RAMP – (Roop & Al Make Pots) is a creative collaboration between Rupert Johnstone & Alice Hartford. We make functional and decorative Earthenware and Porcelain studio ceramics.
When we first started working together in 2001, we developed a range of slip decorated earthenware using brushstrokes in layers, which we have continued to work on since then. Our aim has always been to make bright, cheerful and joyful pots that mix some of the traditions of slipware with a range of other influences from the natural world, ceramics, painting and illustration.
In 2004 we moved to Devon, initially to a studio at the Beaford Arts Centre and then to our house and workshop in Silverton. Recently, we moved to a new purpose-built studio outside the village, where we can both make and teach.
Roop – I enjoy the tactile quality of clay and I have always liked the immediacy of throwing and the rhythms of making. I have a liking for simple, clean forms as they make good platforms for Alice’s decoration.
Alice – My approach to painting the pots has evolved over the years that Roop and I have been working together. Inspiration comes from the natural world and, in turn, this is abstracted into various patterns and motifs found on the pots.
I mostly use coloured slips to paint with and these are built up in layers using different brushstrokes when the pots are still wet. This allows for a certain fluidity and a sense of movement within the designs. I like to treat all the pots individually, working on them like drawings.
You can check out our website at: www.rampceramics.com
and our Twitter and Instagram feeds using these handles:
Instagram: @rampceramics
Twitter: @RAMPceramics
