Joseph Ludkin

I trained in London at Roland Austin’s studio and spent time making and teaching at the Kiln Rooms and Crown Works Pottery. After stints at shared studios and working from a small studio at the bottom of my garden in South East London I moved with my family to the village of Rainton in rural North Yorkshire where I have set up Croft Pottery.

 I make predominantly functional pots which are often informed by or respond to particular locations either through materials or form;I use a lot of found materials in my practice, I dig clays and silts for clay body mixes and slip decoration from the Dales, Moors and sea shores that surround me and combine them with ash from organic sources such as trees, shrubs and plants as well as local rocks to make my glazes. This 'Gatherer' and often 'Alchemistic' approach adds an exciting personal journey of exploration and experimentation to my practice as well as creating a unique physical and emotional connection to the pots I make and the surrounding places I explore.

 My work is influenced by traditional studio pottery from the UK and Ireland as well as Japanese and Korean techniques and forms. I am especially obsessed with the Yunomi cup, this is the form I enjoy making most and is often the vehicle I use to represent my practice.