The concept of portrait bowls

A group of hand-thrown pots is like a bunch of characters. Unique lips, bellies, necks and occasionally a handle, inviting you to lock your thirsty fingers in.

 I adore the anthropomorphic quality of handmade pots and this lot are my first step on a new journey. Pulling together observation made during the study of sculptural portraiture and using this to guide the formation of a simple bowl.
 

This first batch concentrates on aspects of the neck that support a human head >

This approach offers an opportunity to reconsider how I treat the surface of a pot.

Traditionally one would decorate with pattern, but the spirit of these pots repels clothes and ornamentation so I scratched away at the surface, rubbed in oxide, smeared it like charcoal, splashed on glaze to imply motion.
 

Sculpture has changed the way I see pots.