Pascal Nichols
“I work directly and intuitively with the clay, designs evolve through play with the material, and one pot informs the next. I focus on creating volume and distortion by stretching the clay surface with my hands. Artistic vision, accident, risk, failure, and shoehorning the thing through the kiln, all feature strongly in my work.
The majority of my ceramics are loosely-functional drinking vessels, vases and crockery. I find it freeing to engage with the material and grounding to play at being a Potter whilst exploring formal ideas through mindful practice.
My ceramics are informed by a love of coarse English medieval wares and outsider art. I am drawn to the abstraction of everyday objects and environment. I like to see fingerprints and honest gestures in well-crafted objects and images. I want to connect with the maker and learn something about the human condition from them. In this sense, my own work invites a deeper contemplation about shared experience.
