Today I thought I'd introduce you to some of my dad's ceramic's. He has always been creative and like myself studied at Plymouth College of Art and Design, which is strange to think we would both end up studying at the same place. I usually describe my style of work as abstract and love to be inspired through nature, which is something dad does too through a different medium. He says to me he takes a picture in his mind, even if it's out walking the dog in the countryside, maybe looking at textures or forms and when he's back at his studio he takes what he remembers from his memory and applies beautiful strokes and markings to his work often using japanese brushes.
I can remember his ceramics from being quite small and in the past few years he has come back with a style that he has always had but at the same time it's fresh and new. I think his work is stunning and inspiring, I love how he can craft beautiful tea bowls or pots which started life as just a lump of clay. When watching him spin a pot on his kick wheel it's quite hypnotising, watching the clay slowly being formed into a new piece of art. One time after watching him in his studio I thought 'this looks easy' so had a go... I struggled to get the wheel turning at the right speed let alone managing to make a pot!
You can see his work in a number of galleries throughout Devon and Cornwall.
Biography...
Hugh has his own pottery studio on the Rame peninsula in East Cornwall. He trained at Plymouth College of Art before working in established earthenware and stoneware studios to gain more experience. He then set up his own independent studio to develop his own style. His ceramics are earthenware and thrown on a 'Leach' type kick wheel which he made himself some 30 years ago. He also makes his own glazes as they provide better fusion with the oxides used in the making process.
"Over the last few years I have attempted to describe what I personally feel during the process of making ceramics. As, I imagine, a landscape gardener would like to do when they see their vision before it has blossomed.
Wabi-sabi, kick wheels, abstract impressionism and beautiful locations have all played a part in my influences. I have come to accept that the creativity comes from being in the moment, the now, 'trusting in the process', and allowing my energy to express itself intuitively. Reflecting and identifying those influences when the pots are fired is like developing photographic negatives, you see the moment and reflect on what they reveal to you. Earthenware is the watercolour of ceramics, the honesty of the process can be very transparent."
Some examples of his work below...
Hugh Maitland Ceramics
