Artist of the Month

Lori Shaul

Lori Shaul is a full-time potter, and a part-time teacher at Wimbledon Synagogue teaching Hebrew and preparing children for their B’nai Mitzvah. You can see some of Lori’s work and her process on Instagram @lori.shaul.ceramics, and a selection of pieces are currently available on Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LoriShaul

What inspired you to become an artist?
I’ve been drawing, painting and making things since I can remember. I have happy childhood memories of making mud sculptures in our garden and am still happiest when creating.

 What is your speciality?
Most of my pottery is hand built using slab building, coiling, and Kurinuki techniques, as well as sculpture. I enjoy making large slab built vessel forms which provide the perfect canvas to etch onto and paint designs with oxides, slips and underglazes.

Where do you take your inspiration from?
You can let your imagination run wild with clay; there are no limits to what you can make. If I need something, I often try to make it first. I like to make useful items that are original, decorative, hopefully beautiful, and different to something that is mass produced. When you see a subtle thumb print in the glaze or a slightly wonky edge, you are immediately reminded of the object’s creation and its maker.

Do you take on commissions and create bespoke designs?
Yes, and I am sometimes amazed at the imagination of customers and the designs they come up with! I can’t resist a challenge but sometimes have to tweak a design to ensure it’s going to work. I recently recreated an ancient Galithean stoneware wall-sconce that was broken in the high winds earlier this year. I was determined to do justice to the original and I learned new techniques in the process.

What do you want to achieve with your work and what are your wishes for the future?
I want to keep on creating. Most people do not realise the infinite world of hand building and the artistic possibilities it opens. I want to continue to explore these possibilities and to sell my work so that I make space for new creations!

Next show
I’m enormously excited about the upcoming exhibition ‘Living with Water’ this summer with Barnes Artists. I have been busy creating pieces which are all different, from glazes that have an ocean or a limpid pool quality, to textures and forms that evoke ancient seas or dying corals. The subject of water is vast yet at the same time it has restrained my over-active imagination.