José Carvalho

Ceramicist

The travelling ceramicist

José used to work in the media business
He specialises in volcanic ash glazing
He learned his craft from masters across the world

José Carvalho is a self-taught craftsman born in Portugal and currently living in England where he runs his own workshop in a railway arch in West London’s Ravenscourt Park since 2016. What started as a hobby at the end of 2007 soon grew into a passion that pushed him to become a full-time ceramicist. Travelling the world with his previous career in the media business, he learned his craft spending time with potters across the globe, visiting museums, reading books and experimenting firsthand pottery making. Made using wheel throwing and volcanic glazing, Carvalho’s geometrical ceramics are renowned for mimicking seascapes and landscapes. Always striving for perfection, he does not hesitate to fire his vessels up to four or five times to obtain the desired textures.

Interview

How is your craft linked to a place?: I get a lot of inspiration from the planet we live on. I like to explore geometrical shapes and the sphere appears often in my work. I like to collect earth, wood and rocks to see how I can use them in my pieces to create rough textures.
Do you master any specific techniques?: My work is known for its geometrical shapes. I develop my own glazes as well, having had quite a lot of success with volcanic glazes, which give my work organic textures recalling natural seascapes and landscapes.
What is something well made for you?: It is very important for me to be satisfied with a ceramic when it is completed, that's why I fire my vessels up to four or five times. This allows me to give an organic feel to my pieces. But if one of my potteries is not well made, I break it and never sell it.
Is your craft considered at risk?: I don’t believe ceramics can ever be in danger – not at the moment nor in the foreseeable future. However, there are lots of other crafts that are. It is therefore our responsibility to keep them going and make sure they will survive and thrive.

José Carvalho is a master artisan: he began his career in 2007 and he started teaching in 2017