Frances Spice

Frances studied Ceramics and Design at Cornwall College. Prior to that, she worked an apprenticeship with a Somerset ceramicist for seven years. She currently works from home in her summerhouse.

The pots are built from slabs of white earthenware clay. She also models by hand details such as handles, birds and fish. Most of her work is left unglazed; she uses coloured slips, oxides, stains, ceramic pencils and gold lustre. Often decorated with subtle flowers and leaves, delicate lace is impressed onto the surface to create beautiful textured marks. She introduced nails sticking out from the clay after finding old pieces of wood with the nails still in and wondering what they once were and where they came from.

Frances says, “I think it’s hard not to be inspired by the beautiful Cornish landscape and the treasures it withholds, it could be anything from a delicate flower to an old broken piece of pottery”.