Sometime ago I found myself walking into a potbank and have never left. The noise, smell, heat and rhythm have in time become part of my life. I invite you into my story, in the hope that you may connect with a creative history that has inspired and uplifted a community under the unifying power of heritage and craftsmanship in this city for over 300 years. I am by definition a factory girl, my value is my count (400 piecesa day) but my trade is so much more than that. It comes with a pride and understanding that here in this city the people and the pots are much the same, meaning that one would not be here without the other. Scraps is a project that is made in a potbank, from materials that come from a potbank and ultimately is inspired by a potbank.
The ecosystem of a casting shop consists of casters, spongers and the occasional labourer hauling barrows of scrap clay from one place to another ready to be recycled. These labourers are known as barrow boys (pronounced barra). Looking into their barrows pilled high with broken bits, cracked mugs and wonky handles, I decided that I wanted to make something from nothing. Creating ceramics inspired by waste and the parts that are never seen. There’s no one way to begin on how important the pottery industry is in this city. Since the 1980’s ceramic manufacturing has declined significantly leaving behind unemployment and low opportunities. I am a bench caster and my skills are not transferable to other industries, I need potbanks to survive so I in turn can survive. With this project I hope to keep production ceramics involved in the conversation around pottery in general, and celebrate what it is today.