Gilles le Corre creates vessels and bowls on the wheel. The form is then manipulated and incised marks are applied to the clay to give a subtle, tactile surface. The forms of the vessels are purposely simplified to allow the surface texture to express itself. This collection is made using a very textured clay, full of iron beads and sand from an open coal mine where the clay has been untouched for generations.
All of Gilles Le Corre’s pots are thrown on the potter’s wheel using a range of stoneware clays. Shapes are altered while the clay is still soft, or assembled from thrown composite pieces, joined to construct taller, larger forms. Throwing marks are intentionally left in the finished pieces, the making process creating a ribbed effect that enhances the fluidity of the forms. Recent explorations using textured clays that still contain many of their impurities brings an unpredictable challenge in making the work, pushing the throwing of these pieces to the limits as well as adding a more mysterious and tactile quality to the surface of the pots.
