My time at Wobage
I was lucky enough to spend Tuesdays at Wobage as a part time apprentice to Jeremy Steward from November 2024 until April 2025. I am endlessly grateful for this transformative time spent with Jem.
Not only did I learn the fascinating ins and outs of how to run a working pottery, but I also had ample time to chat with Jem about his experiences and thoughts as a maker. This proved vital for helping me question why I want to make and the sort of things that make me happy.
We talked a lot about the value found within the making. How as creatives, we balance the concept and the technical development of the work. These two elements feed into each other to create a unified piece of work. This idea has fuelled my most explorative making and provided an alternative outlook to the design based practice that was beginning to hold me back.
The magic can live within the marks, the connection with the material rather than a predetermined concept.
Salt firing at Wobage with Jem and Petra has been magical. The first time that I met them both and helped out was on my 22nd birthday. It was quite literally the best birthday I have ever had. I got to chat lots with Petra Steward, throughout firings and between tasks and she is an incredible potter and woman. Her practice is so rooted and grounding, and this sense really comes through in both her pieces and her conversation. I really admire the way that she works and is. After this wonderful experience, I knew that salt firing is what I want to do. The salt fired pottery has such a pearlescent shine that it appears much more alive than the other pottery I have been working on. The firing process collaborates with the marks and forms to create something completely different than both the individual components. It is like getting to work directly with the fire, collaborate with the flame.
Me, Petra and Jeremy Steward after firing the small Phoenix kiln on my birthday
The community at Wobage is really special. Everyone at the Tuesday classes have been so welcoming and inspiring. Generous with giving advice, anecdotes of their own pots and insight into how they have found potting. This camaraderie has been getting me through this final year of university and giving me so much hope and excitement for the future! Patia Davis, a brilliant potter also working at Wobage has been continuously welcoming and kind, sharing so generously her time and wonderful conversation. I hope one day to share a studio with such likeminded and talented makers as these.
I had been teaching myself how to throw for almost two years before receiving tuition from Jem. I have excelled more than I can imagine; gaining confidence in pulling up weight; being able to make replicated forms and above all else finding out how to instill a part of my creative flare into the throwing process. If you have seen Jem’s work then you know he is a master craftsman and has a special talent for conveying organic movement into his pots. This natural touch was something that I had been trying to articulate in my work before but did not know how to. Jem has given me the confidence to explore and experiment with my work in order to get closer to finding this element for myself.
It is has truly been a blessing to be at Wobage. I have learnt so much about pots, firing, throwing and mark making but mostly I have learnt about myself. Wobage is a really special place, with even more special people. If you ever have the chance to visit it, I cannot recommend it enough.
