Hannah McAndrew

The pottery made by Hannah McAndrew has it's roots in the rich tradition of British slipware pottery which has a very strong place in her heart from the large commemorative chargers of Thomas Toft and the highly decorated sgraffito Harvest Jugs of the Devon area to the simple peasant country wares produced for everyday use in homes across Britain.

Hannah's love for the materials she works with has seen her move from a densely populated urban area to this quiet corner of rural Galloway. After her degree the desire to continue to learn about clay and its potential led Hannah to find an apprenticeship with earthenware potter Jason Shackleton. Jason introduced her to the traditional techniques of slip trailing and sgraffito which she fell in love with right there and then and which have formed the basis of her work ever since.

Hannah McAndrew makes pots with a purpose, pots for use in the home. The challenge of creating a pot that will perform its task well, will be attractive to look at and be comfortable and warm to have around the house is the basis of Hannah's work. Thrown in red earthenware Hannah's pots are decorated using coloured liquid clays and a rich honey glaze. The decoration is trailed on to the surface of the pot whilst the slipped surface is still glistening wet and looking very much like cream or melted chocolate and almost good enough to eat.

Hannah loves to decorate and often gets lost in decorating pots, the subjects take their form from across all aspects of her life. She is particularly taken with the amusing antics of the partridges and pheasants which line the road on her cycle to work and their comical strutting around the farmyard. They have been used as a basis for the ever more exaggerated plumage of the fantastical birds that have been appearing recently across platters and jugs.

Hannah's collection of oak and horse chestnut trees in pots outside the studio have also found themselves being recreated in sgraffito and trailed slip across the surfaces of her pottery. Other influences include the strong naïve designs occurring across eastern European folk art, in particular the images used in their woven textiles and tapestries; rich many petalled tulips are a particular favourite of mine. Of course.