Pots with poise and presence
- Isatu specialises in wheel-throwing ceramics
- Her work is inspired by pre-industrial craft from around the world
- She teaches pottery workshops to adults and children
Isatu Hyde trained as a studio potter, making oil-fired reduction stoneware. Today, working from her Hertfordshire studio, she specialises in making individual and batch series ceramics, primarily tableware and cookware collections for daily human interaction. Isatu is inspired by pre-industrial craft from around the world. "I am also interested in finding visual balance and elegance between strength and relaxation, and try to create work that can stand alone as an expression of the ongoing conversation between form, light, colour, tone and surface," she says. Over time, Isatu’s interests and experiences have enabled her to forge a personal aesthetic that offers a rich but gentle addition to any environment.
Interview
- How did you first discover your craft?
- My first encounter with throwing at the wheel was under the instruction of master potter Andrew Crouch. During a transition between a degree in architecture towards sustainable design, I went to his studio to make something from start to finish. On day one, I became hooked on the beauty of the material, the processes and the sculptural possibilities within this ancient art, never to look back.
- What inspires your practice?
- My inspirations draw heavily on pre-industrial craft from around the world, most notably Minoan and West African. My four-year apprenticeship and subsequent employment with Andrew Crouch focused on making oil-fired reduction stoneware that took heavy influence from Chinese and Medieval European ceramics.
- What are the challenges facing pottery making?
- I think that the more formal aspects of teaching are being lost, along with a deep understanding of what quality looks like. Many practitioners now are self-taught and have an aesthetic less grounded in the craft's traditional output. This makes for some beautiful and interesting work, but can also lead to a lack of discipline when it comes to self-criticism and development.
- What contribution are you making to your craft?
- I hope I am showing that there is a richness in understanding the wider context of your work and yourself in the history of human creativity and production.
Isatu Hyde is a master artisan: she began her career in 2009 and she started teaching in 2017
Works
Where
Isatu Hyde
