MATTHEW BLAKELY

Matthew Blakely was born in the UK and emigrated to Australia in 1988, where he studied at the National Art School in Sydney winning the State Medal in 1993.

He set up his first workshop making tableware and handmade tiles in Sydney. Then in 1997 he moved to the mid-north coast of New South Wales, where he lived and worked before returnbing to the UK in 2002. His current workshop is in in Lode, Cambridgeshire where he built three kilns: for glazed, salt-glazed, and long wood fired vessels.

Since then he has exhibited regularly throughout the UK, Denmark & Germany: including Ceramic Art London, Art in Clay (Hatfield House), Beaux Arts in Bath and “Cup, Plate & Bowl 2008” a selected exhibition at Galerie Handwerk, Koblenz.

In 2005 Ceramic Review featured a major review and workshop on his “pioneering” style in working with porcelain and a variety of glazes.

Matthew Blakely endeavours to make pots that are beautiful visually and physically, and that are a pleasure to use. Function is important, because it influences the way a pot will be appreciated. He wants his pots to be handled, felt and explored as well as being looked at. Often certain qualities present in the pot are quite subtle and will not be discovered easily or quickly.

All the pots are thrown on the wheel, Matthew likes the energy and movement of the process and the softness and plasticity of the clay to show in the final piece. He creates undulating rims and puts throwing rings into the forms, which though thrown quite loosely have well controlled forms. Often the forms are distorted from the circular, sometimes cutting them and rejoining bases. This treatment, combined with the throwing marks, gives an added tension to the pieces.

Matthew uses porcelain for its smoothness, whiteness and translucency, its fired strength, and for the quality that it gives to the glazes. He has developed a range of clean, fresh glazes that compliment the porcelain. These are applied quite thickly to give richness and depth to the colour, and often move down the form, pooling on ridges, emphasizing the fluidity and softness of the forms.

Matthew says "I am exploring the interaction between form and glazes in the firing, particularly the point at which the glazes start to run off the pot. The resulting glassy rivulets, runs and drips of glaze make the pot seem like a moment in time - captured and frozen".