ceramics
Ali Tomlin
All of my work is wheel thrown porcelain. I use it for its smooth, white surface and quality for making clean, elegant shapes as a perfect canvas for my colours and marks to create my range of contemporary ceramics.
I work with the dry, chalky surface, applying a bold, but muted palette of stains, oxides and slips, splashing and sponging away areas, adding inlaid and sgraffito lines, aiming to create imperfect and unpredictable marks. Most decorating is carried out on the wheel to convey a feeling of movement and spontaneity, I’m drawn to the idea of a static object conveying movement.
I have always drawn and designed and love the energy of random lines or marks, from a sketch, painting, beach combing. Anything is potential, found or seen. I draw and paint, alongside making pots, and enjoy how a simple line or mark can completely alter a piece and how the same shapes repeated, but with very different decoration, can form a cohesive family.