Isatu Hyde: Beauty in Use at The Leach Pottery

Isatu Hyde: Beauty in Use is currently on show at The Leach Pottery, Cornwall. Isatu trained in the studio pottery tradition with Andrew Crouch in Ludlow, Shropshire, supported by a QEST Apprenticeship. Working mainly on the potter’s wheel with a range of clays, glazes and firing temperatures, she makes functional work that is rooted in use. Her inspiration draws heavily on pre-industrial craft from around the world, with her biggest love being Neolithic pottery which embraces function, beauty, ritual and play, whilst retaining a level of minimalism. Isatu says:

“I am interested in finding visual balance and elegance in the tension between strength and relaxation. I aim to make pots that are quiet but have poise and presence.”

Isatu currently works with stoneware and earthenware clay bodies, firing in electric and gas kilns. This year she has established a new workshop in rural Herefordshire, where she will continue making pots that are informed by use and harmonise with her environment.

After completing a degree in Sustainable Product Design at Falmouth University – during which she was, for a time, a weekly studio assistant to Jack Doherty at the Leach Pottery – Isatu was apprenticed to Andrew Crouch at The Marches Pottery. Her training centred on oil-fired reduction stoneware influenced by Chinese and Medieval European pottery. Her interest and experience in all of these themes have informed her work as she develops her skills as a potter, gradually forging a personal aesthetic that seeks to offer a rich but gentle addition to our natural environment.

On show at The Leach Pottery, Higher Stennack, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2HE until 2 July 2023.

More details: https://www.leachpottery.com/isatu-hyde-exhibition-beauty-rooted-in-use