These two large stoneware vases are thrown in sections and fired to 1,230°C with a pink glaze on their interior surface. The exterior is decorated with slips as well as a matt clear glaze with lithium flashes. The design of the vases is inspired by colour found in unexpected places, drawing the observer into a hidden interior.
Height 47 cm
Diameter 44 cm
©Ashdown Pottery
©Ashdown Pottery
©Ashdown Pottery
©Ashdown Pottery
©Ashdown Pottery
Bill Gowans & Anthea Stewart
- Ashdown Pottery
- Ceramicist
- Fairwarp, United Kingdom
- Master Artisan
Contact
English, French
Hours:
By appointment only
By appointment only
Phone:
+44 7732349796
+44 7732349796
©Ashdown Pottery
From hitting balls to throwing pottery
- • Bill and Anthea both turned to ceramics as they neared retirement
- • They honed their skills at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall
- • They merge their passion for Raku with a love of colour and impact
Bill Gowans and Anthea Stewart share both a love for tennis – both played professionally – and a passion for ceramics. But the passion only recently became their craft as Anthea had worked as an Antique Dealer for the past 20 years, while Bill was a family doctor for 30. It was when they approached retirement that they both decided to do a degree in ceramics at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, perfecting their skills at the Leach Pottery in St Ives. After moving to Ashdown Forest – renowned as being Winnie the Pooh’s home in southern England – that they set up a studio. Here, Bill uses a wheel to “throw a variety of forms, from bespoke tableware through to large vessels intended for outside display” while Anthea uses ancient methods like Raku with experimental twists and pushes the boundaries “to find new results by exposing clay to different elements.”
Read the full interviewWorks
Photo: ©Ashdown Pottery
In the pink
Photo: ©Ashdown Pottery
Minoan Pithoi
This large garden Pithoi is built by throwing it in sections using grogged stoneware clay. The container is decorated with stains as well as ash glaze and fired to 1,260°C. The design of the vessel is inspired by symbolism and an explosion of scale.
Height 120 cm
Diameter 50 cm
Photo: ©Ashdown Pottery
Vas Aquae
These stoneware vases were partly crafted on a potter’s wheel and partly hand-built. The two vases were glazed and then Raku fired to get a dug-up look. They were inspired by broken Ancient Greek pots, which have an innate beauty of their own.
Length 19 cm
Width 25 cm
Height 30 cm
Photo: ©Ashdown Pottery
Kylix
This piece was hand built from stoneware using a mould and coiling for the base. The piece was bisque fired using the Raku firing technique and covered in a handmade glaze. The inspiration came from Anthea Stewart’s previous work as an antiques dealer, where she came across many discarded antique artefacts.
Height 9 cm
Width 34 cm
Photo: ©Ashdown Pottery
Poculum
These Raku beakers were named in Latin as Anthea Stewart was forced to learn the subject at school instead of art, which she was denied. However, here she is later in life enjoying making pieces with the raku firing technique. These were exciting as the colours were varied due to the reduction in the smoke bin.
Height 11 cm
Width 10 cm
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