Mariam Cullum (1251)

Hall House Ceramics

Clay is at its most sensitive when freshly thrown and I find it fascinating to transform and alter a thrown form, capture the movement and energy within the clay.

Growing up in Kenya, I came across Kenyans sitting by the roadside making pots using the most basic equipment. I decided then that making functional pots was going to be my aim. I left Kenya to work in Italy and here with fabulous art and sculpture all around me, my determination to work with clay grew and when I left Italy to come to England 4 decades ago, I enrolled in pottery evening classes.  Juggling with a full time job with the National Health Service I went on to complete a two year diploma in Ceramic Design at the City Lit (London Metropolitan University).

My inspiration comes from my diverse cultural background. It is my intention for each pot to be unique.  Every pot I make is considered as an individual. This uniqueness, I hope, reminds the user that it is handmade and not part of our mass-produced world.   I make pots on my potter’s wheel using Ming Porcelain. I also make pots using the slip casting method and one-off sculptural forms with stoneware clay.  After the first firing I paint with food safe ceramic colour stains and glazes using brushes and applicators. I use the technique of sgrafitto which enables me to introduce the vibrant colours of my Indian culture.

The pots are then dipped or sprayed with glazes that I make. To ensure that my work is varied I fire in both electric and gas kilns to temperatures of between 1240 and 1300°C

 

  • Poplar Farm House, 2 The Street
  • Holywell Row
  • Bury St Edmunds
  • Suffolk
  • IP28 8LS

Tel: None

Mob: 07913 351611