Paul Wearing
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Paul Wearing's hand-built sculptural vessels are inspired by nature's seasons and cycles. He is drawn to the vessel as a great symbol of civilisation and one that echoes the built environment in which he lives in Cardiff, Wales.
Naturally occurring textures found in both urban and rural environments undergo transformation through the forces of growth and decay: occurrences which Wearing finds both inspiring and life-affirming. He renders such textures in his work through the use of volcanic and blistering glazes. The tension between the orderly, symmetrical handmade forms and the glaze phenomena in his work, further bring into focus, aspects of the human condition.
Wearing's vessels are formed using two techniques. Press-moulding enables him to quickly form the base, whilst coiling is a slower, more meditative approach allowing flexibility and a different approach to control over the vessel shape and size as it develops. Certain marks and textures which reveal the making process are left as a ground for the glazing.
He is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association and was elected to its Governing Council in 2018. He studied ceramics to post graduate level, and exhibits and delivers workshops across the UK and internationally. He has been the recipient of numerous funding awards from the Arts Council of Wales, and is currently a Director of the Fireworks Clay Studios cooperative in Cardiff, where he has been an active member since 2007.
EDUCATION
2003-04 - MA Ceramics, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
1997-2000 - BA (Hons) Ceramics, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
RECENT CERAMICS FAIRS INCLUDE
Art in Clay; Ceramic Art London; Ceramic Art York; Ceramics in the City; Earth & Fire; Grassi Messe, Leipzig; Made London; Oxford Ceramics Fair; Potfest; York Ceramics Fair
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
2022 - Homo Faber Guide representation by Michelangelo Foundation
2019 - Arts Council of Wales, Large Production Grant for creative professionals
2017 - Arts Council of Wales, Production Grant for creative professionals
2014 - Arts Council of Wales, Project Grant for individuals
2002 - Welsh Artist of the Year, Craft Section Prize Winner, Cardiff
2001 - Arts Council of Wales, Setting Up Grant for Craftspeople
PUBLICATIONS
2021 - 'Flux & Poise: Paul Wearing', Ellen Bell. Studio Potter. December 2021.
2021 - 'Cahier technique - les vases inclines de Paul Wearing', Sabina Silamo. Revue de la Céramique et du Verre. Novembre/Decembre 2021.
2021 - 'Paul Wearing: Tussen natuur en cultuur', Mels Boom, de kleine K, 80, Augustus 2021. Click to read.
2021 - Elemental Relationships. Jones, C. Ceramic Review, Issue 308, March/April 2021. Click to read.
2020 - Special Effect Glazes. Bloomfield, L.
2017 - Surface Decoration. Millward, K.
2015 - Post-war to Post Modern: A Dictionary of Artists in Wales. Jones, P. W. and Hitchman, I.
2015 - British Studio Potters' Marks (3rd Ed. Ed. Hazelwood, J.) Yates-Owen, E. & Fournier, R.
2005 - British Studio Potters' Marks (2nd Ed.). Yates-Owen, E. and Fournier, R.
2003 - Form: Contemporary Craft in Wales. Wales Arts International.
Paul Wearing's hand-built sculptural vessels are inspired by nature's seasons and cycles. He is drawn to the vessel as a great symbol of civilisation and one that echoes the built environment in which he lives in Cardiff, Wales.
Naturally occurring textures found in both urban and rural environments undergo transformation through the forces of growth and decay: occurrences which Wearing finds both inspiring and life-affirming. He renders such textures in his work through the use of volcanic and blistering glazes. The tension between the orderly, symmetrical handmade forms and the glaze phenomena in his work, further bring into focus, aspects of the human condition.
Wearing's vessels are formed using two techniques. Press-moulding enables him to quickly form the base, whilst coiling is a slower, more meditative approach allowing flexibility and a different approach to control over the vessel shape and size as it develops. Certain marks and textures which reveal the making process are left as a ground for the glazing.
He is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association and was elected to its Governing Council in 2018. He studied ceramics to post graduate level, and exhibits and delivers workshops across the UK and internationally. He has been the recipient of numerous funding awards from the Arts Council of Wales, and is currently a Director of the Fireworks Clay Studios cooperative in Cardiff, where he has been an active member since 2007.
EDUCATION
2003-04 - MA Ceramics, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
1997-2000 - BA (Hons) Ceramics, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
RECENT CERAMICS FAIRS INCLUDE
Art in Clay; Ceramic Art London; Ceramic Art York; Ceramics in the City; Earth & Fire; Grassi Messe, Leipzig; Made London; Oxford Ceramics Fair; Potfest; York Ceramics Fair
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
2022 - Homo Faber Guide representation by Michelangelo Foundation
2019 - Arts Council of Wales, Large Production Grant for creative professionals
2017 - Arts Council of Wales, Production Grant for creative professionals
2014 - Arts Council of Wales, Project Grant for individuals
2002 - Welsh Artist of the Year, Craft Section Prize Winner, Cardiff
2001 - Arts Council of Wales, Setting Up Grant for Craftspeople
PUBLICATIONS
2021 - 'Flux & Poise: Paul Wearing', Ellen Bell. Studio Potter. December 2021.
2021 - 'Cahier technique - les vases inclines de Paul Wearing', Sabina Silamo. Revue de la Céramique et du Verre. Novembre/Decembre 2021.
2021 - 'Paul Wearing: Tussen natuur en cultuur', Mels Boom, de kleine K, 80, Augustus 2021. Click to read.
2021 - Elemental Relationships. Jones, C. Ceramic Review, Issue 308, March/April 2021. Click to read.
2020 - Special Effect Glazes. Bloomfield, L.
2017 - Surface Decoration. Millward, K.
2015 - Post-war to Post Modern: A Dictionary of Artists in Wales. Jones, P. W. and Hitchman, I.
2015 - British Studio Potters' Marks (3rd Ed. Ed. Hazelwood, J.) Yates-Owen, E. & Fournier, R.
2005 - British Studio Potters' Marks (2nd Ed.). Yates-Owen, E. and Fournier, R.
2003 - Form: Contemporary Craft in Wales. Wales Arts International.
