay slip,
and fire my pots in either a gas or wood fired kiln. Glazes are based on traditional oriental recipes
and from a variety of native woods I prepare ash that is then incorporated into glazes or sifted onto pots.
The glaze often collects in the bottom of the pot giving vivid green/blue glassy pools.
I love the wonderful effects natural ash and the raw flame can produce, each firing allowing me to discover and explore new effects.
