An eye for clay

摘要

The first ceramics I ever noticed were a set of 1950s coffeecups. They were Scandinavian in design and belonged to my parents, who were rather forward-thinking in such choices, by the standards of Kettering at the time. The beauty and utility of the cups drew my eye; I was twelve and becoming aware of aesthetics. I still covet them and tease my parents that they mustn't be used, in case they break. My grandmother also had lovely porcelain: Meissen-type pieces. The colour and the flow of the shapes fascinated me. They seemed to flutter, like silk, captured in clay.