In the studio with Claire Campion Ceramics
Claire's hand thrown ceramics are a celebration of skill and technique. She invited Talking Things to her studio to share her craft and heart warming story about the lost art of Japanese pottery.
Claire's studio is bright and airy, lined with shelves showcasing beautifully crafted pots in their various stages of completion. Nothing is too much trouble for Claire as she generously gives up her time to talk us through her rich and wonderful story of how she unearthed an unusual and hidden world of ceramics.
What started as a hobby for Claire, attending pottery classes, all changed 6 years ago when she discovered the tiny town of Sato in Japan, home to Hiroshya Kato (pictured below), a 12th generation pottery ‘Sensei’ (meaning master). Claire explains that in Japan, the craft has been passed down within families for generations, each studio with a signature style. Her first real time away on her own and without much to do in this small town besides sketching and pottery, she describes it as a welcome retreat. “It’s incredible to watch him make things, huge pieces and so fast”
There is a sobering side to this story however, “it’s very much a craft that’s within families and it’s dieing out” Claire continues,
“so you will be walking around this little town and there would be what they call ‘dead potteries’. They have all the bisque ware (unglazed pottery) on the shelves , but they are no longer in use - just shelves and shelves of unglazed stuff that has been sitting there for 20 years”
Even for the Sensei who taught Claire, his sons have moved to the city and he has no one to pass his craft onto. “Pottery has become quite trendy. In the UK people will spend lots of money on studios, as I did and do” Claire observes, “but it was quite eye opening to see it was a craft that was thousands of years old and it’s a very important part of Japanese society and these places - they won’t be sustained. They can’t continue on. Which is really sad considering the incredible skill that is involved.
Despite his sons moving to the city, we are hopeful that in some form or another, Sensei Kyto’s craft still lives on through the people he teaches, and evidently, it was by spending a month with him that cemented Claire’s love for pottery.
“The time spent in Japan, I learnt a lot about throwing, and the rims of things and how things should feel. I started doing stronger, structural lines in my pots. That’s something I really like now I’ve developed my style a little bit more.”
Claire’s pieces take on Brutalist forms and she has developed a signature style of cutting into her pieces using trimming techniques to create bold sculptural lines. “I really love that, and I like using these glazes that are quite natural looking and almost turn mottled depending on how much you put on. I love how the lines come through the glaze”
A stream of light pours in through the window, resting on Claire’s pottery wheel and we move over to capture some shots of her throwing. Claire describes throwing as therapeutic and a much-needed juxtaposition to her day job of working at a screen.
“It’s so nice to focus on one thing and to use my hands. It’s such a tactile thing, I like that it’s kind of messy as well. If you can find something that switches your mind into a different lane that’s really nice.”
She explains the multiple stages from throwing to trimming to glazing, each one presenting its own opportunity for breakages and unexpected results. And whilst she likes the anticipation and the surprises that it can throw up, she admits you have to be extremely patient. “You’re never going to get a 100% success rate. But I think that’s quite nice as well, sometimes people don’t realise the process that goes into these things. “
“As I move through pottery, there’s two ways I like to work, I get satisfaction out of getting better at doing multiples of the same. And secondly experimenting with shapes – I do that a lot with vases. I won’t often make the same vase twice.”
Claire recalls how moving away from a large studio really helped her to establish her own style. “In a bigger studio, you pick up other people’s traits and naturally the studio starts to develop it’s own style. That’s why it’s nice being in your own space” she says, “because you have more control over what you’re being influenced by. I know I’m not just soaking up the same style as those around me”. She still enjoys the collaborative nature of sharing a smaller studio and feels inspired by how open and supportive the Instagram community is; abundant with the like-minded who share a mutual appreciation for how hard it is to perfect pottery.
Claire tells us how she uses her pieces at home a lot, particularly mugs and vases. We ask if she has an ideal home for her pieces in mind? She shares how she loves the idea of becoming part of people’s rituals:
“I just love it when people use what I make on a day-to-day basis and it becomes integrated into their life. There is a bit of a distinction between creating art pieces, which is also wonderful, but these are tangible pieces that will be held every day, that people will have their morning coffee from.”
Claire is currently working on an exciting new glaze to complement her collection which we can’t wait to see.
Click here to shop Claire's collection of limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces.
