Vanessa Hogge

Ceramicist | London, United Kingdom

Recommended by

Duncan Campbell & Charlotte Rey

A passion reignited

Vanessa is from a creative family and is married to a furniture maker
Each tiny flower on her sculptures is hand-modelled separately
Before opening her studio, she made her pieces on her kitchen table

Vanessa Hogge fell in love with ceramics at school and went on to train at the Royal College of Art in London, but after starting a family she was forced to abandon her passion for clay in order to seek a more stable income. During her 25-year “hiatus” she became an interiors stylist for magazines and then a graphic designer, before finally deciding to leave office life behind in 2015. Rediscovering her passion for ceramics that “had obviously been pent up for years”, there followed a “wonderful explosion” of activity during which she developed her signature style: hand-modelled floral sculptures and vessels in black clay and white porcelain.

Interview

©Polly Rusyn

©Jamie Trounce

How did you get into ceramics?: I was about 17 when I started. Someone told me about the pottery room at school so I went in, and once I was there I don’t think I left for two years! I had an incredible teacher. I knew then that clay was what I wanted to do.
What’s the benefit of having had other jobs?: The maturity of knowing how to run a business – that comes with age and experience. And the things you learn about time management and patience and hard work. I don’t regret having done those other jobs but I feel I’ve missed a lot of time as a maker, so I’m really going for it now.
Why are flowers such an inspiration?: My mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were incredible gardeners and would create very beautiful gardens from scratch. I find it heart-warming that they were really into flowers and I am doing that now in a different way.
What do you get out of being an artisan?: I have an amazing capacity to spend hours and hours on each piece. I love the way you can lose yourself in your craft and your head is full of thoughts. I also love the joy of repetition: adding thousands of small elements and not knowing if it’s going to work until the very last petal!

Vanessa Hogge is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1989