Tableware by Sue Paraskeva

Here you can see some beautiful creations by Sue Paraskeva, a potter and artist who’s situated in the Isle of Wight. I originally came across her a couple of months ago on Vimeo but I decided not to bring the video onto the blog because it had a crazy amount of views and I didn’t want to regurgitate the same content that was already across the web. But as time’s passed it made sense to step away from the hype and focus on the tableware that she makes on a regular basis. So I pulled some photography from her website that I was fond of and wanted to explain a bit about her background and what she creates. For any of you that haven’t seen the short film yet I’ve placed it just below, it’s a spectacular watch and will definitely give you a feel for the creation process.

So Sue works from her own studio in Ryde and is a regular teacher of workshops, looking to inspire others and also to better her own work. When she throws the porcelain she uses a momentum wheel, something you will see at the start of the film, it’s an old school method but many individual potters still prefer this silent cyclical momentum kick wheel to the modern variable electric wheel. You basically kick or turn the wheel until it gets to a fast enough speed, you then repeat this process when it gets too slow or stops. An interesting fact I learnt this morning is that Eastern potters traditionally turn their wheel clockwise where as Western potters turn theirs anticlockwise, you learn something new everyday!

The reason I picked out Sue’s tableware from her portfolio is because it shows how dynamic she is with her hands, she almost creates objects that are identical to each-other but at the same time have their own handcrafted feel, subtle elements that are different. I also like the fact that these are purely functional and are pretty industrial in their form as well, the would blend into any home/environment with ease.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Sue Paraskeva I would head across to her portfolio page which is linked below. You can browse through her tableware section, her gallery work which has a more arty feel, and also a couple of videos which includes the one below. Enjoy.

www.sueparaskeva.co.uk

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