'Raku is a conversation between the maker and the fire. I can shape the form and control the process, but I can never completely dictate the result. It is that element of uncertainty - and the individuality it gives to every piece - that keeps me coming back to the kiln.'
Raku occupies a particular place within Andrew's practice because it introduces an element of uncertainty into an otherwise carefully controlled process. Vessels are removed from the kiln at extremely high temperatures and subjected to a rapid sequence of atmospheric changes. Flame, smoke and air interact with the glaze and clay body, producing surfaces that cannot be precisely predicted or replicated.
For Andrew, this unpredictability is not incidental to the work but fundamental to it. Each firing becomes part of the making process, with the final surface emerging through a combination of preparation, technical control and the variables inherent in fire. The resulting vessels are therefore unique objects: individual records of a particular firing and a particular moment.
Andrew works across a range of forms, from tall vessels and moon jars to wine sleeves and larger sculptural pieces. His approach combines the discipline of wheel-thrown pottery with an openness to the marks, variations and atmospheric effects created during firing. Richly textured surfaces, contrasting areas of lustre and matt glaze, and the characteristic traces of smoke and reduction give the work its distinctive visual language.
There is a strong sense of place within Andrew's practice. His studio in Painswick sits within the landscape of the Cotswolds, and the surrounding hills and changing qualities of light provide an enduring source of reference. Rather than attempting to reproduce the landscape literally, Andrew's work responds to its qualities of colour, texture, atmosphere and geological character.
The balance between control and chance is central to the work. Andrew establishes the form and directs the firing, but ultimately allows the kiln and atmosphere to make their contribution. It is this dialogue between the maker and the elemental forces of fire, air and earth that gives his Raku its individuality.
Andrew Vaughan's ceramics occupy the space between vessel and sculpture. They are objects made through a highly physical and technically demanding process, where the integrity of the form is complemented by surfaces that bear the evidence of their making. Each piece is consequently both a considered ceramic object and a unique document of its own transformation.