Studio Pottery London director Lucy Attwood shows us round the Eccleston Yards space.
As told to Cally Squires
We’re a teaching members’ studio with a focus on throwing on the wheel, rather than hand-building.
It’s very much the rock and roll [technique] of the pottery world.
Now is a time when artists are being moved out of the centre of London. So we’re so grateful for the vision of Grosvenor [in curating Eccleston Yards] for facilitating us being here as creatives.
Clay is a grounding medium and working with something formless and basic with your hands is very therapeutic, and especially great for city dwellers who work behind a computer all day.
There is also something quite primal about it, which really counterbalances modern, urban life.
Clay flying everywhere
We encourage people to try a taster class or one-on-one, and then join a foundation session where you throw for the first two classes.
Next beginners learn the trimming technique, and in the fourth week they go into the glaze room.
We have 20 glazes, which were made specifically for Studio Pottery London.
We’ve found people have such different palettes. For instance I like shocking oranges and pinks, whereas Gregory [Tingay, Studio Pottery London’s artistic director] would go for more humble yellows and muted colours.
There has been clay literally flying everywhere and I ruined a painting done by one of my best friends that was hanging on the wall.
We have so many corporates coming in, very often on a Friday night after having had some drinks. There is a lot of re-enacting of Ghost scenes!
Former monk
Ex-Benedictine monk Gregory does all the one-on-one classes. He was artist in residence at Hauser & Wirth last year. We spent a long time sourcing our teachers, and we hope that we have the very best in town.
Interior designer Vesna Aksentijevic created and designed the studio. An important thing about pottery is that it’s about sustainability and recycling, so for example all our shelving was found at an antiques fair.
The studio memberships are going quite well. We’ve had quite a few people start off with the classes and move into membership, which we love.
Some of the studios in east London have waiting lists of about two years, they’re like Glastonbury tickets!
Our members have their own fob to access the studio and can use the facilities for up to 18 hours per week.
Studio Pottery London is at 29 Eccleston Place, Belgravia.
Find out more about Studio Pottery London from their website: www.studio-pottery-london.com
This article first appeared in Belgravia magazine.
Find similar stories in the Art section of our website.
Main picture: Gregory Tingay and Lucy Attwood
