Wild cards

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Mother and Father (Love and Kaos) by Vicky Lindo and Bill Brookes, courtesy of the artists

Vicky Lindo and Bill Brookes have taken contemporary ceramic art by storm, winning the grand prize at the British Ceramics Biennial last year. CR’s Annie Le Santo spoke to them to discover more about their collaborative process

It was an encounter with a historical harvest jug that began Vicky Lindo and Bill Brookes’ award-winning journey with clay. While their primary-coloured creations may not immediately summon the honey glazes and naive hand of a 19th-century farmer-potter, a second look reveals a common thread: storytelling. In 2011, Lindo was returning to her day job at The Burton Art Gallery and Museum when a large collection of North Devon slipware arrived for display. Her instant connection with the jug caught her off-guard. ‘Sometimes something just speaks to you,’ she recalls, ‘Everything about that jug was perfect – its size, condition, decoration. It blew me away. I wanted it, so I decided to make my own.’

EARLY DAYS

Within months, Lindo had joined a pottery class, spending evenings learning sgraffito, a form of decoration made by scratching through contrasting layers of slip or glaze. She suspected she might be on to something when the teacher offered to purchase her first platter, but unfortunately the classes were cut short due to lack of students. Lindo, already hooked, couldn’t stop there. A ‘paint-a-pot’ cafe provided a temporary firing solution and before long the washing machine in the couple’s kitchen was replaced with a kiln….

Subscribe to continue reading this article in issue Ceramic Review Issue 304 (July/August 2020).

For more details visit vickylindo.co.uk

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