Artist in Focus: Pat Southwood

Pat Southwood discusses the influences on her wood and soda fired pots.

I work in an old Thatchers Yard, to the East of Norwich next to Salhouse Broad, which is part of the Broads National Park and its environmentally protected areas (known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest- SSSIs).

My pots are mostly hand thrown using a variety of stoneware clays, ranging from porcelain to a high iron fleck.

(Above: Shino Tsubo)

A love of surface pattern, texture and a  Japanese influence resonates through my work.

My rural location directly informs my work, it also provides me with a lot of raw materials that I can use, such as reclaimed thatch and silt from the Broads, giving me unique glazes and surfaces.

(Above: Medium Tsubo with white slip and reclaimed silt glaze)

Post-graduate training in rural Japan enables me to make the most of what I have.  My workshop is run on the most practical and pragmatic means possible.

My wood kiln is fired using recycled pine, which is locally sourced and I use other reclaimed products from nearby firms.

(Above: Oval flower bucket with reclaimed silt glaze)

I can enjoy the beauty of the Broad and the nearby landscape as my source material both visually and practically.

(Above: Thrown, altered form with Salhouse Broad Glaze photographed at Salhouse Broad)

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