Look, think, do: Bowl

Description of this object or artwork

This bowl was made by potter Elspeth Owen, who lives in Grantchester, a village just outside Cambridge. Elspeth does not throw her pots on a wheel but instead takes a small ball of clay and pinches it into shape, producing delicate bowls and vessels of different shapes and sizes.

She decorates her pieces by painting them with liquid clay (slip) in different colours and then polishes them using a stone. Elspeth has used the same stone for many years, wearing it away on one side.

Touch is very important to Elspeth. She believes that it is only through touch that we can really understand an object – she calls this ‘unavoidable knowledge’. Elspeth makes objects that she wants to be touched and passed between people so she has mixed feelings about seeing her work in a glass display case in the museum, where it is out of reach!

You can see and hear Elspeth talk about this bowl in the video below