Ceramics, craft and connection
- Patricia creates functional pottery for everyday life
- Her approach values handmade objects made in short runs or as one-offs
- She views creating ceramic objects as a conversation between maker and user
Patricia Burns is a ceramicist who makes functional pottery with a personal touch. From her Oregon studio Fern Hill Pottery, which she founded with her husband in the 1970s and named after a favourite Dylan Thomas poem, she uses clay that she mixes herself. She throws pieces on a treadle wheel before firing them in a soda and salt kiln. “I value the firing process for the element of serendipity it brings to the final surface,” she says. Patricia’s approach is shaped by the philosophy of studio pottery, rooted in a reaction against mass production and centred on the beauty of well made, useful objects. She first encountered these ideas during an apprenticeship at Berea College in Kentucky and developed them while training in England, Canada and the USA. Her bowls, vases, mugs and kitchenware aim to transmit a warmth and personality from the maker to the owner.
INTERVIEW
Porcelain glows and is very expressive to the touch. I like how it shows softness and even fingerprints. Lately, I have been leaving more of those marks visible. It gives the objects life and warmth, especially when combined with layers of slip on the surface.
Functional pottery feels personal, in that there is a quiet communication between the maker and the user. When you consider mugs, people choose them for how they feel in the hand and on the mouth. We become attached to our favourite pots. When you know who made it, the connection becomes even more meaningful.
Soda and salt firing brings an element of unpredictability. The vapour moves through the kiln and softens surfaces and edges. That slight muting of the design is part of what I love about it. In a way, the firing becomes a partner in finishing the piece.
I love the feeling of clay and the act of making things. I am happiest in my studio, working slowly and discovering how each piece can improve the next. Pottery keeps me curious because there is always more to learn.
