'On February 10th 2003 The Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust (now Princes Trust Youth Business Scotland) agreed to give Hannah a start up grant for her pottery business. This year she is celebrating her tenth year of running her pottery business and plans to mark it with a series of events and special pots starting with an open studio day on February 9th at her workshop in Kelton, Castle Douglas.
Hannah is an award winning slipware potter. She uses a technique that has been used for centuries to create earthenware pots characterised by the use of liquid clays called slips to trail patterns and images across their surfaces. Though inspired by medieval British pottery Hannah uses these techniques in such a way that the pots she makes are characteristically hers and not copies of older wares.
Hannah works in red terracotta clay and mixes coloured slips to create the decoration which is so key to her work. For many years her pots have been fired in an electric kiln but recently she has built a wood fired kiln and is now getting to grips with firing her pots in it. This adds the element of fire and flame into the mix and brings with it more variation and depth of colour and excitement, a further connection with the whole process and of course risk but that is all par for the course.
"I make pots with a purpose, pots for use in the home. My work, thrown in red earthenware is decorated with coloured slips and rich honey glazes. The decoration is applied to the surface of the pot whilst the slipped surface is still glistening wet. The nature of this means that patterns applied must be free and fluid to take full advantage of this state."
Hannah exhibits widely across the UK and this year has been selected to be a part of Earth and Fire, an international pottery festival held in Nottingham and at Potfest in the Park at Hutton-in-the-Forest by Penrith. Exhibitions in galleries across the country are a regular occurrence too with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth being among a number of venues for 2013.
In April 2011 Hannah was invited to demonstrate her skills in America at a series of workshops at arts centres on the east coast. November of the same year saw her exhibiting at the prestigious Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show as one of a select group of crafts people from Scotland who were there as invited guests of the show. During March 2012 an exhibition billed as 'the best of British slipware' and featuring just three potters was held at Gallery St. Ives in Tokyo, Japan and Hannah's pottery was included.
2013 brings with it the opportunity to exhibit in the USA again during the Minnesota Potters Tour in the St Croix Valley. The first none American to be invited to take part as a guest of the show. Later in the year Hannah will be teaching a slipware master class at Kigbeare in Devon along with Doug Fitch of Devon and Ron Philbeck of the USA.
Hannah's work is in public and private collections across the UK and beyond.
Hannah will be having an open workshop on Saturday 9th February from 3pm till 8pm at Lochdougan House, Kelton, Castle Douglas. All will be welcome to come and see new work and to celebrate the ten year achievement.
For more details please contact Hannah on 01556 680220 or info@hannahmcandrew.co.uk'
Or visit her website here
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