A sense of energy
- Adam balances spontaneity with precision
- He creates functional and one-off forms
- He used crowd funding to start his workshop
Adam Frew studied ceramics at Belfast Art College, graduating with a BA Fine and Applied Arts. During his studies he spent time working with Winchcombe Pottery, and then for Judy Kuitunen. This time opened his eyes to the realities of the daily routine of making pots. Through this experience he came to love humble small batch production, and made the decision to pursue this as a career path. After university he had the opportunity to be Lisa Hammond’s apprentice. This training, over two years, was invaluable to refine the skills and knowledge he now uses every day to create his pieces. He combines skills at the wheel with an eye for abstraction and mark making.
Discover his work
INTERVIEW
I am driven by exploring marks and contrasts. Playing with various ways to make marks; crayons, splashes, drips, masked out and sponged back areas. I loved the immediacy of gestural marks and I strive for a sense of energy in my pots.
With the mark making yes, but each day I have a clear plan of what I need to make. I work to filll my kiln for a firing. Often, I have to consider which pieces will fit in to the space together and normally I have exhibition pieces and orders to make.
Clay is a material that undergoes a fascinating transformation from basically mud, to a fragile thrown form, then to a strong solid, fired functional pot. I particularly like porcelain for the clean white body that makes the colours sing.
There are so many stages to making, finishing, decorating and generally nursing the pots until they are dry. Then they are fired twice in the kiln, first to harden them but keep them porous, then they are glazed and fired again in a gas kiln.
