ceramicist ‘Pottery makes my soul sing’
Alex longmore, 42, is a fashion stylist. She lives in West london.
My job requires me to look good, but I’m happiest when I’m sitting on a stool with a half-built pot in front of me, arms coated to the elbows in clay, apron smeared with it. It’s really the only time I’m ever truly in the moment. as well as image, my day job in fashion is all about staying connected. My phone is never more than a couple of inches from my hand as it might ring with calls from new clients, press or designers; and I could be uploading the latest look on Instagram or posting to twitter. It’s all part of being entrepreneurial in the modern world – but giving yourself a chance to switch off from this technological whirl is absolutely vital for my mental health and wellbeing.
My parents were artists, and as a child I always wanted to follow in their footsteps. My first taste of ceramics came during art a-level and I was hooked. then, just before I sat my exams, both my parents died – my mother succumbed to cancer and my father to a heart attack. I went to live with my aunt and uncle who are absolutely wonderful, but at the time
they felt that after such trauma and huge change in my life, the foundation course at art college I was planning might not offer me much-needed structure. so in the end I read art History at university, and afterwards got into fashion styling. My dreams of becoming a ceramicist were confined to the “what might have been”.
Everything changed six years ago. a therapist I was seeing to help me deal with delayed grief kept talking about “finding my bliss”. It sounded trippy but the idea of finding your purpose made me think, perhaps I should revisit my old dream?
so I enrolled in a ceramics evening class at a local college. I felt a bit nervous when I arrived the first night but I sat down with a piece of clay and I didn’t lift my head for three hours; it was total immersion. We worked with coil and slab building, concentrating on basic techniques. It was like going back to school but I didn’t care. I just loved feeling my hands in the clay. It’s so organic and grounding. I have loved it ever since and would never miss a class. I found my own style starting to develop, and in the end I asked the tutor, who I knew had a studio, whether I could rent a spot there so I could continue my hobby.
Ceramics is a relaxing activity which relieves stress, but that doesn’t mean the process isn’t sometimes stressful. Many things can go wrong: recently
I had a piece with expensive gold lustre I’d spent hours on, and it cracked in the kiln. I was heartbroken. but that’s part of the learning process. People also seem to really like what I create, which is lovely. two summers ago
I had a little exhibition of my work and to my amazement everything sold.
I feel my life is so much more balanced since rediscovering my love for ceramics. If I have a very hectic time at work, I feel myself getting irrational and stressed. Nothing calms me more than a session in the studio. It makes my soul sing.
See Alex’s work on Instagram at @aslceramics w&h