Allan Manham

Hand coiling rather than throwing, appeals to Allan because of the rhythm that it entails. The process of making, both painstaking and lengthy and sometimes lasting several days, requires building up and scraping down and smoothing, followed by burnishing and polishing. Because of this, Allan tends to work on a number of related pot forms, variations on a particular theme, before moving on. This allows for the necessary drying of the coils as the pot is gradually built up to its finished height and volume. 

When completed, Allan enjoys the interaction that occurs when different pots are placed together. The fact that pots “speak” to each other. Moved by the pottery of Ancient Korea and Sub-Saharan Africa, where he grew up, Allan aims to create an upward motion from the constructed clay, rising from a narrow base. Colour is generally understated and integral to the pot form, whether by additions of oxides and stains to the clay body, or by way of incised and inlaid lines and scratches. More recently, he has been experimenting with colour, using oxides and stains in an understated way so that the surface decoration is integrated with the pot form.