I’m so excited to be stocking a very limited number of these beautiful, smokey grey, moon-like saggar fired ceramics by Alison West. Alison is an artist based in Dartmoor who specialises in creating exquisite and thoughtfully produced tableware and vessels. She uses a unique and distinctive firing technique known as Saggar Firing, which results in the creation of natural surface patterns and decorations on her pottery. She is inspired by the beautiful Dartmoor landscape around her and uses Cornish Stoneware clay which is known for durability.
The process of saggar firing involves placing pots inside a gas kiln within a container called a saggar. Within the saggar, Alison combines locally sourced combustible materials such as pine cones, beech nuts, grasses, fungi, ferns, seaweed, wood shavings, and naturally occurring minerals. As the kiln is fired, the combustible materials inside the saggar ignite, producing vapours. These vapours permeate the pottery, creating unique and natural patterns and decorations on the ware. The entire surface decoration of a saggar-fired pot evolves from the moment the kiln is lit until the pottery has completely cooled. Unlike traditional glazing techniques or raku firing, where the surface design is fixed beforehand, the beauty of Alison’s work lies in the unpredictable and evolving patterns created during this process. Each piece becomes a unique work of art, cherished for its one-of-a-kind design.
Size: H7cm, Width 8.5cm at base, narrowing to 5.5cm at top
