Carol Metcalfe Ceramics

Carol Metcalfe Ceramics

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Ash glazed stoneware ceramics

Carol produces a wide variety of handbuilt stoneware pieces glazed with her own sustainable plant ash glazes.

" I love the ginkgo pieces and the dog's paw print coaster, Carol"  May 2023

" A gorgeous exhibition"   18 April 2023

"Thank you for the lovely exhibition. We will treasure our Carol Metcalfe plate"   April 2023

"Beautiful colours, textures and compositions - a really interesting show"    March 2023

" Carol, you created a pot for us with such beautiful colours and contours of a landscape. It is the most magnificent piece of work, with texture of implanted seeds as well, and brings much joy to us in our house. Thank you!"    12 June 2022

"Beautiful ceramics - love the colours and textures"    May 2022

"Carol's work is so varied and beautiful"    15 April 2022

Ginkgo Plate

Ginkgo Plate

Latest news

Carol is currently working on further ash glaze research, using materials from her garden and the farm where she lives near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

She will be showcasing this new work at her own studio, during the North Yorkshire Open Studios event, the first two weekends in June 2025. This is an opportunity to chat with Carol about the inspiration and development of her work. There will also be work in progress to see and finished work for sale.

Burning crop waste for ash glazes

Burning crop waste for ash glazes

About

Carol Metcalfe studied Arts & Design at the University of Sunderland, where she worked in several media, including textiles, printmaking, ceramics and glass. 

Carol then continued her studies, researching ash glazes using the waste material from arable pea and bean crops for her PhD, New Ash Glazes from Arable Crop Waste. The new ash glazes developed are fired to lower stoneware temperature, 1240C, significantly reducing the amount of energy required for the firings of her electric kiln. She has written articles on this subject for Ceramic Review magazine.

Carol’s ceramic art practice incorporates her home-grown ash glazes, together with other found materials, collected locally. She works with two main themes

  • the landscapes around her home in North Yorkshire, executed by use of coloured slips and textures.
  • secondly, texture created by found objects,leaves and weed seeds, collected around the farm where she lives, which she incorporates into her clay.


Thus, Carol’s ceramic pieces have a strong sense of place. Some of the landscapes are torn and reassembled, Carol’s response to the challenges the countryside has faced over the years, scarred but enduring.

A long-held ambition to use wind power to fire her electric kiln has been realised with the installation of a small turbine. Work is now produced using this renewable energy as far as possible.


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