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Huw Phillips MSDC

Ceramics

About Huw
Huw Phillips is a potter based in Staffordshire, his work explores the expressive potential of clay through both thrown vessels and sculptural figurative forms. Huw is drawn to the material’s inherent versatility, its ability to shift from fluid to solid, from raw earth to refined object. Each piece is a dialogue between form and surface. Huw employs a range of finishing techniques, from fine burnishing slips to the unpredictable alchemy of saggar firings. These processes allow for both control and spontaneity, revealing textures and tones that echo the elemental nature of clay itself. Rooted.
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Huw discovered his passion for clay at the age of seventeen, when an evening pottery class introduced him to the quiet rhythm of the wheel and the transformative nature of clay. That early experience sparked a lifelong connection to making, one that led him to pursue a BA (Hons) in Ceramic Design in Stoke on Trent.

During his studies, Huw was fortunate to learn under influential tutors such as Derek Emms, whose guidance deepened his appreciation for the traditions and discipline of studio pottery. Those formative years shaped both his technical foundation and his understanding of clay as a medium rooted in history, patience, and touch.

Huw’s work is hand-thrown, exploring the soft, pliable quality of clay. The finished pots are burnished with a fine white slip, and saggar fired, creating a range of soft smoke and fire marks on the surface. In the saggar, the pots are wrapped in copper wire, leaves, string, salt, seaweed, and copper carbonate to achieve various surface marks and patterns through the reduction firing process.

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BA(Hons) Multi Disciplinary Design Ceramics, Staffordshire University

University Diploma Level 5 – Teaching in the lifelong learning sector, Staffordshire University

EXHIBITIONS/CERAMIC SHOWS

  • Tarpey Gallery, Derbyshire
  • Ceramic Wales
  • The Old Lock Up Gallery, Derbyshire
  • Stoke on Clay, Stoke on Trent
  • Celebrating ceramics, Oxfordshire
  • Potfest in the Pens, Penrith
  • Potfest in the Park, Pentrith
  • Midland Potters Association Exhibitions
  • Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke on Trent
  • BCTF Harrogate

COLLECTIONS

  • The Potteries Museum, Stoke on Trent, 20th-century studio pottery
  • Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Ceramics collection, slipware

COMMISSIONS

  • 1882 Ltd, Stoke on Trent
  • Illuminations Lighting, Stoke on Trent
  • Vaughan designs, Lighting


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