My name is Hayley Farrelly and I am a potter working from a studio log cabin
at my home in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire.
My earliest memory of playing with clay was in my second year at high school. Having joined the pottery club I can remember the joy of hand-building a pottery house, which, to this day, still sits in my garden over 30 years later.
For many years afterwards I would admire the craftmanship of pottery and wished I could make such beautiful pieces for myself. So, six years ago, I took the plunge and joined a pottery class and, guided by my very experienced and patient teacher, I started to learn pottery skills. Each week my teacher would set me new challenges and his mantra 'every piece of pottery made is an opportunity' stuck in my head. As I continued to learn, I honed my skills into the potter I am today.
Not being satisfied with my weekly class I decided to set up my own pottery studio at home. Our log cabin in the garden became my creative space and with potter's wheel and kiln installed my days are now filled with making, throwing, glazing and creating.
If you have ever visited a pottery suppliers you will know about the vast array of clays and glazes on offer. It can be daunting to know which ones to choose.
I love to use the delicate and translucent celadon glazes for my pieces, adding texture and depth with patterns, stamps and mixing different complimentary colours to the stoneware. I also use the Potter's Choice glazes which achieve a more vibrant and often drippy, iridescent effect which means that each piece is truly unique.
The joy of opening the kiln after each glaze firing really is something to experience as you never really know what delight you are going to see or what unexpected glaze effect you are going to achieve.