The Studio @ Two Steps Cottage - George Lane - South Petherton TA13 5BU

Clive Pallot's studio is in the centre of South Petherton and is open for solo and group exhibitions from time to time, and all other times by appointment - T: 01460 241 671

Clive began to explore ceramics at Putney School of Art in 2001 and set up his own studio after moving to South Petherton in 2004.  He had long previously completed an Art & Design Foundation course at Hornsey College of Art, and went on to graduate from Kingston Polytechnic's School of 3D Design, back in 1983.

Clive pursued four subjects for his most recent open studio exhibition:

• English Delft flower bricks.  Originally made in the mid-to-late C18th, these brick-shaped forms had apertures to hold flower stems.  Clive's flower bricks have been meticulously made from finely cut and mitred slabs of clay and the surface printed using stain-laden, patterned textiles to achieve a blue and white decoration in the Delft tradition.
• Chelsea Pottery glazes.  Dozens of small jars of glazes from the collection of Joyce Morgan, Chelsea's founder potter, found their way to Clive's studio in 2007.  Many of these could well date from the fifties and required very carefully restoration to make them usable once again.  Some of the more vibrant colours have been used to decorate a series of brush pots - in celebration of the historic Chelsea Pottery.
• Coil pots.  These large-scale, finely coiled pots move in directions the potter's wheel wouldn't otherwise permit.  Each one takes many days to create using such fine coils - and frustratingly a few disintegrate during their fragile, un-fired state.  Lastly they are treated with metal oxides which stains through the white opaque glaze during the final firing.
• Houseleek pots.  Clive is a passionate gardener and has always been fascinated by the houseleek - Sempervivum.  The form of these plant pots has been astracted from the form of the plant itself and will allow the plant to spread and multiply into a geometric pattern.