The Ottershaw Potter & Friends

Ioanna works with terracotta clay, producing unique, hand-built designs suitable for both indoor and outside use. Her work ranges from pots and plaques, to intricate detailed replica shoes, portraits, and glazed tile designs. She has recently experimented with using batik, a wax resist technique, on clay with layered glazes, resulting in some interesting work. Her eclectic style is inspired by having studied stained glass design, and the technique of Thai batik painting. She works in the local community and runs workshops and classes for all ages and abilities, as well as providing clay and a kiln firing service for ‘Pottery at Home’ creations.

Candide makes baskets with pine needles, an ancient craft that uses locally foraged materials. Rows of pine needles are sewn around in a spiral. The coiling gesture is meditative and calming; she likes playing with shapes, changing the colour of the thread, using different stitches, and adding all kinds of embellishments to her creations. Candide runs workshops and makes baskets on commission.

Jo has a background in Art and Design and a love of colour, pattern, creatures of all types and plants. She is inspired by anything and everything and uses any medium whenever she feels like it! Her work has been influenced by travels to South America, the Galapagos Islands and Africa, and by artists and Art Movements she has studied and admired over the years. She enjoys inspiring others to be creative and to join her small classes to relax, bring friends and have a go at their own project in her garden studio. She also offers one to one tutoring for GCSE and Art Scholarships.

Ioanna will be demonstrating pottery hand building techniques and running free ’make your own tiny terracotta tile’ workshops. Candide will be holding weaving workshops to ‘make a shuro brush’ and demonstrating basket making techniques. Jo will be holding ’Summer Seedheads acrylic and ink’ workshops. Please see events and workshops section for details.