Andrew Adair

I graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1987 with a BA(Hons) Degree in Ceramics. From 1988-1993 I was a member of The Dalhousie Lane Potters’ Studios, Glasgow, before moving to Dumfries in 1994. I am currently based in the Kilncraft Studios at Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries.

I have been a practicing ceramic artist for over thirty years and have always tried to maintain a playful approach to clay, allowing the material to be evident through torn edges, cracks, texture and surface, enjoying the random, organic quality this brings. The work must always have integrity at its core and the material itself, be clearly manifest in the finished work. I enjoy making pots and “the potness of the pot”; something to be handled and appreciated, in a tactile sense, not just through an aesthetic eye. I remain fascinated by the same themes, the interplay between positive and negative space, the layering and distressing of surface, the unpredictable and the accidental. These are constants in my work.

As well as continuing to work with clay, I have, over the last few years, diversified into 2D Mixed Media, repurposing old metal shelves, wooden pallets, anything with an interesting surface that can be modified and developed. Techniques used in my ceramics, have themselves been repurposed and reused  in the 2D works and vice versa. The sense of play remains and continues to guide my process.