Maker's Story

Sarah studied art in Liverpool, travelled the world, met her husband to be and settled down in De Zilk.

Where, after several years working as a potter for others and, under the influence of the Dutch potter Wim Borst, Sarah started to express and develop her distinctive work. The resulting colourful stone ware and porcelain are vehicles for Sarah to express her humour, but also with necessary thought provoking undertones.

Fun to make and a joy to live with 🤔😅
To make you live and think with a smile on your face 🤔
My work is my passion which I hope you can feel in those moments you use it .

The Process

Throwing clay is a passion of Sarah’s and all her pieces are built up from many thrown pieces, cut into and assembled to create a three dimensional canvas on which to cover with a spectrum of colours. on which to display her style.

Products

Q&A

What motivates you to make?

I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember. At school I was making crazy knitted jumpers to sell to my friends and that’s probably the reason that I decided on doing a degree course in fashion and textiles at Liverpool polytechnic. I only really got into ceramics when I came to Holland and I’m very glad I did as it still makes me very happy every day.

What and/or who are you most inspired or influenced by?


This is a difficult one because I get inspiration from a lot of different people and animals I suppose. I went to see a Grayson Perry exhibition a while ago and I noticed a couple of cracks in his amazing signature vases that I found quite inspiring knowing that they now fetch around £700,000 each! Just to prove that even with cracks it can still be perfect! But for my work I’ve always found Beryl Cook an inspiration. I enjoy her sense of humor that I also like to put into my work. I often get asked if I’m inspired by Niki de Saint Phalle. The truth is that I hadn’t heard of her until I looked her up after being asked and I must admit I can see the connection. I also truly admire Picasso’s ceramics and paintings. And David Hockney, and …...

What is your unique approach to your craft and how have you honed your skills?

I suppose on the basis that I haven’t really seen anyone else working how I do, my “unique” approach is that I try to make everything on the potters wheel, whatever the shape. For me that is the challenge as I enjoy throwing pots so much. I then assemble all the thrown pieces together to form the sculptural objects that I make. This is something I’ve taught myself and honed as a skill just by doing it for the last 30 years!

What is your defining or proudest moment as a maker so far?

That would be winning a prize I suppose. I’ve won a few prizes on ceramic markets in Gouda, Dwingeloo, somewhere in Belgium and in Oldenburg in Germany. But my most recent proudest prize moment was at the first world teapot competition in Jingdhezen in China when I received an award of excellence and got treated like a VIP! I also feel proud when I get to make a commission piece for someone that they are really happy with.

What is your dream project?

I’d love to be able to make another public art piece. I already have one sculpture on the roof of the library in Noordwijkerhout but as the budget there was very limited I had to make compromises and so I would love to just have a go at making something to be really proud of!