A geology of chance
- David’s ceramic career includes making, research and teaching
- He works clay using woodworking tools to create crisp forms
- Balancing control, chance and a love of nature, his ceramics invite quiet contemplation
David Binns is a British ceramicist whose career since the early-1980s has included making, teaching and research. He was awarded an Emeritus Professorship on retiring from his university post in 2020. His long-standing interest in woodworking informs much of his ceramic practice. Using wood chisels and blades, David carves solid lumps of clay into angular vessels with torn, textured detail, reminiscent of hewn rock faces and natural formations. His forms evolve through processes that are both controlled and accidental, leading to outcomes that are never fully predicted. Guided by Japanese aesthetics, David seeks to convey quietness, subtlety and understated beauty in his pieces. "These are qualities one might find in the natural world," he states. David's works have been exhibited in the UK and internationally.
INTERVIEW
From a very young age, I was always making things: models, treehouses, go-karts. I was an avid drawer. I initially hoped to study architecture, following in my grandfather’s footsteps, but then it dawned on me that architects do not actually make with their own hands!
I was focused on woodworking studies when a chance interview with a raku master offered a studio opportunity in ceramics, which changed my path and life. Ceramics allow me to combine precision, tactility, chance and experimentation, which are all challenges I enjoy.
Japanese aesthetics and a love of nature are guiding principles in my creative life. A combination of control, accident and chance are also central to my making philosophy, meaning each piece is unique and unrepeatable.
Do not try to manufacture a career just because you think that is the way to do it. I did not anticipate the career I have had, so remain open-minded, embrace unexpected opportunities, and most of all, be inquisitive about everything in life.
