Victoria Meadows Small moon jar 1

Dimensions: W 21cm x H 19cm 

Materials: Raku clay body, Terra Sigillata surface, organic plant life.

Method:  Coiling, pinching, burnished

Care instructions: For indoor decorative use only.

Description:

Handbuilt by ceramicist Victoria Meadows, who prefers the thoughtfully slow and methodical nature of coil building through pinching coils of clay to grow and thin the walls of her spectacular moon jars. When built, a found object such as a shell is scraped over the clay to even the exterior surface. This is followed by a light burnish with a smooth pebble giving a gentle sheen.  At this stage the marks remaining, tell a story.  Subtle reminders, from light indentations left behind, that it was made by hand. Once the piece is dry, fine layers of terra sigillata, a super fine clay slip, are applied giving a lovely milky quality. All other surface decoration comes from plant life tightly wrapped around the jar and fired within a protective saggar. The plant life and the wood Meadows uses to fire with and the elemental conditions on the day of firing all dictate the final decorative results, drawing abstract marks in shades of blue grey, charcoal, taupe, soft blush pinks and crisp white.

About the Artist

Victoria Meadows first discovered a love for working with clay whilst studying Art & Design at Foundation level in Cheltenham, she was immediately hooked and went on to graduate from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) with a degree in Ceramics. Since then, she has worked as a Pottery Technician and taught Ceramics in adult education.

She is now devoted to her craft, working from her studio in the heart of the Cotswolds.