Frances Winder

I like to reflect the mood and atmosphere of landscape. Enjoying colour and vitality but keeping my presentation bold and simple to add that mystery of personal interpretation.

I am a practicing artist living and working in Cumbria and the Lake District. I am involved in both group and solo exhibitions. I have a Fine Art Degree from what is now Manchester Polytechnic, a Diploma of Associateship with Distinction from Manchester, and an Art Teachers Diploma.

My work evolves and changes with my personal interests. I develop new threads to follow but keep my basic love of colour , mood and the natural world in my work.

John Davenport

After a working life spent in financial services, my ceramics journey began in 2008, the first year in which I exhibited at Potfest in Penrith. Before that, ceramics had been, at most, a back-burner hobby, but with the time available to me in retirement it became a significant part of my life.

I now exhibit at a number of venues, including the Lakes Artists, Up-Front, Art & Clay, Green Door Art Trail and Farfield Mill, as well as Potfest itself.

I feel suited to the three-dimensional quality of ceramics and am constantly impressed by the range and versatility of the work produced by so many different artists. For me it is a journey of exploration with, happily, no end in sight.

I use craft crank clay (a stable, quite coarse clay) fired to stoneware temperature. Sometimes I will leave the craft crank exposed, adding only metal oxides and a thin, clear glaze. More often I will add coloured porcelain slips to improve surface texture and add the first layers of colour. I have also designed a small number of glazes which I apply to the slipped pots after the first firing.

I am fortunate to have the freedom to follow my own inclinations, so rather than perfecting a particular type of ceramics, I am able to chase hares and discover where they take me. Sometimes, they lead me into a tangle of brambles, but that may be when I learn most.