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1 January 2021 For My Brother...

Feb 7, 20212 min read

One of the most rewarding ways for me to create my ceramic pieces has been to create for the individual basing my designs on the recipient themselves. In designing my sister Sue’s ‘Pillow Box’, I tried to reflect her personality and her quirky ways.



Setting about a piece for my brother found me exploring his working life and seeking to reflect some of that in the piece I created. Neil trained as a physical education teacher, teaching both in the UK and abroad. Relentless in improving himself, he added a Masters degree and a MBA to his B.Ed. qualification. Since 1990 he has pursued a successful business career abroad, designing and delivering training materials for business enterprises in several countries



Following a similar technique as for the pillow box, I coiled two bowls and fused them together. Then inserting a balloon I inflated it to support the sphere. This globe shape represents Neil’s world wide travel.


My brother’s business logo is a tree, with diamond shaped leaves. I used this idea to create a tree with the gaps between the branches themselves as diamonds. I then overlaid the tree on the globe shape.


Neil’s passion for life, for innovation and for persuing his dreams, both for his family and himself have bubbled away inside him and emerged in many and various exciting, sometimes unexpected ways over the years. He has a fine bass voice and enjoys singing church music (particularly Choral Evensong), as well as larger choral works. He has pitted himself again and again against the challenges of running marathons, continuing to play regular team football and tirelessly supporting his friends and family; Sometimes I think, functioning outside his comfort zone, but always finishing whatever challenges he has set for himself.


I wanted to celebrate his passion for life, his rigorous commitment to all he undertakes and his tireless positivity. I’ve coloured the inside of the globe with hues of oranges and reds, as if passion were bubbling up from within, then I created a ‘burst ‘ in the clay, revealing the smallest of hints as to what is inside……



Now ready for glaze firing. The piece is decorated with green slips, matt transparent glaze, and inside with amaco marsmoons and Botz vivid orange



Out of the kiln...

Neil’s ceramic piece is out of the kiln, although still warm… mounted on a boxwood slice prepared by Paul Roberts of Isca Woodcrafts.






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Realising a Dream..

This is me. Setting out on my journey as a hobbyist potter.

Pottery was an ‘add on’ O level course when I was at school, only offered in the sixth form. In to studying Music and RE to A level, I embarked on pottery ‘O’ level as a bit of light relief. I loved it although I was never particularly good at it. I made a few pots, mainly handbuilding using slabbing and coiling but didn’t really learn much.

What I wanted to do more than anything was throw on the wheel – the school did have a wheel but no one was allowed near it unless they knew what they were doing… an interesting approach to the process of acquiring skill methinks. I do have one of my very first pots – rather crude really, but its mine, with my initials ‘scrauped’ on the base. Over the intervening years, of which there were many, I watched the art of throwing from a distance, always hoping that one day it would happen.


We had bought our little cottage in Halifax in 2009. Six years later the adjoining house became available so we set about creating a home by combining the two halves. The ‘under-dwelling’, a feature of a number of houses in that area of West Yorkshire was a real gem; we converted into a pottery studio for me and there began my journey. I enrolled on a course in Springhead. Oldham and my amazingly talented pottery teacher, Sue Devine gave me one-to-one tuition in throwing. I bought a pottery wheel and was given a small kiln. My journey had begun – 40 years later!

Twelve month ago, my partner and I moved to Newport in South Wales. I am most fortunate have a pottery studio here. Why Andante Ceramics? Well, I work slowly, I go with the flow, I create no deadlines for my self. My world of clay is completely self-asbsorbing and tomorrow, if I am fortunate to have one, is another day.

My media pages give a flavour of what I do and my blog documents my thoughts as I journey through the wonderful world of pottery and ceramics. I wont sell any of my work but I delight in making pieces specifically for friends; I love the challenge that creating bespoke pieces bring. If you would like me to make something special do please ask.

Wendy Diamond

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