5 - 31 August 2026: There's More Fun To Be Had by Erica Low

Tell us a little bit about how you made your way to working with clay?

I remember participating in ceramic classes as a really young child. I made a shoe moulded on my foot and a ceramic christmas card that my mum still brings out every year. In the latter half of my teens, I enrolled into a jewellery and ceramics course which I never took seriously until my tutor Mary-Ann Orr at the time made me realise that I should see what other ceramic options were out there after the course finished. I then applied to art school in Aberdeen because Gray's School of Art was the last art school in Scotland to have a fully functioning ceramics department. Unfortunately, in my second year the pandemic began and because the school was so small we were only allowed to return for one day a week which is really not ideal for ceramics. This was the year I put the feelers out to potters around the UK for internships, work exchange and apprenticeships for a more one to one intimate learning process.

You have apprenticed and travelled, following ceramics around the world. Could you tell us about some of your experiences?

In 2023 I was lucky enough to have multiple scholarships and teaching opportunities at Penland School of Craft. I’ve been inspired by Western North Carolina and the Penland area and the community I found myself in there. While living there and being surrounded by well made crafts, this pushed me to hold my own work at a higher standard and to always strive to learn new things. I really thrive in a sociable and supported educational environment.

Looking back at those travels and apprenticeships, what was your biggest takeaway from each particular time and place?

My favourite summer of internships was in 2021 when I had the amazing opportunity of working with Jenny Mackenzie Ross and Lotte Glob in the highlands. Seeing their work which is so influenced by the landscape and learning that it's okay to want to make lots of different kinds of work. I think this was the first time I was also introduced to the idea of making being at the core of your life and making a career out of it as an artist. Later that summer, I began my longer form apprenticeship with Sabine Nemet - Sabine is a very caring person and is someone who I owe most of my throwing skills to as she watched me throwing and gave me feedback during. I think this really changed the way I see pots.

What does your current setup look like now, and where are you based?

At the end of 2025 I did a small residency at the Glasgow Ceramics Studio - I really liked being around other makers and now I am currently subletting a small space in the same building. It is really small and I spend a lot of time moving things around but for a first studio it's perfect.

What originally drew you to working with slipware?

Barbel Dister was the first potter I worked for back in 2018, she is an amazing slipware potter based on the Black Isle. This was my first introduction to slipware and I really enjoyed the way you had to just go for it when decorating. I think this approach really suits my personality.

The best part of your working day?

I love making new work that I have never made before or when I have a batch of something made and at the very end I will try to set myself the challenge of decorating the last ten, each with a new design to keep it fresh.

What is your top kiln and firing experience thus far? Where and when was it, and what made it so special?

My top kiln firing experience was firing a 3 meter cubed gas-reduction soda kiln at Cub Creek with Lewis Denver and Mac Burns. This was the first time I ever did a gas soda firing and it was so much less work than wood firing which I loved. We then reduction cooled the kiln with wood and the pots were so sexy that I have kept a few of them and not sold them.

What are you excited to explore next in your practice?

I am excited to make new work which incorporates wood in a functional way. I want to make sculptural furniture which combines wood and clay together.

And what’s the absolute dream?

The dream is to keep going and learning new things from other skilled makers and to pass on the knowledge which was given to me onto others.

Since settling down from your travels and residencies, what has been your greatest joy—and your greatest challenge—working in ceramics full-time?

The greatest joy becoming a practicing studio artist is watching my work develop and change. I think to be able to really think about the pots - some stillness is necessary. However, the greatest challenge is getting the itch to travel and keep learning new ways of making.

If there was one thing you could share with aspiring makers that you’ve learned so far about making pottery for a living, what would it be?

I think it's important to absorb all you can from every opportunity and to ask so many questions but that you can pick and choose which rules you want to follow.

If you don't like the thing that you have made, do it again and do it better. 

Also maybe get good at being poor sometimes.

Where or how do you usually find inspiration? Do you actively go in search of it, or does it tend to find you?

A lot of my inspiration comes from being connected to other people. I think being in conversation with others always makes me see things in a new light and this is reflected in my work. I also enjoy going to museums and looking at pots which are hundreds of years old and thinking about how I can be inspired by those forms but with a new contemporary view.

What are your thoughts on the current direction of pottery in the UK, particularly the resurgence of young makers, teaching studios, and ceramics fairs?

I think it's great, in this industry - a rising tide lifts all ships.

What is the most recent ceramic vessel or piece of pottery you bought for yourself?

I bought a slipware platter from my good friend Adam Dransfield in his sale to raise money for clay college funds. The platter was made when Adam spent some time working with legend Mike Perry.

Who is a maker whose work you love and admire that we should all know about, but may not have heard of yet?

Suze Lindsay! She is an American artist who makes pots in a way which transformed my making process and made me really excited about using moulds, handbuilding and the pillow technique of puffing out clay to make forms. Suze’s work bridges a gap between art and functionality which I find so admirable and is something I try to instill into my time in the studio.