5 - 28 February 2026: Earthworks by Dylan Bowen

Private view Wednesday 4th February 6-8pm

Dylan makes slip decorated earthenware using both traditional and contemporary techniques and influences. He works with a small but ever mutating series of shapes, some wheel thrown and assembled, others hand built, sliced and carved. Dylans tries to capture some of the action and spontaneity  of the making and decorating process in the finished work.

We ask Dylan a few questions ahead of his exhibition at klei;

Having grown up at Shebbear pottery and been surrounded by ceramics growing up, did you always know you’d end up working with clay? What was it that took you to study ceramics at Camberwell School of Art?

I didn’t think I would work with clay, I used to make things when I was young but I avoided it during my teenage years. I guess it pulled me back in. I was working for Clive for a few years before getting onto an art foundation in Barnstaple, N.Devon. I think Art School was the next step and Camberwell was a great course. I was very keen to get out into the world I guess.

Within ceramics, what made you gravitate towards slipware?

I love Slipware, it totally fits with how I like to work, I find everything about it, the simplicity especially, really works for me. It is slightly mysterious to me why I stuck with it so long before I really tuned in though. It took quite a while before I could start making something that I felt had some potential.

Have you ever been tempted to work in stoneware or porcelain rather than terracotta?

Yes, I still aim to, I think a lot of the making I do could work in other clays . I need a few more hours and some more energy.

What is your favourite part of your making process and why?

The making itself, when there is the potential for new directions and surprises. This applies to the decorating too. I think when the clay or slip feels like it is still moving, thats the best.

What is it about ceramics that you think has managed to keep you engaged?

I think the above answers that. It is the potential, and the directness.

Who is a maker whose work you love and admire that we should know about but might not?

There are so many. One I really like is Kerry Jameson. I remember seeing her work  and thinking , this is really exciting. I think the best things to me, be it  clay, paint, music, whatever, they make me want to go and do something! To get out there and make something. Thats a great feeling.

What sights, sounds, stories affect or influence you and your work?

This is too big a question. I think when you have been around a while, there is such a head full of stuff, its hard to extract something specific. I guess because I am interested in the feel of things, music has a big influence, the feel of it.

What are the biggest changes you’ve experienced professionally as a maker from the earlier days until now? How was making a living as a potter different when you first started out than it is now?

I think lots of things have changed since I started: The Art Schools have sadly mainly gone but there are Community studios everywhere. The Internet as a way of promoting and selling work. The rise of Ceramic Fairs.  It feels harder to find and afford space than it was but I am wary of saying it was better or worse. Things change.  It  also feels like Ceramics is more popular than ever which has to be good.

We had the privilege of showing Jane Bowen’s work last year, does sharing a studio together ever influence either of your making processes? If so, how?

It is great sharing a studio with Jane, having someone to discuss work with or to ask” is this working?” You have to be tuned in a little, to not talk about putting the bins out when someone is in the middle of some tricky creative decision making.

What is the greatest piece of advice you can give young potters out there? Or what was the greatest piece of advice someone ever gave you?

I am very wary of advice, the older I get, the less I realise I know about anything. I don’t know if there are reliable routes through the pottery world. Hang in there and try new things if you can.

I don’t really get advice from Clive, but the way he is still looking out into the world and moving onto new ideas at 84 is pretty inspiring to me.

What is the most recent ceramic vessel or piece of pottery you bought for yourself, from where and by whom?

I got a small plate by Yoji Yamada. From Goldmark.

Photo by Layton Thomas