David William Sampson Ceramics

Often in ceramics; cracks, pin-holed glazing, mixing of clay and patchy slips are seen as defects, but I have created a body of work that enhances and celebrates these, each is still beautiful and valid in its own right. They have been made imperfectly-perfect with confident construction and finishes applied. Some will see the children and have an instant parental instinct, then look closer to see that they are decapitated, broken faced or damaged and it leaves people unknowing how to feel; this conjuring of mixture of emotions and it is that very element that evokes intrigue and conversations! Some people are unsure if to be scared, hate or if to love them even more. They are all intriguing little characters that are all individual and hold their own temperament, from princes to clowns and apomorphic elements creeping in, these children just want to play, be loved and adopted into a new family.

TOASTED Potters Talks

Our Potters Talks are FREE to come to, but we do suggest getting here early to ensure you get a seat! There is a full list below the images of potters for easy read.

Sat 29th 10:30:11:00Mark Dally will be demonstrating, his various slip trailing techniques and the use of paper resist stencils, onto the surface of greenware, whilst describing where his decorating influences come from.
Sat 29th 11:30-12:00Join ceramic artist and marine scientist James Coogan for a 30-minute talk on art, science, and the Arctic. Drawing on time spent working in polar environments.
Sat 29th 12:30-1:00Niraja Pahuja will present a live demonstration of her sgraffito technique, inviting you to discover the beauty of this intricate art form.
Sat 29th 1:30-2:00Bev Stevens will talk briefly about her life and return to ceramics but mainly about how the things she finds inspiring make their way into her work.
Sat 29th 2:30-3:00Pippin Peacock will be doing a short demo on how to add personality and expression into sculptural forms, showing techniques they use to craft a narrative in their work.
 
Sun 29th 10:30-11:00Pippin Peacock will be discussing how they left their career as a Character Designer for Disney/Netflix to pursue their passion for ceramics, delving into how they use that experience to bring life to their sculptures.
Sun 29th 11:30-12:00Mary Wright will be demonstrating how she facets pots while working at the wheel.
Sun 29th 12:30-1:00Ginnel and Snicket will be discussing how a background in archaeology, theatre, comedy writing and hair history all feed into her creative pottery practice.
Sun 29th 1:30-2:00Kevin Andrew Morris will demonstrate the use of moulds within his work
Sun 29th 2:30-3:00Peter and Gill White of Woburn Sands Clay delve into crystalline glaze processes, crystal growth, advanced firing schedules, glaze catchers, and the creation of truly one-of-a-kind pieces. 

Zivarna Murphy Ceramics

Zivarna hand forms textured vessels inspired by the cliffs and beaches along the rugged eroding East Yorkshire coastline where she lives. She impresses found beach treasures such as rocks, fossils and shells to texture her vessels and wearable offcuts (jewellery & brooches). Zivarna also uses wild clay found and reclaimed from her favourite beach in some of her pieces. Her work is thus imbued with a strong sense of place and connection to the natural organic landscapes surrounding her and are rooted in the erosion and loss of this landscape.

Nettleton Pottery

Using porcelain to create sculptural vessels and wall hangings, Laura’s work not only celebrates the northern landscape but also embeds her family’s history.
Laura is a collector and retriever, repurposing scavenged driftwood alongside vintage lace and crochet founded in her family’s craft heritage to impress the clay and its formations with memories and journeys, so creating a narrative that remembers the topography of well-traversed coastlines, coves and rockpools.
Laura is excited by the endless possibilities that can be achieved by layering and combining glazes, constantly experimenting to achieve pieces that uniquely represent the climatic changes within sky, earth, and water.

Carrie Kendra Ceramics

Carrie feels the greatest connection with clay through hand making. Her functional ware is created from rolled out slabs of porcelain white stoneware clay, handles are formed from squeezing strips of clay, capturing the skeletal impressions which are aesthetically striking, practical, and connect the maker to the user in a tangible handhold.
The clean white forms are decorated with bright contemporary patterns in cobalt blue and minimal splashes of vivid turquoise and midnight blue glazes.
Larger vessels are coil built and incorporate organic spiral textures, an ancient symbol representing the evolving journey of life.

Derby Museum & Art Gallery: TOASTED 2026

28th-29th March 2026. 36 potters from across the UK to show the midlands their work!
Cromartie pottery suppliers are there to buy from with on the day discounts, potters workshops (bookable only online), potters demos and talk which are free and can just turn up for, FREE entry, Pottery tombola (in aid of Derby Museums charity). 50 free ceramic bags – first 25 people each day (Saturday and Sunday), chance to win £50 of your ‘People’s Choice Award’ potter, Derby museum to wander and more!

More information to come soon

Elizabeth Pickup Pottery

Elizabeth’s work combines rustic, natural pottery with brightly coloured hand painted ceramics, inspired by a combination of Kandinsky’s colourful energy and the street art found in Manchester and beyond. Alongside her hand thrown work, Lizi has created a range of slab built vessels. slip decorated and raw fired. She has added layers of colours and textures onto a slab of terracotta clay. She then uses these highly decorated slabs to build unusual tableware that is then high fired to best contrast the clay body with the brightly coloured decoration. Each piece is totally unique and compliments her core range of homewares.

David William Sampson Ceramics

David William Sampson’s children are unapologetically themselves, they don’t follow the traditional rules of ceramics and so ‘imperfect’ in their creation but, this is encouraged, and just because they are created with a range of clays, cracks that are exaggerated with oxides and intentionally glazes, doesn’t mean these children are any less beautiful. The construction celebrates the individuality of each imperfectly-perfect child with confident construction and finishes. Sam Keens quote elegantly encapsulates the concept his children; “We come to love not by finding a perfect person but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly”.