Chris Bramble studio pottery "Smiler" jar, hand thrown stoneware, 1995

Size:  20 cm tall with lid, about the same width.

Condition: Excellent condition. There is a firing crack on the inside of the lid, this is not structural and happened in the kiln.

This superb piece in hand thrown in stoneware clay and decorated in sgraffito with smiley faces.  It has a pale ash type glaze inside and is fired to stoneware. One the base are Chris's impressed stamps as well as his incised signature and the date '95.

Chris is a potter specialising in works which use the human face and form frequently, either as pure sculpture or in a combination with the vessel form.

Born in London and brought up in Ipswich, Hastings and Glasgow, it was during college where Chris discovered his connection with clay. Chris graduated from The Glasgow School of Art where he developed an interest in European sculptors like Rodin as well as African craftsmanship.
The contrast of African heritage and European upbringing lead to Chris’s warm, contemporary style, combining African forms and culture with modern techniques.
In 1985, Chris moved to Zimbabwe where he was influenced by methods of colloquial stone sculpture; meeting local artists and attending workshops, he learned processes of carving serpentines and verdites and translated these new forms and techniques to his ceramic work.  Returning to London and exhibiting sculptures, Chris set up his own studio in 1988 where he has now been joined by his daughter, Freya.