Pippa Honess

I was first introduced to ceramics on the island of Tinos in Greece where I spent a week with a German potter learning to throw whilst sitting sideways on a kick wheel! I was hooked but not deterred and continued my exploration of ceramics at evening classes in, a City and Guilds course in ceramics and at the City Lit in London studying with Robert Cooper, Dan Kelly, Annie Turner and Kate Wickham.

I have always been drawn to embrace the unknown, both in life and ceramics. I believe my work feels more tactile and warmer to the touch than pots that have been glazed and my shapes are more spontaneous than designed. However, ideas will often be informed by the view from my workshop and objects that have been collected from walks along the beach.

My work is created with a white stoneware clay, hand built or coiled and burnished either with a pebble or terra sigillata. After an initial firing to 950 degrees, the pieces are smoke fired with a variety of materials, wood shavings, pine needles, seaweed and oxides, each element adding to the unique markings and colours achieved on the work. Finally they are polished with beeswax which enhances the marks and scars made by the fire.

In the end the fire has the final say in the outcome of the work. It is essential to work with the elements, learn from each firing and accept the unpredictability that this form of firing brings. Each piece will be unique.