Curtis Ceramics
6th January 2012 - many new pieces now in the gallery. If you are interested in any of Eddie & Margaret's work please phone the gallery on 01947 893289 or email us via the website. Although we always have a selection of their work in stock not every piece shown may be available, however we may be able to order a similar piece. Don't forget that the own art scheme is available on any sale over £100.Curtis Ceramics are committed to creating work that is connected with the material it is made from and celebrates the process of its making. The firing has become an integral and important part of that process. Using an oil-fired kiln allows them to work with fire, a fundamental force of nature, introducing a welcome degree of unpredictability.
Eddie and Margaret bought Middle Rigg, a redundant farmstead in Upper Weardale, some time after Eddie completed a ceramics course at Bath Academy of Art in Corsham, Wiltshire. This became their home and workshop. Although fulfilling the role of professional potters, earning a living solely from their practical skills, they always wanted to do more than the functional work they relied on to support the family.
A visit to Japan in 1999 had a profound effect on them both. They found that in the everyday culture of Japan ceramics are important - they have status. Ordinary people are knowledgeable and supportive of the art of pottery making. They returned to England with renewed conviction and began to focus on work that was significant and would stand the test of time.
It is important to Eddie and Margaret that their forms pay homage to notions of proportion and balance, "we employ simple shapes and undecorated surfaces but the intense and varied nature of the copper red glazes precludes our ceramics being regarded as austerely minimalist. The possibility for quiet dialogue with our work is our main intention."