Ceramics shaped by adventure
- Alistair opened his workshop in 2007
- He defines his work as ceramic art
- He lives in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye, a major pottery centre in France
After completing his education in Britain, Alistair Danhieux travelled extensively in Europe, India, and West Africa. He finally settled in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye in 2003 and opened a workshop with his wife in 2007. Through his work he tries to create a language and identity using shapes and decorations. Around 2014, Alistair started using high firing stoneware and porcelain, as a medium to create his hand painted black and white vessels. The motifs are the result of hours spent drawing and inspired by his many travels and the different cultures he discovered, ranging from Tibetan mandalas and Indian mehndi designs to traditional tattoos. They are original and painted freehand.
Discover his work
INTERVIEW
Yes, many! Turning, coil shaping, coil shaping on the wheel (for large jars), glazing, polished clay, terra sigillata, naked raku, saggar firing, plaster moulding, casting, brush decoration, and more.
I am specialising more and more in coil shaping without using a wheel. I like to work slowly. I also like decorating with oxides.
I think that I am unconsciously marked by Asian ceramics when it comes to shapes. People often see that in my work, but it was never done in a conscious way. I think I just like harmonious and taut lines.
Dialogue with matter. When you apply a force to the clay, it reacts. It is not a material that can be dominated, I must know it intimately, to accompany it well in the various stages of making. Clay is a material that teaches humility, that is what I like about it.
