Andrew Vaughan is a ceramic artist based in Painswick, Gloucestershire, whose practice is centred on the demanding and inherently unpredictable process of Raku firing. Working from his studio in the Cotswolds, he creates both sculptural and functional vessels in which form, surface and the effects of fire are given equal importance.
Andrew's engagement with ceramics began in the 1980s, when he studied pottery at Wellington College. At the age of eighteen he established his first studio at his family home near Windsor, beginning a relationship with clay that has continued throughout his life. Although his subsequent career took him far beyond the studio, including periods spent living and working overseas, pottery remained a constant thread in his life and practice.
His experiences in places as diverse as Borneo, Oman, Houston, Holland and Scotland have informed an appreciation of landscape, material and atmosphere that is now evident in his work. Returning to the Cotswolds, Andrew has developed a distinctive approach to Raku, exploring the relationship between thrown form and the transformative effects of heat, smoke and reduction.