"After almost fifty years I still retain a vivid memory of making my first pot as a child from clay, dug with my hands, from the bed of the brook that ran through our village. I recall its cool, wet slipperiness, its pungent river smell, and its colour, which changed from a shiny blue grey to a matt tan as it dried and oxidised. I remember the distinctive but indescribable sound as I worked the clay on a slab of concrete at the water's edge. I had already discovered fire, but it was not till later that I learned how to bring these two, so different, experiences together in ceramics.

To the language of material and process is added the vocabulary of form. This has been much influenced in recent years by visits overseas; in particular as a guest of Ryoji Koie in Japan four years ago. The lasting impact is the way of being I found necessary when working in a culture so different from the familiar. It is like becoming a child again where things are seen freshly and approached without prejudice or hierarchy and where play is a serious business."

Written by Sebastian Blackie for the catalogue to his exhibition restlessearth, Galerie Besson 2004

Above: Sebastian Balckie in his studio, 2000

Curriculum vitae