About Melanie Knox's Work

Temperamental yet forgiving, clay has never ceased to amaze me for it's ability to respond to the touch of my hand; seemingly begging to be transformed from humble mud to a communicative work of art. It was during my training at the National Art School, Australia,where I fell truly in love with woodfiring; this very hands on process of turning earth into stone.

I use the technique of woodfiring, allowing the fire, hour after hour, to lay down natural glazes effected by the extreme heat and melt of wood ash. This serendipitous process enhances the loosely decorated surface design and exposes the perfectly beautiful raw materials inherent in the clay body itself.

The wood, mostly Oak, Pine and Redwood is collected, split and seasoned by time. The glazes are made from scratch, and like good bread, need to be made with the right ingredients. In order to get the results I am pleased with, red iron and manganese are used to create beautiful ambered yellows and grassy greens whilst black iron, used like ink on paper, flows as liquid mineral, across the cool, skin-like surface of the clay.

I am inspired by Japanese and Korean woodfired ceramics. There is a quiet unpretentiousness about these pots; they don’t shout with overworked color or intricate design but ask more to be lived with and looked at, like a long friendship, until the richness and depth speaks for itself..the subtle imperfections of the glaze, the vigor of the clay, ancient forms having been made by the potter so many times that they appear to have been thrown, removed from the wheel and fired..no more fiddling around, no more touching, just done.