Q&A with Heather Gibson – Potter in Residence at County Hall Pottery
Can you introduce yourself and describe what you do?
“I’m Heather Gibson, a ceramic artist based in London. I am the current Potter-in-Residence at County Hall Pottery where I am working towards my first solo exhibition taking place in the CHP gallery in August/September. In 2024, I completed my Master’s at the Royal College of Art, where I was awarded the Marit Rausing Scholarship for Ceramics & Glass. In my work I use clay as a canvas to explore trace, time, memory and mark-making. I create hand-built forms which contrast expressive gesture and tactile materiality with functionality.”
Can you tell us about your journey into ceramics? What inspired you to start working with clay?
“I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist. I originally studied Photography at Nottingham Trent University which remains an important aspect of my practice today. Not long after graduating with a bachelor’s degree I found a job in my local area assisting ceramic artist Caroline Winn, who gave me my first introduction to clay and the workings of her ceramic studio in London. In comparison to the photographic work I had been making, clay had something I hadn’t realised had been missing. The tactile nature of the material really resonated and the desire to learn more led to finding my own ceramic studio in North London where I continued to develop my skills and practice. Elements of the thoughts I had formed in my photography began to feed into my making and that’s where I began to develop my own work and create my own style.
What I love about clay is it’s a bit of a collision of the past, present and future. Not only are you working with a material with such a rich history and cultural past, you are also tuning into your present feeling and instincts for the material as your work – all the while holding an image in your mind of what it might become once it’s glazed and fired. I think that’s one of the most challenging and exciting things about ceramics.”
Did you have any formal training in pottery, or are you self-taught?
“Having spent 5 years developing my ceramic practice in my studio, I decided it was time to go back into formal education at the Royal College of Art, focusing on ceramics. The experience was highly rewarding. The guidance of my tutor Celia Dowson and collective discussions with my fellow students really helped me to understand what making and craft is for me as well as giving me new insights into my work. Technically, it gave me the opportunity to experiment with gas firing for the first time.
My journey so far has been shaped by many influences, including skills I learnt through hands-on experience working for another ceramic artist. I read extensively about glaze and the history of ceramics. I spend a lot of time testing and developing my own recipes, experimenting with different techniques and firing methods such as gas and wood firing. All of these things have contributed to who I am as a maker today.”
Where do you find inspiration?
“I’ve always been interested in time and our perception of it. In my photographic work, I collected archival images to use as material, now I find myself studying old shards of pottery for inspiration. I’m a bit of a collector of surface. I use my camera to make personal observations of places that interest me, where the layering of time can be seen. I love visiting museums for inspiration and studying ancient objects which have a kind of functional ambiguity, something familiar but also unfamiliar, transporting us to a different time. The writing of anthropologist Tim Ingold has influenced me deeply, particularly his exploration of the ground as a palimpsest, or a continually re-written text.
As much as I read, think or sketch my ideas before I start making my work, as soon as I encounter material I am influenced in unexpected ways. I often do my best thinking when I’m making and working with my hands. Sometimes you have to just start and see where the material takes you.”
Whose work do you most admire in the world of ceramics?
“I am most drawn to those artists work refuses to be confined by tradition, yet deeply respects its roots. For example, the work and ideas of Neil Brownsword and Marit Tingleff. I also recently discovered ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu at an exhibition at Alison Jacques Gallery. I love her evocative use of glaze.”
Could you describe your artistic style and what influences it the most?
“My style is a bit of a mix of studio pottery, rough materiality and abstract expressionism. If you could combine Bernard Leach, Peter Volkus and Mark Tobey that is probably where my style would be. A little bit traditional, a little bit expressionistic and a bit painterly, with maybe a bit of something more delicate thrown in there too.”
What techniques do you prefer to work with? Why?
“I’m drawn to techniques that allow me to make marks and leave traces for example, slab building, carving, and layering with poured slips and glaze. I use spontaneous and intuitive movements to reflect the materiality of nature and embrace the unpredictability of gesture, allowing clay to not only record but respond to my interactions.
