Ickworth Exhibition 2025 - Ceramics

As we prepare to return to the iconic Ickworth Estate we're delighted to focus on the ceramics that will be on show. The work this year includes sculptural vessels, functional tableware, burnished forms, and richly decorated surfaces. The diversity in approach highlights the many ways clay can speak—through texture, pattern, firing, and form. 

 

Sarah Cannell draws directly from the marshes and lanes of the Waveney Valley, combining her background in painting with thrown earthenware and porcelain forms. Her pieces echo the vibrant, subtle shifts in colour and light found in nature. 

 

John Chipperfield, a founding member of the society, presents bold vessels with expressive, dramatic glazing. His forms—jugs and dishes—serve as dynamic canvases for experimental surface design, reflecting his decades of experience and teaching. 

 

Marie Coomber creates tactile stoneware with exposed clay surfaces and smooth glazes. Her work is deeply inspired by the natural world—from the hills of Suffolk to the skies of South-West France—and crafted to elevate daily rituals. 

 

Cathy D’Arcy brings a vivid palette and rhythmic patterning to her pieces, shaped by a childhood in East Africa and a career that bridges textiles and ceramics. Her richly decorated vessels celebrate colour and form. 

 

Moira Goodall uses ancient techniques to hand-build burnished pots that are smoke-fired in sawdust. Her work captures the coastal tones of salt marshes and incorporates textures found along the shore, striking a balance between intention and natural unpredictability. 

 

Neville Tatham creates functional slipware pottery rooted in English tradition, using locally sourced, low-firing clays to produce environmentally conscious forms. His work draws inspiration from pre-industrial rural ceramics, featuring hand-thrown vessels decorated with slip-trailed and incised designs, where the warmth of terracotta and the contrast between raw and glazed surfaces remain central to the aesthetic. 

 

Shelia Madder produces elegant slip-cast porcelain, layering coloured clays and carving fingerprint-like textures to emphasise human connection. Her pieces reflect the values of slow design and tactile engagement. 

 

Simon Sharpe treats clay as a three-dimensional canvas. Drawing from art history and symbolism, his work blends calligraphy, sgraffito, and abstract mark-making to create thought-provoking vessels rich in meaning and visual complexity. 

 

Usch Spettigue throws functional porcelain enhanced with sgraffito and layered glazes. Her work embraces surface texture and experimentation with colour, including spray-glazing techniques that offer striking depth. 

 

Pat Todd captures spontaneous moments in porcelain slip, producing delicate bowls and wall-mounted pieces inspired by the Suffolk coastline. Her glazes and textures suggest the ephemeral qualities of light, landscape, and sea. 

 

Janene Waudby reflects her lifelong connection to nature and the sea in work that is both elemental and refined. Using slips, oxides, and fire to influence the final form, her ceramics become quiet collaborations with the natural world. 

 

Pam Schomberg, an honorary member, is influenced by historical objects—from ancient armour to Egyptian relics. Her primarily sculptural pieces draw on decades of experience, with a parallel body of work in porcelain jewellery and decorative homeware. 

 

More information here >>