Artists

Brendan Hesmondhalgh

Martin Norman

David Cooke

Joanne Cooke
 

Above - Brendan making a hounds head that is to be mounted on a stone base. It is leather hard, and able to support its own weight, as it is propped up.

Brendan works primarily in ceramic and creates bold animal designs that are often mounted on ceramic plinths. He uses a hand-building technique that deliberately cracks the surface of the clay. By pushing out a sheet of clay from the inside the surface breaks as it stretches.

Brendan marks the surface with a metal tool, and an airgun is used to dry the surface so that it will hold its shape

This technique ensures that there is no need to hollow out afterwards. Air and water can get trapped during firing if the clay is thicker than an inch, resulting in cracks or sometimes exploding pots.
Firing
Sculptures are fired to 1240 C in an electric kiln. The detail is highlighted with a metal oxide that is brushed on, and then sponged off. Glaze stains are used as colourants, both during the making, and during glazing. Brendan uses as little glaze as possible, and will often seal the surface with wax, after firing, rather than risk loosing the detail by applying a glaze.