Hand Created Ceramics

Photos by Asoka Fernando

An exhibition with a difference would probably be the best way to describe Yvette Spowers unique works of art displayed at the Barefoot Gallery today (22). Spowers’ exhibition consists of hand created ceramics ranging from unusually shaped pots to little clay figures. Her creativity and unusual talent is the result of these unique pieces of art.

“My clay pieces evolve organically and take shape as I build them. I rarely have a plan at the outset and allow the piece to speak for itself.  Coiling pots is a slow process, one of the most ancient ways of shaping clay and I enjoy the simplicity of it,” Spowers said.

She added that the pots are shaped, joined and smoothed several times with basic modeling tools and burnished when the clay is leather hard. “The first firing takes place in a gas kiln. The final finish is achieved by smoking the pots in a brick pit using combustible materials to give varying effects. The process of smoke firing clay pieces is one of the most ancient forms of craft dating back to the pre-dynastic Egyptian potters (3500 BC),” Spowers explained.

She goes on to say that primitive open firing is still being used in many cultures today, including Sri Lanka, with locally dug clay. “This method of work is becoming more and more popular as an expression of works of art with clay,” Spowers said.

Spowers has lived in Galle for the last five years. Before that she lived and worked in Wales and California.