Hull-born and Edinburgh-raised, Judith Glover is a ceramic artist specialising in handbuilt sculptural pieces. Now based in North Yorkshire, her ceramic work is often inspired by painters such as Giorgio Morandi and Joan Eardley. Glover’s studio pottery is produced very slowly, mostly using the age-old technique of coiling. From start to finish each item takes around six weeks. Glover is currently exhibiting in The FLUX Review – New Year – New Inspirations Virtual Exhibition which you can visit here.
Self-taught or art school?
I am largely self-taught, although I acquired the basics of ceramics from many years of evening classes in an earlier era when Adult Education was well funded and reasonably cheap. When I retired from my day job about ten years ago I moved into a new era of contact with fellow ceramic artists. I learned a lot from them, especially Tim Pearce.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
My current choice would be Joan Eardley’s Breaking Wave (1960, ãEstate of Joan Eardley, www.artuk.org, Hunterian Gallery). If you had asked me that question a couple of years ago it could have been one of Whistler’s Thames Nocturne series. Oh, and one of Ivon Hitchens’ autumnal woodland paintings. Sorry, that’s three!
How would you describe your style?
I specialise in handbuilt sculptural ceramics. These are coiled pieces, each constructed slowly over a period of about six weeks. I only produce about twenty pieces each year. My work is almost always unglazed – I find that glaze creates a barrier between the piece and the viewer, and I like to create a pot whose clay surface can be felt.
Is narrative important within your work?
My work is narrative to a degree, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is thematic. That allows the work to be interpreted by the viewer as they see fit, with perhaps just the guidance of the title to indicate my aim. A current series focuses on seascapes, and prior to that I was inspired by landscapes. In terms of writing about my work and my inspirations I have a few discursive blogs on my website. During the lockdown period my memory played a large part in my making, with North Yorkshire hillls and skies coming to the fore.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I am interested in making links between painting and ceramics. Two painters have been particularly important in recent times – Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) and Joan Eardley (1921-1963). In terms of ceramics itself I admire the work of Jennifer Lee (1956-), Ashraf Hanna (1967-), Veronika Poschl (1950-2006), and James Tower (1919-1988).
What or who inspires your art?
The quiet earth-tone still life paintings of Morandi inspired me to create tall handbuilt vessels, arranged in trios. I like to encourage buyers to select their own trios, so that they also are involved in the creative process and can consider the setting in their home where the trio will be placed. The wild North-East Scotland seascapes of Eardley have inspired me to create pieces with imaginary seascapes in mind.
Are there any recurring themes within your work and can you tell us about them?
At the moment the themes are landscape and seascape. I am thinking about how a skyscape would work, but as yet haven’t completed any pieces with this theme. I incorporate clays of different tones and textures in a clay body that is either biscuit-coloured or a mid-grey. This is particularly challenging technically as the different clays have varying shrinkage rates, both at the drying and firing stages. Below is a close-up of the surface of a pot that is constructed in this way, using the grey clay body.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I build each piece in a small studio at the back of my house in York. I then fire my work in a shared kiln about five miles away. I am a big fan of sharing kilns – they are expensive to install, have various health and safety requirements, and might stand unused for much of the time. So in my view, it doesn’t really make sense for each potter to have their own kiln. Sharing the running expenses also makes pottery a more accessible activity for those who do not have either the space or the financial resources to install their own kiln. The only downside is that transporting a ‘greenware’ piece (ie dried but not fired) is hazardous as the piece is very liable to break at that stage. I wrap the work in many layers of packing and drive carefully…
Do you have any studio rituals?
In common with many artists I have to work on my own – conversation around me is death to creativity! I also have classical music on, ideally something that has little that might distract me in the way of recognisable melody or form. Schoenberg works well…
What are you working on currently?
I am working on a piece that for me is particularly large – I estimate it will be about 45 cms in height and about 30 cms in width. It is a particularly narrow piece – obviously it is 3-D (otherwise it wouldn’t stand up) but I am trying to make it as 2-D as possible, inspired by James Tower’s work (see above). It is a piece that uses flattened coils of a particularly interesting grey sculptural clay – sourced from Spain by Potclays in Stoke-on-Trent. It uses the technique of incorporating other clays in the main body, as described above, but this time there is just one narrow curved ‘seam’ of pale biscuit-coloured clay that is largely vertical. To make a vertical seam in a horizontally coiled pot is challenging, since to cut into the finished pot and insert a seam could weaken the structure, so I have to incorporate the seam as I work on the body. It feels a bit like the horizontal fighting with the vertical, with me mediating between the two planes. I hope it will work out! I suppose it is inspired by geology, but in an abstract way, not in a way that I think geologists would recognise.
Where can we buy your art?
My website www.judithgloverceramics.uk. The Shop page shows what is currently available, and I ask potential buyers to contact me via the Contact page so that we can discuss the purchase and its price. Payment is by Paypal. I use a specialist York-based packing firm, but can only send work within the UK at present. My work will also be for sale at Venue 99 of York Open Studios, in April 2022. Or sometimes people come to my house if they live in York or are visiting. All proceeds from my work go to IDAS, the Yorkshire-based charity that supports those affected by domestic violence.
What are your ambitions?
As an older person I am conscious that I don’t have all the time in the world, so I just carry on making ceramics as intensely as possible. Having retired from decades of a very different type of work I am privileged to now have my days free to make ceramics.
For more information, visit:
@judithgloverceramics
© Judith Glover, February 2022
