Stone Monkey Ceramics

image1

In preparation for the Swindon Winter Show 2016 we will be posting a series of posts on the traders who will be attending the show and the first profile is of Stone Monkey Ceramics and Andrew Prett-Pearson.

Stone Monkey Ceramics

Stone Monkey Ceramics

“I have been making ceramics since 2002. My interest first started with Bonsai in 1993 of which the pot is an intrinsic part of the finished image. I was introduced to Ceramics and I had a go at making my own pots and with a lot of time and practise I started to get better.

After purchasing a small electric kiln I started to make, glaze and fire Bonsai pots. At first I made them for my own enjoyment and for my own trees, however members of my local Bonsai club started to ask for pots for their trees and I also sold some to a local Bonsai Nursery.

image2
I gained a lot of inspiration from other great Potters and this drove me to search for my own individual style, however Japanese ceramics always, and still does, have a huge influence over me. Over the years I attended several courses at colleges and universities in my quest to improve and better myself. These courses have included throwing pots and glaze formula.

In the early part of 2003 I purchased a potter’s wheel and a 9 cubic foot gas kiln. Again there was another learning curve with new glaze recipes and reduction firing. Eventually I progressed enough to sell my Bonsai ceramics all over Europe via shows and also from my website under the name of Stone Monkey Ceramics.

image1
I also have a huge interest in Studio Ceramics and I am just starting to deviate from the field of Bonsai Ceramics on a different but complimentory journey. I am an avid fan of the “Leach Tradition” as this stemmed from the Japanese ethos of producing pottery of which I try to portray in my work. I love subtle lines and quite forms and the ceramic pieces I create must have “Wabi-Sabi”, beauty in in-perfection and aged things.

In 2010 I saw the Japanese potter Ryoji Koie at a demonstration at the V&A Museum, he had a huge impact on the way I work now and how I approach the clay. I like to think now that my ceramics have a voice and are an extension of me, embodying a little of my way of freedom, spirit and life.

image4

Bonsai ceramics form the backbone of my repertoire and it is a form that I associate closely with and very much love. The Japanese write Bonsai with two Kanji, the first meaning pot and the second meaning planting. One without the other is not Bonsai and the pot in which the tree sits is an essential part of the finished image.

In 2015 I was accepted to enter pots in the prestigious Gafu Ten show in Tokyo. I was priviledged to have been awarded the Gold Award for the unglazed catagory of bonsai pots.

image5

If you want to buy some of these pots then come along to the Swindon Winter Image Show on Sunday 28th February 2016 for your opportunity as Andrew will be one of the traders at the show selling a range of his ceramics.

If you cannot get to the show then otherwise contact him direct via one of the following methods.