Beth FrenchBeth French Pottery

I create both functional and decorative pieces- wheel thrown and sculpted. My wheel thrown pots are functional and decorative stoneware, with form, glazes and brush work inspired by a life long love of nature, particularly the sea, which led to a record setting decade of channel swimming. I like to balance form and function- creating soft curves that hold the eye with bold graphic stroke work of slip and underglaze decoration that shares the joy of a wild and lumpy sea swim… or soft diffuse glaze work the mirrors the sea mists, or gentle rolling hills of my Somerset upbringing.
Having spent a year ordained as a buddhist nun in Thailand, I like to meditate on the wheel as I throw, and enjoy leaving an imprint of the maker- either in throwing lines or a finger dent in the line of the glaze.

My sculptures are a deeply personal exploration of that balance between self love and self expression; and body dysmorphia and body confidence. I love the act of finding a person within the clay, and seeing the very nuanced and expressive capacity of the body, without the usual expressive indicators of hands and face. It amazes me that the simple human form, when made with raw intent, speaks to the viewer in their own way and using saggar firing or glazes created to evoke ancient statues allows the pieces to feel ageless. The organic and dynamic nature of saggar firing natural organics and combustibles and the tactile aged glazes imbues each piece with timeless presence and an intuitive link to the viewer.