Silverton, Francesca

I use slab building to make enclosed forms inspired by the shapes we do not see—mathematical forms, spaces in the soil, and hidden stories. I use clay because it is under the ground everywhere, as universal as music and math.

I have a small kiln, a wheel, and a medium-sized garage from which I teach and make my ceramic sculptures. I try to throw a pot a day, sometimes using clay dug from a nearby Roman kiln site.

Home-mixed porcealin, stoneware (Earthstone 5), local clays

High fire 1240°

Slab building, press molding

I like the shards in my sculpture cornerstones

I use tools made from household and found objects

Integrity

Its a peaceful place

My industrial wheel from the 1970s

Less clutter, more buckets, heating

How do you save money on materials and supplies?

Always recycle all the clay scraps immediately

Walking with my dog

Clean floor throughout the day - it keeps down dust and means the cleaning is less

Selling pots overseas from the UK

Awful to the outside world, amazing to me

What area of skill do you most look to other artists to learn?

Connecting surface and form

Craig Fowler, he taught me the most

Live recording of The Magic Flute, The Clash

I need to

Greg Daly made beautiful Pots

Have a studio space near the home

It could talk and say 'leave me to rest, don't touch me too much!'