Quick Five Questions with Polly Cazalet – Ceramicist
26th March 2024
What inspired you to become a ceramacist?
When I worked as a Director in TV documentaries I travelled to India many times and was fascinated by the traditional ‘bhar’ handmade clay cups used for drinking sweet milky tea. On one trip to Kolkata I watched a potter with a huge mound of richly coloured red clay on a simple spinning wheel, effortlessly throwing cup after cup. There is a ceremonial ending to the life of these unfired cups as once used, they are crushed back into the ground. His deep connection to his material and to the moment was inspiring. I came home, found a teacher in Richard Phethean and was hooked.
How would you describe your work?
I work in porcelain and like to both throw on the wheel and hand build. I create simple elegant pieces, some of which are organic in shape and nature. My pots are both decorative and to be used in everyday life, (and yes they do go in the dishwasher) – a bowl in the centre of a table, bringing people together, mugs and tea bowls to be used and enjoyed in conversation. I get totally absorbed in the process of creating and the materials involved. When you are throwing on the wheel you have to be present. Porcelain doesn’t like to be overworked and there is an element of letting the piece evolve and transform on its own. I love that pottery is a timeless craft working essentially with the earth.
Has Living in Dorset inspired your work?
Yes definitely. I live near Bulbarrow Hill, in the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex, where everyday the expansive skies are flooded not only with rain but with different tones, colour and light. These feed into my glazes where I use a soft palette of celadon blue, aqua greens and greys. My studio is also awash with organic materials like seedheads, sticks, seaweed and cuttlefishes which I pick up on wild walks around the county and which I use to texture the clay. All my designs are definitely interwoven with the landscape around me.
Do you like to share your passion for clay?
I love teaching pottery to others, whether that be private classes at my studio, beginners throwing at Messum Studios in Wiltshire or teaching adults with learning difficulties at day centres locally. It’s wonderful to watch students enjoy the tactile and sensory experience of working with clay. I also love to observe it’s healing quality as it seems that when our hands are so directly connected to the earth, they instinctively convey our emotions.
How important is collaboration and working with other artists?
Although I enjoy the space and time to work alone in my studio, it’s also really good to collaborate and mix with other artists to share ideas and inspiration. I’m excited that Dorset Art Weeks 2024 is coming up at the end of May, where I will be showing my work at the beautiful Dower House Studio of successful wildlife sculptor Jane Shaw along with other accomplished artists, including Painters, Printmakers, Mixed Media and Painting with a Camera. It will be an exciting and varied exhibition and includes a talk by local Art Historian from Bryanston School, Sarah Thomas on the subject of – ‘Great Artists Steal. Reference, Deference and Deviation’.
