BARRY STEDMAN

My intention is to use the vessel forms that I make; loosely thrown and altered on the wheel or constructed from slabs, as vehicles to explore contrasts of light and shade, hard and soft, warm and cool, rough and smooth, I’m interested in the way edges meet and overlap, and the rhythms, tensions and harmonies created between colours, spaces, lines and textures in form and surface.

I tend to work in series influenced by natural phenomena, places, and emotions, developing ideas from drawing, painting and previous firings. I like the warmth and brightness of earthenware using slip, oxides and underglazes, over a red clay body. The surfaces are created in layers, firing in between using thin washes, wiping back and building up rich zones of colour. I then glaze chosen areas to add further depth, tone and texture.