Alma Boyes

Ceramicist

The art of the industry

Alma is a long-standing British ceramic artist and teacher
Slow making, handcrafting and self-made clay mixes are at the heart of her practice
Hand-modelled birds are a feature of her recent work

Alma Boyes is a studio pottery maker whose work embodies the theme of slow making. Each object she creates is thrown and turned on the wheel. Alma began working with clay during her art school studies in 1974 and became captivated by the material’s versatility. She taught her craft to students for 38 years from 1982 to 2020, when she decided to pursue her own practice full-time. Alma’s work brings together her experiences of designing and producing industrial ceramics with her many years of bronze casting portraits and sculptures of endangered animal species. Exploring the expression and evocation of social and cultural relationships, especially between animal species, Alma’s work draws inspiration from the characteristics of British birds and nature and the historic technique of agateware. She has worked as a sculptor and enlarger at the Morris Singer Foundry.

Interview

How do you define what you do?: I am a craftsperson reinterpreting a historic technique in a contemporary way by bringing together an industrial ceramics aesthetic as a studio pottery maker. My work embodies the theme of slow making as each piece is individually handcrafted on the wheel.
What inspires your practice?: I am inspired by the historic technique of agateware which was prominent in the UK in 17th and 18th-century industrial ceramics, notably with Josiah Wedgewood. Nature and the characteristics of British birds in our cities and countryside are also a source of inspiration for my works.
How is your craft linked to your country?: The UK has a strong industrial ceramics heritage, though it was endangered. Stoke-on-Trent was the centre of the UK ceramics industry but it slumped to virtually no production in the global recession of the 1990s. In the past years, the industry has experienced a revival thanks to independent makers and designers.
What does teaching your craft mean to you?: I taught ceramics in several art schools for over 40 years. Teaching has been an important part of my life and has given me huge amounts of pleasure and satisfaction working with intelligent, questioning, up-and-coming students who have gone on to be leaders in their professions.

Alma Boyes is a master artisan: she began her career in 1979 and she started teaching in 1982