2024 – Taking part in Potfest South East – Glynde Place and Potfest South West – Shaftesbury

I am a slipware potter who enjoys both throwing on the wheel and hand building, using slabs and coils. Mostly making functional country style pots.

My slip decorated work has an energetic illustrative element. I pour and layer black and white slip over leather-hard pots and draw into the slip using my finger or a brush and draw over the surface using a slip trailer.  The colors on my pots are added after the first bisque firing in the translucent glazes which contain different oxides.

I lean towards playful exploration, with sculptural elements appearing. I am drawn to earthenware because of its beautiful softness, warmth and generosity.

After 7 years of making pots as a hobby I retrained at Clay College and changed my career to be a full time potter. I now live and make pots in north Devon, I’m surrounded by the sea, moors, woodland and rivers which has inevitably influenced my work.

Jessica Turrell