Hands first, the idea after

I am a visual artist. I work mainly with clay — stoneware and porcelain, thrown by hand — and for the last few years with works on paper and painting too.

I came to ceramics looking for something that could not be rushed. The wheel sets its own pace: a piece takes weeks between throwing, drying, the first firing, glazing and the second firing. It passes through my hands several times, and each time it decides a little more of what it will be.

I mix my own glazes from wood ash, iron oxide and feldspar. I am not after an exact colour; I want the kiln to have a say. The pieces come out different from one another, and that interests me more than repetition.

The works on paper arrived later, almost by accident. I started drawing forms before throwing them, and the drawings began to hold their own. Now the two practices feed each other: the line on the page decides the profile of the vessel, and the volume of the clay corrects the drawing.