Artist Statement
The Peak Potter moved to the High Peak in 2015 and has been inspired by its beauty ever since. Louise loves the way the landscape changes through the seasons, the colours, the textures and the light. Louise is also interested in how the land is used and how wildlife conservation is embedded into the local community.
The Peak Potter begins her making process by putting on her walking boots and going for a walk in the local area, to take in the environment, the sounds, the light and the mood before setting to it in her old stone built studio in the back garden, where she can easily while away an afternoon (or a day!) being creative in her own space.
The Peak Potter interprets all of these inspirations and ideas into predominantly hand-built ceramics, using stoneware clay. She uses a variety of techniques including making items from slabs of clay, using pre-formed press moulds and creating larger items from coils of clay. Louise loves to use natural objects to create patterns such as leaves, twigs and moss, and capture the colours and tones using matt natural stains to decorate her finished pieces.
The Peak Potter also creates characterful animal sculptures such as her hand-built pigs and cows. These are lovingly handmade from stoneware and fired with a high gloss finish. They all have their own personality which develops during the making process . . . . and yes they are all individually named!
