Nicola Claxton

My first passion is pottery, followed closely by willow basket weaving. I started pottery whilst at Uni, it was a cheap indoors club with a great creative outlet, different to the academic learning. For quick projects whilst watching TV in the evening, crochet comes into its own. What I love is the creative process, I find it very mindful, but I do also love sharing the knowledge with others in the form of workshops.

I love pottery for the feel of the clay eg whilst throwing, willow for the sweet smell, and crochet for the colours. Pottery is a slow process from a lump of clay to finished article, for willow there is preparatory work and planning, whilst for crochet you can see immediate results. They all have different senses involved, but all three are very tactile.

What all three have in common is that I like creating utilitarian items: each one has a use eg pottery mugs, baskets for carrying, crochet for keeping warm, and if I am feeling really relaxed with time then I create objects just for fun eg crocheting Gnomes for key rings.

My design influences mostly come from the Natural world: my range of pottery pencil pots are a series of animals, willow is a wonderful natural, renewable resource.