16-2019 – Eddie Curtis – Transitions

Whilst aimed at an intermediate or advanced level student, this course is designed to enable you make a fresh connection with clay whatever your ability. I’ll take you through the transition that led me to make a body of work that took me into a completely new and ultimately ground breaking direction. My approach is experimental and observational and together we shall work with techniques that enable you not just to observe the creation of work that is in the style of ‘Eddie Curtis’ but to inspire a way of working that helps you to create vessels, containers and/or sculptures with a singular identity of their own. My work incorporates and celebrates references to landscape in its broadest sense, utilising many techniques to build a composite and textured form. I shall demonstrate how some basic, simple techniques can be combined to give rise to apparently complex forms that completely belie their elementary beginnings. My intention is to elicit the response from my students: ‘I want to do that’ and subsequently ‘I can do that’.  At the beginning of the course methods will be shown that enable the making of quick small pieces that will reinforce your confidence to work experimentally and with a passion. By the end of the course you will have discovered the process of combining multiple techniques in way that opens and inspires your approach to making inspired ceramics. A transition of approach, a transition of work and ultimately a transition of ‘self’. At the end of the workshop, most of the dry work will be bisqued and a selection of this will be glazed and fired.

Eddie Curtis established his studio in 1979 where his creativity began with the making of tableware as a production potter. He later developed work of an individual nature which he has exhibited in mainland Europe, Japan, India and the USA. His work has won many prizes in the UK, Belgium and Holland and most recently his uniquely individual textured works won him the Detlef-Schmidt-Wilkens Preis für Keramik. Oldenburger Keramiktage,Germany in both 2016 and 2017. He has demonstrated his techniques widely including The International Ceramics Festival at Aberystwyth in 2017 where a piece of his work was acquired for the Aberystwyth University, School of Art Museum and Galleries Ceramic Collection. www.eddiecurtis.com