Shaun Hall

I work with slab built raku ceramics but also produce a small range of hand thrown wares not illustrated here. I graduated in 1998 from Middlesex University and  initially exhibited at Art in Clay, the CPA shop and sold my graduate work to Selfridges and Co. Currently I exhibit around East Anglia mainly with work on display in many local galleries, including the Taplin in Woodbridge and the C21 shop in Mundesley.

I am very influenced by architecture and sculptural form and the idea of volume and illusion. This has seemed to lend itself to the slab building process. A lot of my initial ideas were very much inspired by still life painting and abstracts along the lines of artists like William Scott and Braque. This has evolved gradually over time.

I use earthstone handbuilding clay which is fairly shock resistant, and then raku fire to just under 100 degrees c. The fuming slip is based on a variation of John Wheeldon's. I fume the work on a bed of sawdust and smoke for about 20 minutes, letting in oxygen by lifting the smoking bin at appropriate intervals to allow the copper to gain irridescence. It is an elusive technique to master, and only now do I feel that I have some semblance of control. However the results I feel are well worth the risks involved and are often spectacular.