ray toms
Ceramic artist.
“For me, the enjoyment of pottery comes from taking a lump of clay and turning it into something beautiful and functional.”
Maker’s bio
Ray Toms was brought up in Cornwall, one of the sources of his inspiration. He is mostly self-taught, although he credits mastering the basic skills to a much-admired local tutor. He also trained at West Herts College. His pots are made from high-fired stoneware from clay mostly sourced from St. Agnes in Cornwall. The glazes are made by using locally sourced ash from different types of wood to create a variety of colours, and the slips are made mainly from porcelain. Ray's ceramics draw their influence from the Anglo-Japanese tradition. The deeply fluid textured surfaces of his pots reflect the rugged drama of the Cornish landscape and moving water of his youth, interpreted in a contemporary way.
