Matt Cripps
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Cripps Pottery
Website
Artist Statement
I’m a ceramic artist based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, working across functional pottery and large-scale sculptural vessels. My practice is rooted in material exploration, where surface and form are developed through ongoing dialogue with heat, gravity, and surface. My work is grounded in a sustained exploration of texture, developed through two distinct but related approaches. In my crawling glaze pieces, the surface becomes highly active, breaking, shifting, and separating across the form, often emphasized through bold color and tactile contrast. In parallel, my work with alternative firing methods produces more nuanced surfaces, where texture emerges through careful control of atmosphere, glaze response, and firing conditions. While these pieces can still be richly textured, they tend to be quieter, with variation and depth revealed through process rather than immediacy. Across both approaches, I am interested in how surface can hold evidence of transformation, balancing intention with material response to create work that is both deliberate and unpredictable.
Studio Description
My studio is a home-based space where function meets experimentation, a compact and practical environment shaped around making. It’s set up for both wheel throwing and handbuilding, with dedicated areas for forming, drying, and firing. Red and white stoneware, porcelain, and raku clay each have their place here, supporting a mix of everyday work and more exploratory pieces. It’s a lived-in studio, equal parts workspace and creative refuge.
What type of clay do you use?
Red and white stoneware, porcelain, raku clay
What temperature do you fire to?
Cone 6, cone 10, raku
What is your primary forming method?
Wheel-throwing
What is your favorite surface treatment?
Crawling glazes
What one word would you use to describe your work?
Tactile
What is your favorite thing about your studio?
It's in my house.
What is the one thing in your studio you can’t live without?
TV to watch baseball while I work.
What are your top three studio wishes?
More space, more natural light, and a test kiln.
What’s on your current reading list?
Vintage James Bond books I picked up in London while visiting Collect.
How do you save money on materials and supplies?
Memberships and reclaim. Some local harvesting as well.
How do you recharge creatively?
Nature, I travel and camp.
Do you have any DIY tips for studio efficiency?
Mise en place.
What challenges have you given yourself to overcome?
Make 100% of my income from my works as a potter and ceramics artist.
What did your first piece look like?
Garbage
What ceramic superpower would you have and why?
Having my clay weighed and wedged with the press of a button.
What area of skill do you most look to other artists to learn?
Glazing and alterations.
What is on your studio playlist?
Noah Kahan
Why do you create art?
Because I have an urge to create.
What is your best studio tip?
Make mugs.
If you could change one property of clay, what would it be?
Make it malleable after firing.
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