Hannah McAndrew
My love for the material I work with has seen me move from a densely populated urban area to this quiet corner of rural Galloway. After my degree the desire to continue to learn about clay and its potential led me to find an apprenticeship with earthenware potter Jason Shackleton. Jason introduced me to the techniques of slip trailing and sgraffito which have formed the basis of my work since then.

I make pots with a purpose, pots for use in the home. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of creating a piece of work that will perform its task well and which will look attractive and be comfortable to have around the house. My work, thrown in red earthenware is decorated using coloured slips and a rich honey glaze. The decoration is applied to the surface of the pot whilst the slipped surface is still glistening wet. The very nature of this means that patterns applied need to be free and fluid to take full advantage of this state.

The decoration which is so key to my work takes its form from a wide variety of sources. I am particularly taken with the amusing antics of the partridges and pheasants which line the road on my trip to work and their comical strutting around the farmyard. I have used them as a basis for the ever more exaggerated plumage of the fantastical birds that have been appearing recently across my platters and jugs.

My collection of oak and horse chestnut trees in pots outside the studio have also found themselves being recreated in sgraffito across the surface of my work. Other influences include the strong naïve designs occurring across eastern European folk art, in particular the images used in their woven textiles and tapestries; rich many layered tulips are a particular favourite of mine. Of course the tradition of English slipware has a very strong place in my heart from the large commemorative chargers of Thomas Toft to the simple peasant country ware of the Devon area.

I love to make pots which are to be used in celebration of events, for weddings, births and as prizes. It is an honour to be able to create pieces which will be treasured and hopefully passed down the generations as the pieces of historic wares that have inspired my own work have been.

●2009: Elected professional member of the Craft Potters Association.
●2009 & 2010: Craft & Design Selected Awards Silver Award winner in ceramics.

Education
• 1997-2000: Manchester Metropolitan University, BA (Hons), Three Dimensional Design.

Recent Exhibitions and Shows
●November – December 2010: Christmas at Cambridge Contemporary Art Gallery.
●October 2011 onwards: Blackwell House, Windermere, Cumbria.
●October 22nd to 24th: Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester.
●October 1st – 29th 2010: Clay & Blogs: Telling a Story. Campbell House Galleries, Moore County, North Carolina USA
●September 17th – 19th 2010: Ceramics in the City, Geffrye Museum, Shoreditch, London.
●July 30th – August 1st 2010: Potfest in the Park, Hutton in the Forest, Penrith, Cumbria.
●June – July 2010: Group Summer Exhibition. Westerwald Museum, Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany.
●July 26th – September 12th: A Breath of Fresh Air, Cambridge Contemporary Art Gallery.
●June 2010: Hohr-Grenzhausen, Germany. Part of the UK contingent to exhibit at this ceramics market.
●29th – 31st May 2010: Spring Fling Open Studios event.
●January 23rd – March 13th 2010: Black and Gold, The Platform Gallery, Clitheroe.
●November 7th – January 10th 2010: Gifted, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
●October 22nd – 25th 2009: Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester.
●October 3rd – November 15th 2009: Autumn Exhibition, Parkfields Gallery, Ross-on-Wye.
●September 6th – October 10th: Feast of Pots, McGill Duncan Gallery, Castle Douglas.
●August 7 -9th 2009: Potfest in the Pens, Penrith.
●June 5 - 7th: The Contemporary Craft Fair, Devon Guild, Bovey Tracey.
●May 23 - 25th: Spring Fling Open Studios Event.
●April 25 - 26th: Ceramics in the Round, Buxton.
●January 31st – March 19th 2009: Visual Arts Scotland Exhibition, Edinburgh City Arts Centre.
● September 19 - 21st: Ceramics in the City, Geffrye Museum, London.
●September 2008: A Harvest of Harvest Jugs, contemporary harvest jugs at The Long Room Gallery, Winchcombe.
●August 15th – September 30th: Exhibition 04, The Red Barn Gallery, Penrith.
●August 8 - 10th: Potfest in the Pens, Penrith.
●June 6 - 8th 2008: The Contemporary Craft Fair, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey.
●May 17th – 18th 2008: ClayArt, Denbigh, North Wales.

Teaching and Demonstrating
●March 2011: Invited demonstrator for the Scottish Potters Association annual conference, Perthshire.
●April 2011: Invited on a tour to demonstrate in Cape Cod, Virginia and North Carolina USA.
●June 20 - 21st 2009: Demonstrating at the Slipware workshop at Taena Pottery, Gloucestershire.
•March 2006: Speaker for Young Enterprise Scotland, Wigtownshire.
•Winter 2003 - Spring 2005: Series of workshops for Careers Scotland’s Make It in Scotland road shows.

Other Experiences
●August 2008: In the firing team for the bottle kiln at Bideford for a Harvest of Harvest Jugs.
●May 2008: In the firing team for the bottle kiln at ClayArt, Denbigh, Wales.
•September 2004: Runner Up of P.S.Y.B.T / Royal Bank of Scotland business award.
•July 2004 and 2006: Arts and crafts co-ordinator for the Blair Atholl International Scout Jamborette.
•December 2001: Training grant received from S.A.C to fund apprenticeship.
•October 2001 - May 2003: Apprentice potter to Jason Shackleton, Laurieston House Pottery, Wallaceton.

Publications
●2010: Diary of a Craft Worker for Craft&Design Magazine, bimonthly.
●August 2008: Article for Ceramic Review.
●October 2008: Country Living Magazine.
●August 2008: World of Interiors Magazine.