Sketches Series | London Potters Members

Lucy Joines

I use my sketchbook for two reasons, one is for when I get those magical moments (usually when out for a walk in the wilds) when a very vivid idea just pops into your head and you know you have to get it down as quick as possible or it just disappears! I have heard many writers and musicians also referring to these mystical moments. The second reason I use my sketchbook is to plan out a 3D design. Gone are the days of making my sketchbooks look lovely, like we were encouraged to do during my years in art education, these days I don’t have time…I just need to quickly get that idea down using any material I have to hand, so I can then get on with the building process.
I have submitted a story board that much of my work is inspired by a collection of sketches referring to my Hope Boats, some very rough sketches of the triptych of dioramas I created for the London Potters Members exhibition in Morley 2025 and a few sketches of my Magic Bonsai collections.
One day I would love to create a little book of this story, my husband has written the poems, I just need the time to put it all together.

Olga Siruk

I sketch all the time on paper and on my iPad. I especially like making free drawings that are not always connected to a future sculpture. Very often these experiments help me find something new. On my iPad I often combine hand sketches with digital drawing and collage. But on paper I feel more emotion. It feels like my body is more involved in the process. I also love using real materials like ink, crayons and paint. Drawing feels very free to me while ceramics is usually a slower and more complex process. For me sketching is a way of thinking. It is also very practical. It helps me plan ideas, save time and avoid mistakes. Thank you to London Potters for this initiative. It made me look through my old sketchbooks again. When I feel stuck old sketches can help me think again and sometimes find a new direction.

Lindsay Miller

Sketching is an integral part of my design process; I often start with a series of small sketches on one page & then select the most interesting designs to work up into a larger sketch. My work is inspired by mid-century ceramics, an era of optimism & playfulness. I use bold colours & designs exploring pattern on a 3D form. These sketches are part of a series of work inspired by fruit & vegetables but also very much influenced by mid-century textiles. I work out the relationship between the form, colour & pattern in sketch form before venturing into clay.

Qi Fang Colbert

I work primarily with hand-built and thrown white stoneware with free-hand carved and inlaid original designs. The illustrated works celebrate different carving techniques (Kehua technique in Chinese, or Mishima, and sgraffito) on ceramics. Being an illustrator and artist, my ceramics are inspired by my original drawings and explore the interaction between 2D and 3D forms. I am sharing two sets of sketches; each intended for different purposes: one for sculptural forms and the other for wall-mounted tile collages. The first series are sketches for sculptural forms. The second series of sketches were created for wall tile collages, demonstrating how initial drawings served as templates for large-scale, intricate tile compositions.

Gail Altschuler

Our Sketches Series continues with Gail Altschuler, a London Potters member and former editor of London Potters Magazine, sharing how drawing and sketchbooks inform her ceramic practice. Gail’s sculptural vessels, vases and plates grow from sketchbook collections of observational drawings and her interest in art history. She usually plans her porcelain pieces before adding any decorative designs, using pencil, ink, charcoal, as well as iPad drawings and paintings.The porous porcelain becomes a three-dimensional page where she transforms sketches of everyday life—relationships, people on their phones, musicians, and visits to museums —into narrative ceramic works.

Paula Armstrong

Our Sketches Series continues with Paula Armstrong, the second London Potters member to share a glimpse into her creative process through drawing. Paula’s ceramic sculpture is deeply rooted in the language of natural forms. Inspired by cellular structures, seed pods, shells and unfolding botanical forms, her work explores emergence, resilience and the quiet transformations that shape our lives.

Neve Beill

Every ceramic piece begins with an idea.

For Neve Beill, sketching is an important part of the creative process—a place to explore form, movement and possibility before the clay is touched.

These pages offer a glimpse into the thinking behind the finished work, reminding us that the journey from sketch to ceramic is often as fascinating as the final piece itself.