Master class with Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch

摘要

Hannah McAndrew and Doug Fitch have an unusual rhythm to their life. They divide their time between two studios - something of a geographical challenge, as one lies in Scotland's Galloway, the other in deepest Devon. Both sites are in rural locations, rich in nature and light that feeds into, as a core influence, their respective work. Those who admire their pieces - a powerful combination of the artistic and the domestic - will recognise the influence, too, of the centuries-old tradition of British slipware, with echoes of the pancheons, salters and pitchers that the potters of the past once made. Their vessels are earthenware, which has an aesthetic, says Doug, that he loves for its 'worn look and beautiful patina'. For both potters one of the key aspects of their practice is decoration. Among the techniques they favour are applique, wet sgraffito, press moulding and slip trail, while the glazes they choose offer 'rich honey' surfaces. Their work is predominantly thrown on the wheel and is wood-fired, Hannah having built a wood-fired kiln at her studio, with a firebox chamber with a capacity of 27 cubic feet. 'Firing in a wood kiln somehow gives me a deeper connection to the pots,' she says, adding: 'it is a process that I have been fascinated with since assisting with firings at university'.