After the tea bowl has been thrown on the wheel, it is left for a day or two to dry out a little bit. Then, when it is firm but still damp enough to be worked on, it is put back on the wheel upside down and turned with a metal turning tool in a similar way to wood turning.

This process allows me to be able to shave off excess clay and form the foot ring on which the tea bowl will sit when it is the right way up. At this stage I will also use this same tool to carve into the sides of the pot to create the distinctive dramatic ledges and texture, which is my signature design.

There is a certain element of risk in the way I do this, as the process has to be quite vigorous in order for it to succeed. For me, apart from unpacking the finished pots from the kiln after the glaze firing, turning the Tea bowl is the most satisfying and engaging part in the making process, where I can really begin to see the form of the pot come to life.

At this stage in the working process, a lot of thinking has already gone into the next stage in the development of the tea bowl, which is the glazing process. The layers of glazes applied to the work after the first, biscuit firing, will then gather and pool in the ledges and creases of the surface during the high temperature glaze firing.

After the kiln has cooled down and the pots are removed, each tea bowl will reveal a very individual rich depth of surface texture and colour, no two the same and always involving an element of chance which cannot be predetermined, a bit like an improvised guitar solo.