Large Studio Pottery Strawberry Cereal Footed Bowl by Sarah Monk of Eastnor Pottery, Signed S. Monk to base, made in 1995 and in good condition apart from two small chips to base, a very pleasing and usable Bowl.
Measures 14.5cm did top x 9.5cm high x 7cm foot.
The ceramics Sarah makes are always useful and she produces in small batches of no more than 8 items. This keeps the ideas fresh and the work individual.
Sarah’s really into slipware. (her Mum’s collection of motto ware comes to mind) She uses terracotta clay because it has a deep, rich depth of colour and is a dream to throw with. It feels like melting chocolate through her fingertips. The potter’s wheel allows fluidity, a quality she loves in ceramics.
Slabbing and modelling are also an integral part of her making process. She uses very soft clay, squeezing and joining everything together with fingerprints, while it’s still lovely and soft.
Sarah is very interested in surfaces. When she brushes white slip over terracotta it has a deep earthy quality. she works quickly on the surface, scratching into it (sgraffito) with random scribbles and doodles. It’s an instinctive and intuitive process. She does not deliberate or labour over the surfaces and likes to mess them up a little with random splats of coloured slip or underglaze.
The human element is key for Sarah, layering up surfaces, rather like a painter at a canvas…. mark making and doodling.
She finishes off her pieces with a clear lead-free earthenware glaze. This makes them smooth to touch and also durable for everyday use.