- Aug 28
- 3 min read
On 20th February we had the wonderful Ben Davies coming for a Talk at Culford Studios.
He is local to us in Dalston and primarily makes his work in his garden studio.
Ben’s work merges his passions for pottery, geography, geology, and music. His journey began with inspiration from his school pottery teacher, leading him to study art at the Foundation level. He later pursued a degree in geography and geology before training as a professional cellist at the Royal Academy of Music. Since 2000, Ben has served as the principal cellist with English Touring Opera and regularly performs in London’s West End theatres, as well as with companies like Glyndebourne and Garsington Opera.
After rediscovering pottery in his late 30s, he developed a distinctive approach to hand-building, which he later discovered was a technique called Nerikomi. His unglazed, coiled pots, crafted with coloured clays and intricate textures, are influenced by landscapes, geological formations, and the natural world, they are intuitive, expressive, and fluid with no one part the same.
It was very inspiring to hear his life story, and all the different threads of his career that have had such an influence on his craft and the development of his unique approach to Nerekomi. It was amazing to see how far he’s taken the process, continually discovering something new with every pot he makes.
On Saturday 22nd, Ben returned to lead a hands-on workshop for our members, where he delved further into the complexities of Nerikomi. Respect for his craft only grew as participants attempted the technique themselves.
He began by guiding members through shaping layers of coloured clay and compressing them to remove air pockets, forming a solid block with a consistent internal pattern. Slicing this block into thin sheets revealed the hidden designs inside, and these were then assembled into vessels. Starting with small sprig moulds for stability, participants eventually moved into free-form construction. Ben had many clever tips for preserving the integrity of the patterns and seamlessly joining different blocks - this part of the process proved especially challenging and left us all a bit in awe.
Once the work reached the leather-hard stage, Ben demonstrated how to hand-trim the surfaces, shaving off fine layers to further reveal the intricacy of the patterns beneath. We were especially captivated by his toolbox, full of quirky and unexpected tools that are now essential to his practice - our favourite was his wooden darning mushroom!
The pieces from the workshop were then fired to bisque and the participants were guided to meticulously sand there work before going back in for their last firing, this was to further reveal the pattern integral to the clay and visible throughout the piece even on the inside.
The beauty of the Nerikomi process lies in the fact that the patterns you make are slowly revealed throughout the process and become more and more refined with care an attention. This element of mystery and surprise brings a sense of excitement to the making process. Ben described this moment as a constant source of joy for him - his approach is full of playfulness and discovery. It’s clear that this technique alone offers a lifetime’s worth of learning and experimentation.
We absolutely loved having Ben at the studio, our members have learnt so much and will be sure to carry these special techniques and tricks of the trade in to their own making. Thank you Ben for such an insightful week!
Learn more about Ben Davies’ work here:
