Member focus: Sunken Studio ceramicists share their love of clay
At Sunken Studio, we like to think of ourselves as being the friendliest community ceramics studio in Leeds. A place for like-minded souls to create, gather, meet and make.
That’s certainly the feedback we get from workshop and course attendees, who often join Sunken Studio’s membership after they’ve sampled a few classes with us.
Sunken Studio was founded with a mission to make making a lot less lonely. Our courses and workshops – everything from fast and filthy taster sessions, or getting to grips with the potter’s wheel, to masterclasses with expert studio potters – act as a gateway into the heady world of ceramics… Which often leads to membership of Sunken Studio. Once you’ve started, you’ll be hooked.
Photography by Philip Scott, pots by Philip Scott
Clay as therapy
Studio member Philip Scott finds the making process pretty addictive: “When you’re just making stuff, practising and doing things yourself, I find it therapeutic and calming,” he says.
Philip joined Sunken Studio as a Studio Member in October. He’d been working for a garden design company and was made redundant. Already into art, photography and pottery, he saw redundancy as a sign, and decided to go full-time freelance. “I threw myself into it. I'm doing pottery, a bit of photography and event styling too – a few different ventures. At some point I need to figure out where my niche is, but right now I'm just exploring everything.”
“I had free rein to go whenever I wanted”
Membership at Sunken Studio is giving Philip the opportunity to discover what he loves. “Along with a lot of people, I enjoyed watching The Great Pottery Throw Down. I decided I wanted to take it up, so I did a course. That was just over a year ago.” He’d planned to join Sunken Studio and access it at evenings and weekends but, once he was made redundant, it opened the door for him: “Suddenly I had free rein to go whenever I wanted.”
And, in the space of just a year, Philip has perfected his practice to the extent he’s taking commissions for his work, selling at fairs, and spending a lot of time at Sunken Studio. “I go at least four times a week, for several hours in the afternoon,” he explains. “I really enjoy coming – time just flies by.”
Membership options
As a Studio Member, Philip can come to Sunken Studio whenever he chooses, in a pre-booked slot for throwing at the potter’s wheel or hand-building at a workbench. We also have Community Memberships, where members can access up to four sessions at Sunken Studio per month on a Monday evening or Sunday afternoon. For both memberships, there’s an extra charge for house clay and firing services.
Mood booster
Working with your hands – and getting drawn into the tactile, soothing feel of working with clay – is known to boost your mental health. With so many of us desk-bound, tied to screens and working in isolating environments, it’s no wonder Sunken Studio has proven so popular since it launched from founder Rebecca Catterall’s Roundhay basement in Autumn 2016.
Since moving to its much larger home in Hunslet, Leeds, Sunken Studio has been building a coworking community of creative and technically-minded types – people who make because it’s rewarding, fulfilling, and affirming.
In the studio, friends are made, advice and support are given, and post-pottery pizza catch-ups are a thing. There’s the chance to take part in studio open days and potters’ markets. Equally, if you want to work undisturbed, with your head down and your earbuds in, you can do that too. As a space, Sunken Studio is bright, airy and buzzing with creative vibes. “There’s always someone to look up to,” explains Philip. “There’s a real breadth of people, some who are at the beginning, and some who do really amazing things that you aspire to do.”
Sunken Studio’s members work alongside each other collaboratively. There’s often a tutor or fellow member around to offer a nurturing, helping hand…or share gentle words if something doesn’t turn out as planned.
Photography by Philip Scott, pots by Philip Scott
Pottery as process
But that unexpected aspect of pottery is something Philip really likes: “It’s the joy of the fact you never quite know what your piece is going to be like when it comes out. The kiln is a volatile place. There’s a thrill that it might be even better than expected. There’s a sense of anticipation: it always feels like Christmas when you’re taking things out of the kiln.”
And then of course, there’s the actual process of making it. “Clay is a little bit temperamental,” reveals Philip. “You can only change it so many times, but I like how you can just play around with form until you’re happy with it. With other arts and crafts, if you do something, it can be irreversible. With clay, you can keep touching and prodding until you’re happy with it, which is really nice.”
Philip was recently commissioned to create a full dinner service, which he hand-built. He was able to set up a dreamy photoshoot (check it out on Instagram here) to showcase his creations. “It's nice to use all my different skills, and I’m really enjoying combining things like setting up shoots for the pottery, to help make the business work.”
Being a Studio or Community Member at Sunken Studio doesn’t mean you have to make a career out of pottery. Our members join for lots of reasons: to improve their skills in throwing, hand-building or glazing, to learn new techniques, to boost their mental health, to give them a break from their day-to-day life, or just to come visit their ‘happy place’, as Philip describes Sunken Studio.
But for Philip, his future seems set to stay in ceramics: “I’m not earning loads and loads of money, but I'm earning enough to live which is fine. I get to pursue the things that make me happy, and get paid to do it, and I’m really enjoying combining my skills, like setting up shoots for the pottery I make. I feel so lucky to be able to do the things I love, to do the things that are my hobbies as my job.”
Find out more
To see more of Philip’s work, click here, or to view his Etsy shop click here.
To discover more about membership opportunities with Sunken Studio click here.
Photography by Philip Scott, pots by Philip Scott