Alison Sandeman

Running her own workshop and teaching for over 25 years has provided a balanced and practical approach to Alison’s life as a potter and teacher. Her natural teaching skills allow her to combine the creative life of the maker with an enthusiastic sharing of techniques and ideas. She enjoys nurturing students through all levels of pottery with a balance of patience and understanding. Alison’s courses are hardworking with a good mix of fun and enjoyment.

Beginners receive a thorough grounding in the basic pottery techniques: handbuilding and throwing, enabling them to return to West Dean for other courses with some confidence.Those with more experience are introduced to new ideas and methods of making enabling them to increase their confidence and skill base.

On the throwing and turning courses students improve their techniques and benefit from the use of their own wheel with one to one tuition.

Many of Alison’s students continue to develop their interest in ceramics at West Dean and elsewhere while some have gone on to set up their own studios and exhibit.

Alison is essentially a practical potter and particularly enjoys teaching throwing, turning, and the handbuilding techniques: slabbing and slumping .She also has a special interest in and runs courses on Raku with some kiln building, pit firing and throwing with porcelain.

Alison teaches one of the Summer School weeks with a very strong emphasis on Raku.

The Glazing and Firing course which takes place once a year, helps students with their own studios to understand the theory and practical aspects of glazes, glazing and firing kilns.

On all courses, demonstrations, discussions, and audio visuals are used to illustrate techniques and practical points but are kept to a minimum in favour of the student making and doing.

As a functional potter Alison has been inspired by traditional English Country Pottery along with the ceramics of the East: China, Japan, and Korea. Her work when handled and used in a domestic setting creates feedback which is an important part or the process and thus an inspiration to make more. Currently she is using her throwing and handbuilding skills to make contemporary work in stoneware, Raku, porcelain and pit fired pieces.

Photography is an important part of the inspiration process.

“The concepts for my Raku work come from my responses to the surrounding Sussex landscape, most particually to the ridges, marks, and cut throughs natural and manmade. These have a daily but sub-conscious influence on my making and creative life which, coupled with a lively photographic record are an integral part of the making process.”

The Raku process is itself an inspiration: “The heat, fire and activity never fail to create short bursts of excitement and tension.With this work I relish the challenge of transition from traditional to contemporary.”

Alison’s work can be seen at her own studio:
Cinnabar Ling Pottery, Stansted Park near Rowland’s Castle in West Sussex.
Tel .023 92 631598 for times.
She exhibits at:
Cinnabar Ling Pottery.
West Dean College and The Sussex Barn Gallery.
With the Southern Ceramic Group.
With the local Open Doors Art Trail.
With Bridget Woods; watercolour artist, in galleries, museums, and stately homes.
Twice a year with Barbara Mullins at Graffham Weavers.
Alison was the guest exhibitor at Bridget’s exhibition in June 2009 at 54, The Gallery
Shepherd Market , London.

Alison studied pottery at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art 1967-1971 under David Ballantyne and Peter Stoodley. After college she trained in Brussels with the Belgian potter and sculptor Antoine de Vinck, and then with Michael Leach in North Devon.

Alison has been teaching on the Short Course Programme and running the Pottery Department for over 25 years at West Dean. She teaches making skills and ceramic technologies to the students on the MA Conservation and Diplomas in Conservation of Ceramics and Related Materials.

She teaches occasionally for the Conferences Department. Has advised and taught children and primary school teachers at West Dean and elsewhere.

Alison has contributed to the Professional Conservators in Practice Programme and has undertaken some experimental firing technologies with the Building Conservation Courses.

Alison’s work is in private collections worldwide and has been purchased by :
West Dean College near Chichester
Portsmouth City Museum.
Haselmere Museum, Surrey.

In 1979 Alison wrote the first practical book on porcelain “ Working with Porcelain”
Published by Pitman.

Alison is an associate member of the Craft Potters Association and a full member of the Southern Ceramic Group.
She is a member of SWAG : The South West / West Sussex Art Group.