Catherine Lucktaylor
Ceramicist
St Buryan, United Kingdom
Balancing form and colour
- Catherine hand builds her ceramics, each is unique
- Her work encapsulates the spirit of nature
- After 30 years, she is still excited by the possibilities of clay
Talking to Catherine Lucktaylor about clay, you quickly realise that it is not just about creating beautiful forms. Through the medium of clay she connects to her ancestral roots, celebrates the wildness of Cornwall – where she lives – and describes the process of making as having a healing effect. Her work is imbued with reverence for the material. She builds each piece carefully by hand and fires it in a traditional raku kiln. Through this process she achieves crackled glazes and vibrant colours. Her work is filled with life, it is made for the home. The word that resonates from talking to Catherine is joy, "it means so much to me bring joy and beauty to someone’s life through my ceramics."
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
During my Art & Design foundation course in Huddersfield I discovered ceramics. After making my first coil pot I was hooked. It came naturally to me and the feeling that I had finally found something that connected me to my African ancestry was profound.
I fire my pieces in a raku kiln I built myself. Raku is an ancient Japanese technique meaning enjoyment. Glazed pieces are fired to 950°C and removed from the kiln whilst red hot. The cool air causes the glaze to crackle. Then pots are plunged into sawdust and smoked.
I think that people don’t normally know how much work goes into each piece and that sometimes things don’t always go according to plan, even with over 30 years of experience. You are at the mercy of the process, literally playing with fire.
Receiving a Travelling Fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in 1999 enabled me to travel to the west of Africa and Brazil. I followed the journey of enslaved Africans, researched traditional religious beliefs and sacred art. This still informs my sculptural work today.
