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Kilkenny, Ireland

Mark Campden

The Bridge Pottery
Ceramicist

Eyecatching lustreware

  • Mark creates otherworldly ceramic surfaces
  • He is carrying on a family tradition
  • He enjoys the challenges of his chosen technique

Mark Campden grew up in a creative environment, his mother made sculptural ceramics and his father worked at the renowned Aldermaston Pottery. After his father passed away, he was gifted his notes. These notes allowed Mark to work with lustre firings, a laborious process, but with stunning results. He is one of very few potters working in this way, and, as he explains the steps involved, it is clear why. Each step has to be executed correctly, from creating the forms to work on to making the pigments from copper and silver, from drying the wood (for up to three years) to monitoring the firing to ensure the glowing lustre finish is achieved. Each step requires skills that Mark has built up through experience and he is truly a master of this craft.


Interview

©MarkCampden
©MarkCampden
What drew you to ceramics?
Making ceramics involves a combination of knowledge and skills in many processes and techniques. The making, glazing, firing, decorating of a piece and all the various technologies behind each of those processes are wide-ranging, endlessly interesting and challenging.
What informs your choice of shapes?
My shapes are generally designed and made with the painting process in mind. Creating gentle curves, wide rims and flat areas makes for a good painting ‘canvas’. Shallow bowls and flat areas are important for the lustreware pieces, creating larger reflective surfaces.
How do you make your lustre pigment?
My pigment palette basically consists of two critical metal compounds, those are copper and silver. How I paint these onto the pot’s surface combined with the nature of the firing process is what gives the ephemeral unique finish to each piece.
Do you always know what will come out of the kiln?
While making, I am often aiming for a certain vision which I have of a finished piece but sometimes with this technique things turn out in unexpected ways. I have learned to accept the new and interesting avenues that unexpected results can lead to.
Mark Campden is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1991

Where


Mark Campden

Address: Coalsfarm, Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny, R95 Y586, Kilkenny, Ireland
Hours: April-December: Monday to Saturday 10:00-18:00
Phone: +353 872313095
Languages: English
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