Welcome to another instalment of Interview with a potter.
Vanessa Simpson is one of the first potters I connected with when I first joined Substack. I seem to remember exchanging some comments about how being stuck on a lift with her would actually be fun because we would just talk pottery the whole time… But Vanessa is not just a potter — she is a photographer, a gardener and a writer. On Substack, she writes The Post House Chronicles, where she records the life she leads and where she hopes to connect with others.
After the course she took over the Summer, however, maybe pottery has become more centre stage? Her new work looks stunning and I can’t wait to see what Vanessa will be making next.
Let’s meet Vanessa…
Q: Can you describe your making process or one of the methods you use?
I spend most of my time at the wheel, it was a wheel that caught my eye and sparked my curiosity so many years ago as a small child and until I bought my own three years ago it was the thing that remained forever on my ‘one day’ list. I do enjoy hand building too, I like the slower tempo of making this way from time to time, but I think I’m always drawn back to the wheel in part for the dedicated focus that it requires and which stills my busy mind. I enjoy the process of weighing lumps of clay and piling them all up ready for throwing. I’m still quite slow and will never make a production thrower, but happily it’s not anything I aspire to either!
I had the great fortune to spend three months this summer on a Ceramic Development Course at Forest Row School of Ceramics in Dorset. It covered a wide range of techniques shared by a variety of tutors and really added depth and breadth to my knowledge of working with ceramics. The availability of a raku kiln at the school enabled me to try a technique that I had been aware of for some time called Obvara and which I am somewhat fascinated by.
Obvara is a means of sealing the surface of bisque fired clay with a fermented batter type mixture (flour, yeast, sugar, water). It is an ancient Baltic technique which involves using a raku kiln to heat the ceramic ware up to around 850 ºC then dipping it into the fermented mix before plunging into cold water. It is a very organic, spontaneous way to work and there is little time to prevaricate once the piece is precariously held in your tongs on the way to the mix!
Q: What are your main sources of inspiration?
Books, magazines, Pinterest, Instagram and the occasional foray into a studio or exhibition. Sometimes somebody will ask me for something specific and on other occasions the garden is a source of inspiration — such as the rhubarb leaf plates/bird baths I’ve enjoyed making.
I’m definitely influenced by the delicacy of my favourite garden plants, and the gentle colours and textures of nature which I think some of my recent carved pieces reflect.
Q: Do you make pots with specific foods or purposes in mind?
Yes and no. I often do start out with an intention of something specific, and sometimes one thing leads me to think of another and I’ll deviate from my plan. We could either call it going with the flow, or allowing myself to be distracted I suppose! One thing I do regularly make is citrus juicers which I enjoy forming and they seem to be popular to give as a gift (alongside a bag of lemons of course!).
Q: What is your favourite form to make, or tell us about a piece you particularly liked/enjoyed working on.
I really enjoy creating bowls, experimenting with the shape and various foot rings, and more recently I’ve been making tea bowls — throwing them off the hump has involved a steep learning curve (mostly in removing them safely) but has been fun.
During the course this summer I made a collection of candlesticks which were thrown on the wheel in two parts and then attached, carved and given a candle sized hole. These were a sort of combination of throwing and hand building which was very pleasurable and something I plan to continue making and trying with an Obvara finish.
Q: Do you have any favourite tools?
Hmmm, I think it’s probably my Mud Tools Do-All Trim Tool along with my Kavanagh carving tools.
Q: Is there something in pottery you would like to try but aren’t able to at the moment?
Well, until last week I hadn’t been able to do raku at home, but I am now the happy owner of an oil drum raku kiln which will enable to me to pursue further experiments with Obvara here. I will also try my hand with some raku, specifically some little Kurinuku houses that I’ve previously smoke fired but they’ll look even better with a raku glaze I think.
Q: Are there any aspects to pottery or being a potter that you are less happy about, that bother you or that you struggle with?
Oh that’s easy — glazing is my nemesis! I recently had a real run of glazing disasters which can be a bit dispiriting to say the least. The quest for a glaze or combination of glazes that feel just right for me is ongoing, I spent a lot of time this summer experimenting with ash glazes and thought I had found the perfect Apple Ash Nuka style glaze, but despite my seemingly endless testing the final pieces were not what I had expected which I think is a common experience!
Q: Finally, can you share one post that you published here on Substack that you are particularly proud of?
Thank you, it was fun to scroll back over some of my posts. I think the one I’m proudest of is this one written in the week between Christmas and New Year and celebrated my achievement of writing every week for a whole year which still feels like a real accomplishment.
As always, thank you so much for reading. You can read a bit more about Vanessa in this post:
… and you can check Vanessa’s Instagram here.
The next Interview with a potter will be out at the end of September. Sharing these with you brings me a lot of joy — I am always fascinated to learn about how other potters feel about, and work with, clay and I hope you enjoy this series of interviews as much as I enjoy putting them together.
The next regular Clay on my mind letter will be out on the 9th of September, that is if I survive the first week of the new school year… I have been working on new pieces though, and there will be a firing very soon.
Until then, take good care of yourselves, and I will see you next time.
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Thanks so much for asking me to share my experiences with you Clara, it was fun to sit down and reflect on the questions you asked. And just imagine how much fun with could have stuck in a lift if we had a bag of clay between us! xx
gorgeous pots -- love the bowls and candlesticks - look so tactile