a little detour

A little while ago Karin asked her readers to tell her about their favourite ceramic pieces and the story, if any, behind them. Ceramics figure prominently in my home and life, from those I use daily to eat and drink from to the decorative pieces which are spread throughout the house. Over the next few weeks while school is out and work is on the back burner I'm going to show you some of my favourites and perhaps introduce you to some makers you may not have come across before.

I'm starting with some pots by Nigel Lambert. I have a huge bowl (see photo with small boy for scale!), some cups, pourers and jugs. The cups we use every morning for hot, milky coffee. They are wide cups to wrap your hands around, the walls are thick and they appear to have been thrown quickly which gives them an energy I love. There is energy too in the decoration, painterly sweeps and splotches of glaze. At the base of my cup are Nigel's fingermarks where he held it to pour out the slip and in so doing left an indelible signature.

The big bowl is in use every week for breadmaking. It is very big (I make three batches of dough in it at a time) and consequently a bit unwieldy but I love to use it. My husband lives in fear of me breaking it but I say pots are made to be used. I'm mildly intrigued at how much I like this work as I tend to like things which are quite meticulous and structured. There is an sense of controlled chaos to these pots. For me the one seems to enhance the other.