We are delighted to be exhibiting the work of potter Micki Schloessingk for the first time. Micki lives and works in north Gower, where her studio and workshop stand among ancient woods overlooking a tidal river. The tranquillity and beauty of this landscape are found also in Micki’s pots, which combine practicality with harmony of form.
Micki uses a stoneware clay from St Amand in France, which she fires with wood and glazes with salt. She first came across this method of firing in France whilst a student on the Studio Pottery course at Harrow College of Art, in the early seventies. Salt glazing creates a very durable glaze on the stoneware pots, giving them a subtle lustre while also making them ideal for daily use. The wood firing process means that no two pots are ever the same, each one affected by its position in the kiln and its differing exposure to flame and salt.
Micki’s love of making is undiminished, and for all her long experience she still finds challenge and delight in the volatility of the firing and the constant creative interplay of flame, clay and glaze. It is her attentiveness to detail and desire to learn the fresh lessons of each new firing that lend her pots their characteristic balance between responsiveness and quiet authority. The result is resilient pots that are great for daily use but also stand proudly on their own, inhabiting space with a quiet presence.
