Susan Luker

At the start of lock-down the lanes and woods that I walked through gave me the opportunity to think deeper about my new body of work. When I could travel further, sitting on the cliff tops looking out at the tranquil sea influenced the brush strokes on my abstract landscape pots.

My pots are hand built using slabs of white stoneware clay. I use the flat platform of the pot like a canvas to paint on and convey my feelings of beautiful Devon where I live; painting clay slips, engobes and a variety of glazes in multiple layers and firings.

THE PANDEMIC EFFECT

Five ceramic festivals and shows have not gone ahead this year, for me, this was to be the debut of a new body of my work. Due to lock down, that is five missed opportunities to meet and engage directly with buyers and other potters and share the love and enthusiasm I have for my work and ceramics in general.

The most productive time of making for me is just before the shows, the excitement of discovery, design, and planning a stand. So sitting in front of a mobile phone talking to others via the internet is a whole new scary learning curve!

When creativity is this strong we will always find new ways to engage with our audience. Galleries and online digital festivals have been doing an amazing job during lock down on behalf of the buyers and makers, but it doesn’t replace the feeling of engaging directly with ceramic lovers in person.

Let’s all look forward to next year meeting, engaging, and sharing our love of craft face to face.