Ceramic sculptor Peter Hayes has always been interested in the history of ceramics, why and how ‘things’ are made. His interest was extended after he spent several years travelling through Africa working with various tribes and village potters and being intrigued how, with limited technology and basic tools, they were able to get such exquisite, beautiful surfaces.
He found the same inherent skills in India, Nepal, Japan and New Mexico, and it was in Japan where he first discovered Raku and the whole Shinto idea of working with opposites – fire and water, rough and smooth, humble and powerful, ying and yang. Ideas that have shaped his work ever since. Adopting ideas picked from by building up layers of textured clay, combined with the burnishing and polishing of surfaces, to achieve the opposites of rough and smooth. He has also introduced other minerals into the Raku ceramic surface such as iron and copper, and with the elements of time and erosion, the individual pieces take on their own developing surface.
Peter works in both small-scale and large-scale ceramic forms, the latter of which have been placed in the landscape with his aim that the work should not compete with the landscape but evolve within the environment.
Peter also works in Bronze and works with a foundry in Jaipur,
Peter lives and works from his studio in Bath and is now one of the leading exponents of his art.
Peter explains “In practice I go by the seat of my pants. I have always worked this way, not going by any rules or methods.
I find it joyful to work with many different materials. Each has its own character, its own limits, its own tolerance – some materials fight back, some play the game.
Finally, I think it’s the material that is in charge and it will only let you make what it wants. It is my job to push it to its limits and somehow an equilibrium is made between maker and material.”
