Andy Adair
Andy says: "I studied ceramics at Glasgow School of Art where I was privileged to be taught by several well-respected artists, including the late Alan Peascod, who inspired my love of form and surface, which remains a pivotal aspect of my work. I love making pots and “the potness of the pot”, something to be handled and enjoyed, not just by the eye. I have always developed my own glazes and different methods of decoration and consider it of equal importance to the forms themselves.
Currently I am working with a fairly subtle and limited palette using different clays as a base. This involves stretching, layering and folding the clay, then imprinting the surface; printmaking with clay and glaze instead of paper and ink. The themes and concepts I am exploring in these text-based works range from American gun culture through Jazz to Japanese Haiku and other general whimsy. My ideas in terms of content are suggested by topical discussions, news stories, quotes, the music playing while I work, whatever catches my mind and eye.
I greatly admire potters such as Voulkos, Pearson, Maltby and Peascod, amongst others. I love their affinity with their medium and the real integrity their work has. I try to emulate this in my own pots, in the way I use the clay, allowing the material to express itself through torn edges, cracks, textures, etc, enjoying the random, organic quality this brings to the finished piece. I have also, very recently, started to use wire to construct the pots which lends itself to a looser approach. "
Currently I am working with a fairly subtle and limited palette using different clays as a base. This involves stretching, layering and folding the clay, then imprinting the surface; printmaking with clay and glaze instead of paper and ink. The themes and concepts I am exploring in these text-based works range from American gun culture through Jazz to Japanese Haiku and other general whimsy. My ideas in terms of content are suggested by topical discussions, news stories, quotes, the music playing while I work, whatever catches my mind and eye.
I greatly admire potters such as Voulkos, Pearson, Maltby and Peascod, amongst others. I love their affinity with their medium and the real integrity their work has. I try to emulate this in my own pots, in the way I use the clay, allowing the material to express itself through torn edges, cracks, textures, etc, enjoying the random, organic quality this brings to the finished piece. I have also, very recently, started to use wire to construct the pots which lends itself to a looser approach. "