I’ve always been fascinated by the alchemy of ceramics. One of the first things I learnt to do in a pottery studio was to mix and apply slip and glaze, so I have always felt a connection to this aspect of ceramics as being part of the whole process and not something that comes after making. I find the chemical transformations that happen inside the kiln thrilling. The intense heat and reduction atmosphere of the gas kiln adds a transformative layer to my work, something I am currently developing using the amazing kilns at County Hall Pottery. I love the way firing alters the surface in surprising ways, adding another chapter to the story of the piece. My technique is about layering time, through marks, gesture, flow and ultimately letting the kiln complete the narrative.”
How did you come across the residency at County Hall Pottery?
“After graduating from the RCA, I wanted to continue developing my gas reduction-fired work, and a residency felt like the perfect opportunity to do so. A friend mentioned there was a new pottery studio and gallery opening in Central London with a gas kiln. After coming to see some of County Hall Pottery’s first exhibitions, I discovered there was opportunity to become the first potter in residence and it felt like the perfect match. I’m so incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to create my work here and be part of such a unique ceramic studio in the heart of the city.”
Could you tell us about the work you are developing during your one-year residency at County Hall Pottery?
“During my one-year residency at County Hall Pottery, I am continuing a body of work that I started at the Royal College of Art entitled ‘Memories of Groundlessness’. The themes surrounding this work are time, memory, and materiality. I am currently exploring how clay as a material, and the multilayered nature of my making process can reveal the unseen forces that shape both our geological environment and the landscapes of our consciousness.
The most unique aspects of County Hall Pottery are its incredible historical setting and the amazing facilities. It’s rare to find such big kilns for making large-scale work in London, and even rarer to have access to a gas kiln. Currently, we are firing the gas kiln once a month and I have already gained so much knowledge experimenting with firing the kiln to achieve reduction. Being able to fire with flame not only adds an element of unpredictability to my work but also opens up a wide range of possibilities for reduction glazing. This has enabled me to expand my work in scale and be more experimental, adding rich colour to my surfaces. During my first few months I have been researching and developing a palette of iron blue celadon, bright copper reds and flowing tree ash glazes, inspired by the ancient reduction glazing techniques of East Asia.
At the end of my residency, I have the amazing opportunity to share the results of my time here in the form of a month-long exhibition. This will be held in the County Hall Pottery gallery in August/September 2025. I hope the exhibition will encourage the viewer to reflect on the nature of time and memory and consider the invisible layers of history that surround us, both in the earth and the objects in our lives. I will also be creating a photo book to go alongside the exhibition.”
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
“No day in a ceramic studio is ever really typical, and that’s exactly why I love it. There is always something new to uncover. A typical day for the last couple of months at County Hall Pottery has been travelling on the tube and walking over Westminster Bridge each morning, carefully avoiding getting snapped in a tourist’s photo of Big Ben or the London Eye. Reaching County Hall I head down to the Lower Ground level, through the familiar red door to the studio where I usually find Elif or Jane (the County Hall Pottery Technicians).
I either start the day by beginning a new piece of work or continuing with some work in progress. Each piece begins by wedging clay and combining it with the different grogs or sand that I have collected. I then roll out large thick slabs of clay and experiment with creating impressions using a variety of tools and found objects. Once slightly firm I stretch these out further, extending my marks as if emulating the slow movement and change of time. I hand build these into a variety of forms from large vessels to small delicate cups. Finished pieces are then left to dry and taken up to the Chimney Lightwell, the beautiful white glazed brick courtyard which is home to County Hall Pottery kilns. Once fired to bisque temperature, I apply multiple layers of poured and brushed glaze and then prepare for gas firing. The gas kiln takes approximately 10 hours to reach temperature, during which time I carefully study using cones and spy holes to see the reduction flame. I also often visit the County Hall Pottery gallery to see what exciting new exhibition are going on. Although I’ve only been here for a few months, working in the studio feels really comfortable and welcoming and I look forward to seeing where this exciting year takes me.”
