Philip Wilks Ceramics

I was introduced to ceramics at Batley College of Art and Design where I

studied on the Foundation course between the years 1973 – 75. From there I

specialised in ceramics on the B. A. Hons Three Dimensional Design course

at Loughborough college of Art and Design, 1975 – 78, graduating with an

Upper Second.

I moved to Brighton in 1979 to qualify as a teacher and taught in the area for

some ten years, married and had two sons. I now live in Northamptonshire

and for the last twenty-two years have taught Design and Technology at an

Upper School in North Bedfordshire. For ten years I was the Head of

Department.

When I graduated from Loughborough college of Art and Design I

exhibited/sold my work at Batley Art Gallery in a three-person show. Whilst in

Sussex I produced individual stoneware slab form ceramic pieces and during

my last year there I exhibited/sold work in the Hugo Barclay Designer

Connections Gallery in Brighton.

Having given my time to a career in teaching, raising a family and building our

home, I have now returned to producing individual pieces of pottery. My

current work is mainly in porcelain, which is hand thrown and assembled. It is

fired in an electric kiln and glazed using my own recipes. Each piece is thrown

to create the inside form, left to dry and then turned to shape the outside; on

some work acrylic resist is used to create a deep relief surface-decoration

which is filled with glaze, the Platinum and gold lustres are applied by hand

and fired to fix them. Finally, the crazing is stained. In 2010 I built a catenary

arched gas-fired kiln and am now producing soda-fired work.

With reference to my hand thrown porcelain, one of my fondest memories of

studying at Loughborough was the time spent with David Leach who as a

visiting professional instructed in the craft of wheel thrown pots; we later

visited him at his studio and also Colin Kellam in Totness. These experiences

strongly influenced and informed my values and beliefs. Form, Function and

Craft are equally important to me and whilst I strive to create finely made

pieces that are pleasing both visually and to hold, they are also functional.

Harmony and Purity of form are central to my current work, inspired by natural

forms, observed and sketched at the zoology museum Cambridge University

or in response to photographs that I have taken, as well as the attraction and

challenge of mastering the skills necessary to achieve such simple looking

pieces.