Adrian Munday
Pottery started as a hobby in 2018 and I set up a small studio in my garage on my smallholding in Brechfa. Last year, we moved to just outside St Clears, Carmarthen and have a stunning two storey stone studio with lovely outside space for Raku and other alternative firing techniques.
Experimenting with a variety of clays and ceramic methods is hugely enjoyable, including throwing on the wheel, slip casting and using slabs of clay to make dishes and platters. I use a range of glazes to create a rainbow of hues on both functional and decorative ceramics. Having started my career as a teacher and then a university lecturer, there is a real buzz in sharing my skills with others.
Exploring alternative firing techniques is an interest. My real passion is Raku, a specialist Japanese technique first introduced to the UK in the late 1920s by Bernard Leach and later adapted by Paul Soldner in the 1950s.
Karen Williams
Ceramics is a world of contrasts – taking a lump of clay and making something striking. Controlling the clay to make different shapes is a all consuming. I’m fascinated by the discipline that’s needed to throw a pot compared to the spontaneity of decorating the pot. The beauty of the handmade and raku firing means that each pot will be different to the last one.
The natural world, what I see around me are my inspiration; the changes in the weather and seasons; the beauty of Welsh landscapes. There is nothing more magical and exciting than opening the kiln and seeing the finished results for the first time; seeing if they live up to my hopes and expectations.
My ceramics are both decorative and functional, wheel-thrown, ceramics. They are fired conventionally in an electric kiln or raku fired in a gas kiln.
