CRAIG KOPJAS – A potter who draws inspiration from the Pembrokeshire sea and landscape, Salvador Dali… and… Monty Python! Born in 1963 Craig grew up and first gained an interest in ceramics in Derby a city close to the English potteries of Staffordshire.

From an early age he had an interest in pottery and he left school to study the subject at college where his work gained a high degree of popularity, not least for the fact that he bypassed some of the more traditional techniques to experiment with glazes and throwing, producing, over the course of some ten years, a unique and distinctive style.

He moved to the county of Pembrokeshire, West Wales because he felt an immediate empathy with the natural beauty of the area. A rugged coastline with an abundance of rock formations and pools combined with the inland gritty rawness of hills and moorland provided Craig with a rich vista of images that he so brilliantly incorporates in his work.

Never one for conformity, Craig Kopjas, son of a Polish Father and Yorkshire Mother, takes some of his inspiration from the colour, imagery, style and format of a disparate group of artists such as Dali, Lucy Rie, Hans Coper, David Bowie and, amazingly, the Monty Python series (reflecting an irreverence for normality).

The focus on Celtic imagery blends well in his work, dragons, sun symbols and earth colours abound making him a popular artist with galleries in Ireland, Mainland Europe, the United Arab Emirates and the USA.

THE MAKING PROCESS.

I use a stoneware clay for throwing, it is fired to 1250 degrees , I then use my own glaze formulas which have taken years to get right, my throwing process is unique in that it involves using a propane torch which is a kin to controlling a fiery dragon with a flame nearly 12 inches long. Then using the heat to dry out the clay, I can make forms which normally can not be achieved by throwing, I start by throwing a vase and pulling it out until it is just going to drop and then I dry it and repeat until the plate is horizontal. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I do

regards Craig