WORKSHOP OF THE WEEK - SOPHIE MOORHOUSE MORRIS PORCELAIN

getting our hands dirty

Last night Ramona and I took the next step on our workshopping adventures by getting our hands dirty in a porcelain hand-building workshop with the lovely, funny and very talented Sophie Moorhouse Morris. Regular readers know we're big fans of her use of bold graphic mark-making and delicate textures and color work throughout her wearable and functional ceramics, so we were pretty excited to be able to join her in our first foray into clay. 

We were also secretly curious to have a look inside the new Harvest digs, because despite having intended to get there since they opened the doors we've either been locked into position in front of the computer or elbow deep in indigo. Cue sharp intake of breath as we were blown away walking in - lets just say its AMAZING, huge, beautiful, light and indeed gasp-worthy. Ladies we're pretty jealous of your new workspace!!!

Ramona and I are long time ceramic lovers and collectors, so we were both equally curious to see if we had any affinity with the material or process beyond our affection for the finished product. Thankfully Sophie did a great job of making both seem accessible and achievable and got us started making spoons from slabs and pinch pots from balls. 

Soon enough we both had a little production line going, in fact everyone in the room was so intent on their work that no one was talking, amazing for a room full of chatty teachers and graphic designers! While we might not have been the most talented students, we were glad to see that finally all our hours of play-doh play with the boys was starting to pay off! BONUS!

By the end of the session we'd amassed quite a collection of vessels and implements ready for the drying racks, and a level of excitement that had me thinking about new work for most of the night!  Great fun and so nice to be working in three dimensions! We also both have a newfound respect for ceramicists and see just how relevant the 10,000 hours concept is to honing the craft from amateur wonk to proficient professional. It's gonna take a LOT of practice for us to even get close to nailing this simple technique - lord knows how all you wheel throwers do it!

See more of Sophie's work here, check our first rave about her on HML here and read her interview on the design files here.here BECK