Adrian Bates

CATEGORY: Professional
METHOD: Hand building
COLOUR: White
TEXTURE: Medium Textured
FIRING RANGE: 90°c – 1280°c

I was drawn from an early age to letter forms and the way the outer and inner curves and spaces relate to and interact with each other giving grace to the overall figure. I came to understand that these relationships exist everywhere, and was eventually drawn to clay because it is so malleable.

I explore organic forms in the vessels I make – defining inner and outer space and exploring the relationship between them. I am influenced by the primal forms contained inside other ‘vessels’ – human, plant and animal forms – all ‘vessels’ containing life and defined by their interaction with the world around them. In these ways my work aims to connect, not so much with places or objects, but to our relationships with nature and each other…

I make stoneware sculptural pieces and vessels for home and garden. They are thrown and hand built from black (PF 670 & PF 680) or white stoneware clays (ES 20 or PF 520). Some are simply glazed to emphasise the form, others are unglazed.

The glazed forms are biscuit fired to 950ºC, then glazed and high fired to 1260ºC. The unglazed pieces are once-fired to 1210ºC.

Visit their website: www.adrianbatesceramics.com