A distinguished maker of wood-fired pots, Ben Brierley was educated in ceramics at Wolverhampton University and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, and now works in the ceramics department at Loughborough University’s School of Art and Design. His pots are full of life and vigour – bowls and jars expressively thrown and gesturally altered. They enjoy the full plasticity of the material, as well as surfaces that are richly nuanced and coloured by the atmosphere of anagama firing. The pots have anthropomorphic qualities, intriguingly influenced by human characterisation in early animated films. The resulting forms are full of life and movement, “taking on human gestures and interactions” to make pots of a rare energy.
Ben has built and fired many down draft/cross draft and anagama style wood fired kilns, with the process of kiln firing being an integral element of his making practice. He has published several articles relating to wood firing, glaze composition and The wood fired aesthetic, in Ceramic Review, The Log book and Ceramics Technical and his book on kilns and firing for Bloomsbury was published in 2014.
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