Alison Wear

I first studied ceramics and subsequently sculpture at Kingston Polytechnic then theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art. After a career in films and television I reinvented myself as a garden designer. Now I have returned to my first love and find inspiration in organic and zoomorphic forms, especially the work of the Amlash potters living 6,000 years ago in Iran.

All my ‘morph’ pieces are handmade. They are formed with care and then burnished to a soft sheen before being subjected to fire and intense heat. I do not use glazes as I prefer the smoke and fire to infuse the pieces, blending with the stoneware clay to create strange and interesting colours, and making each unique.

My approach is very low tech and much of my work is done in a wood with sticks and a dustbin or a homemade wood burning kiln.