Sally MacDonell
2026 – Taking part in Potfest Scotland – Scone Palace and Potfest by the Lake – Compton Verney
I am continually fascinated by people. I’m a great observer of people and thrive on interaction with others. I explore the human condition by modelling the female form from clay; changing the mood and feeling of a piece by the positioning of a shoulder or hand.
“In a world where so much energy is put into noticing the differences between people, I look for the feelings, desires, mannerisms we all share, elevating the ordinary into something special. We are all so curious.”
Glazing
Having smoke fired for 12 years; I now work with colour. I love colour! I have developed a finish using underglaze colours mixed with engobe and fired to 1186°C. I’m drawn to the colours found in the Greek terracottas from the second century BC and Medieval Netherlandic wood cravings. Surfaces that show experience, having been eroded and fragmented. When I apply the glaze it’s very much like painting. It’s a very spontaneous process which fits with the way I hand build.
When I was a Smoke Firer
Sunday afternoons in Boston, Lincolnshire were often spent in the garden with my Dad. As a child I took delight in poking sticks into the ritual bonfire of a weekend. Little did I appreciate as an adult I’d have bonfires for a living! My smoke firings were fast and had a lot of flames, really more flames than smoke. I used wood shavings and newspaper and the firing lasted around 10 minutes. Hot blackened figures were precariously lifted out of the flames and left to sizzle on the grass. When cooled the figures were cleaned and waxed. It was a wonderfully exciting and smelly process. A frozen moment of fire captured in the surface patina of the figures.