Let's talk about pots. And other things

But mostly pots, let's be honest.

Who the hell am I?

I’ve always been a writer. After training as a journalist in Belfast in the 1980s I’ve spent the last 35-odd years in newspapers, magazines and then agencies, writing, editing, and launching publications in Belfast, Sydney and then London. Then eight years ago my wife bought me a Christmas present that was to change my life. A pottery course. I became hooked, experimenting with and making ceramics, slowly creating a studio in my garage and selling a few pots here and there. Then last year I got a phone call telling me I was going to be one of the 12 participants in the sixth series of Channel Four’s The Great Pottery Throwdown.

After that life got weird…

BAFTA-winner terrorises innocent potter. This will never not make me smile.

And weirder.

Entirely lifelike sculpture of a rare, black-footed ferret. Possibly on some serious drugs

So what’s happening here?

This seems like a good place to combine my loves of pottery and writing. This is a place where pottery takes centre stage, but it’s probably not going to be the only character in the performance. Frankly I have no idea what I’ll be writing about as we go on, but it will include pottery, general creativity, inspiration and very probably THOUGHTS. It won’t be a ‘how-to’ guide to making pottery - there are plenty of people much more qualified than me to write that. There will be occasional interviews with inspirational creative people too, so it won’t just be me banging on all the time. People I’ve met through pottery, people I’ve met through journalism, people who I’ve never met but somehow manage to convince to have a chat with me here.

Why Frozen in Fire?

Clay is endlessly recyclable - until you put it in a kiln. Once you’ve fired it, its shape is set - frozen in fire. Plus it sounds like a 1970s prog album.

First up

In the first outing, I’ll be writing about pots with tales to tell (like the one below which has a whole backstory involving a fictional South American civilisation, an Edwardian adventurer and some unknown religious rites). It’s about the power of stories, guitars, how inspiration can come from the strangest places and how art can be fun (and, more importantly, funny).

One of my ‘Pots with Stories’. This is one of the series of idols of the (entirely fictional) lost Chumquaxa civilisation of 2500 BC.

Pottery keeps you regular

I’m aiming to write something every week if I can. Some will be long, some will be short. And if you have any requests (other than asking me to stop) let me know. Join in, otherwise it’s just me shouting into the internet (for a change). See you in your inbox.

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