Every month we feature a ‘Pick of the Month’ on the blog to find out more about the artists and makers of the beautiful arts and crafts, jewellery and handmade products that we stock in our Shop. This month’s pick is the fun and quirky ceramics by Charlotte Stockley. We spoke to Charlotte to find out more about what inspires her.

Tell us about yourself, how did you become a ceramicist?

Ceramics is my second career officially since 2008, although I have been making work in clay during various stages of my life going back to school time. I decided on a career change after 20 years of working in industry and Government and was fortunate to be able to go back to university to study and build up my making and teaching practice from there.

What do you enjoy about working in clay?

For many potters, transforming a soggy piece of clay into a lasting piece of unique work is a very rewarding experience. There are so many techniques that can be used in ceramics and I still do a lot of experimenting. Personally I really enjoy throwing on the wheel and find it quite meditative.

You have two main collections, your ‘Midsurrey’ collection and ‘Original’ collection, what was the inspiration behind each of them?

The Midsurrey collection of porcelain was the culmination of my degree in Three Dimensional Design (Ceramics) and one of the influences I drew upon was 1950s pattern. My previous background working in a museum led me to create my Original collection of ceramics, which alludes to curatorial collections and vessels for found objects.

Can you explain about the different techniques you use to create your works?

I mainly make thrown porcelain work using a potters wheel, a skill which takes many years to master, and I'm still learning! The work has to go through several firings so it can be weeks from the start to the finished item. I both source and draw all sorts of images to make into transfers to fire on to my work, which is the final stage of firing at 800 degrees centigrade.

You have run workshops at The Lightbox in the past and will be returning on 27 February to run a ceramics workshop with Cressida Borrett, what do you enjoy about these?

Teaching is an enjoyable activity for me and I tutor various adult education leisure groups in Surrey every week. Seeing the delight from learners' whether beginners or advanced when they have created a lasting piece of work is very satisfying. Group activities can be fun and people exchange ideas and inspire each other.

Thank you to Charlotte for chatting with us! A selection of Charlotte Stockley’s ceramics are available to buy in the Shop.

Find out more about Charlotte Stockley Ceramics here

All images © Charlotte Stockley 

All items shown in the images are subject to availability.