Ian Steele: Artist's Statement

'My pottery is the result of 45 years of mostly gradual development. It comes directly from, but is also different to, those early efforts both at art college and the years at the Leach Pottery in St Ives. There is a connecting thread between the pots I produced in my earliest years to the pots I produce now, plus all the influences in between. It is present in all the decisions that go into making a pot - choice of materials, choice of products, choice of clay bodies, glazes, textures, finishes and colours, balance of function and non-function. However my pottery has always come from a base of function even if sometimes the connections are a bit tenuous.

I have worked with both stoneware and porcelain, sometimes mixing these two clay bodies together, maybe adding things such as paper to leave voids. The glazes are either traditional 'Leach' glazes or ones that I have developed over time. All are fired in a reduction gas fired updraft kiln.

In small ways, I have constantly evaluated and developed my practice since pottery, like painting or sculpture, should never stand in the same place for too long.'