Pottering about

A long-time collector of British ceramics, from Staffordshire figures to contemporary pots, Mr Hearld (above) first tried his hand at decorating china in a ceramic cafe. A fast learner, he was soon designing spongeware for Emma Bridgewater. For his recent ‘Raucous Invention’ exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, he worked with ceramicist Roelof Uys from the legendary Leach Pottery in Cornwall on a series of handthrown stoneware platters decorated with birds and animals. When his preprepared stencils ran out, he drew in the wet clay with his finger: ‘Where there’s no safety net,’ he writes, ‘then there’s nothing to lose.’