Andy Urwin

Andy Urwin is an artist and ceramicist originally from the Yorkshire dales. He studied art at Harrogate College and then a BA in Studio Ceramics at Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall.

He first became inspired by houses after moving to London and became obsessed with drawing urban landscapes. Andy has carried on this theme to the present day, but now combines his two core values: art and nature.

He makes ceramic houses using the traditional Japanese Raku technique – a rustic, if somewhat precarious, technique, using all of nature’s elements – earth, air, fire and water. The work is fired to a high temperature of almost 1000°c in a gas-fired kiln. It is then removed whilst still very hot and plunged into sawdust. The pieces catch fire and the carbon from the smoke infiltrates the cracks in the glaze. The works are then left to cool and then scrubbed clean with water, leaving a finish that is both unpredictable and beautiful.

The wonderfully free nature of this process is what drives Andy to produce these beautifully tactile pieces.