Archway ceramics

My studio is in Mile End, East London and is called 'Archway Ceramics' I have been there for nearly five years. It has been a Ceramics studio for many years, before that I have been told that it was a stable for taxi cab horses. It is not what you would call state of the art, this time of the year (jan) it is pretty damned cold. To the point of not being able to feel your hands and feet after several hours work...









The studio is shared with several ceramisists some full time, some part time. Daniel Smith who more or less runs the show and has been there for around 13 years. He is an international ceramicist and has featured in Ceramic Review and exhibited all over the world.

Mo Jupp who is a granddaddy of British pottery and considered by many as 'a legend in his life time'. This figure is an example of Mo's current work. His career spans decades, he taught Daniel and lots of students who went on to be successful ceramacists.

Alice Mara has a contemporary approach to ceramics making hand thrown and slip cast pieces which are a take on the traditional kitsch souvenir, but much cooler. She also has a website you can check out, and buy online.
http://www.alicemara.com/index.php

Victoria Jardine creates large coiled sculptural vessels; she has been a rare site in the studio of late because of a young and growing family. These pieces are carefully crafted and take many weeks to create. http://www.victoriajardine.com/

May Ayres is another full timer at Archway, her work is much more art based. Much of the work produced at the studio is based around design and urban studio pottery. May on the other hand produces very political work with a strong and powerful message. I will not try to explain what I do not fully understand. Looking at the images would be a good starting point. 

That is a brief outline of what goes on between open studios at Archway Ceramics. You may have gathered from my report that I am the newbie at the studio, the least experienced amongst some pretty weighty hardworking and influential ceramicists. Working amongst these people keeps me on my toes, its hard to be complacent when you work next to people who are in a studio with no heating in sub zero temperatures, during a recession some living almost on the breadline in order to get their work out there.