We can't afford to stand still with our designs; we have the inherent limitations of our material (the very local clay... from the field behind the pottery) and processes,but we are always looking for ways to wring the last drop of innovative potential from what we have to work with. Some times we succeed, but there are often disappointments along the way and even when we achieve what we set out to technically, that doesn't always translate into showroom success...but experimentation is an essential part in the creative process. Our visitors have hugely wide interests and tastes, and expect to see new things every time they visit. We have a remarkably high percentage of regular customers who have high expectations of us!
The Pottery has a long and venerable history, and with that an associated 'style'. We want to build on that, to retain what is at the heart of Morris & James but also to look to the future, attracting a new generation of enthusiasts! But every now and then we draw on or refer to past work for inspiration and these thrown but hand-paddled pots with brushed slip are an example of that.
  
  
They have a character that echo's work by Anthony Morris that was influenced by his travels through
central Africa in the 1960's. These adventures and the story of the pottery can be found in a recently published book 'Mud and colour man; the Morris & James Story'.
But in drawing on the imagery or styles of the past, new sensibilities lead to new interpretations, seen in the ever growing diversity of what we make.
- Nick C