Meet Laurence, also known as the Travelling Potter, the newest member of the Potterbeans
team. Sporting luscious fiery red hair, a bushy beard, weathered boots and a large smiley grin. Laurence is an open book, an embodiment of his nomadic way of life. Having previously lived in a van and currently finding solace on a sailboat, he has swiftly nestled into the Potterbeans studio with his hearty kick wheel and eclectic tool collection. As well as having his own pottery practice, Laurence is assisting head potter Lucy and will be creating a new and exciting collection.
Originally from Dorset, Laurence’s relationship with clay began at seven years old after attending a workshop at a school fair. A few years later, at eleven years old, his interest grew after discovering what he describes as “a big pile of mud” at the back of playground. He immediately started stomping in the brown, sticky stuff, only realising later that he had been helping a group of potters tread their clay. Laurence was invited to return and recycle more clay and soon began attending pottery classes. “I ended up loving it,” he explains, “and I’m still doing it now.” and I am still doing it now” he explained.
Laurence continued developing his skills and, when he was old enough, spent a year at the Leach Pottery. He then stayed on for a further six years at the world famous pottery, learning and developing his practise. However, nowadays other than focusing on wedging, throwing and pulling up to perfection, Laurence is more excited by the process and the blunders that come with it, acknowledging that “in ceramics you are always learning.”
Humbled by mistakes and open to learning from them, Laurence giggles as he recalls one of his biggest ‘failures’. While at the Leach Pottery, he got his hands on some very special clay, which I have been sworn to secrecy to not share. He used it during a ‘soda firing’ workshop without testing the clay first. When the fully loaded kiln was opened, Laurence and his students were shocked to see what can only be described as cowpats on every shelf. “In ceramics you are always learning”, he laughs. “In sixteen years I have finally had a misfire where everything melted, that’s the biggest f*ck up I’ve ever had and I found it quite funny and humbling.”
Intrigued by how clay behaves in the kiln, Laurence enjoys experimenting with materials and form. After meeting a Japanese potter whose work bounced and curved with hill rolls from his natural surroundings, Laurence began to play with his own landscape- the “gnarly bits of Cornwall”. Because after all, “that is what clay is: decomposed granite.”
When people drink out of their standard Sports Direct mug or IKEA Gladelig there is little to tickle the imagination. Form and texture rarely engage the senses, the tea is drunk and the day continues. But if the mug is smooth with a subtle focus point, a dip in its form or a roughness on its side, interaction changes. Laurence explains: “if there's a bit of granite sticking out, or a roughness, or an indent somewhere, you can roll your finger around and that becomes the way you hold it.” That is why he embraces imperfection. “That’s why I add rocks. I like rocks- I like to see what they do in kilns.
This experimental outlook trickles into how Laurence works with others. Travelling to festivals, hosting workhops and encouraging play is central to his practise. He often leaves tools in the centre of the table and invites people to play with tools however they want. “If you give someone an item and don’t say what it is, what will they end up using it for” he explains. “Instead of using it as a scraper they’ll use it as a roller or something.” By removing focus away from outcomes, creativity can flow pressure free.
Laurence Eastwood on embracing mistakes, experimentation and play in pottery. Alongside finding joy in exploration, Laurence finds deep meaning in the experiences pottery makes possible. One “proper special moment” is when he taught four generations at once- from a three year old to a ninety year old. “There was ninety years difference between them,” he reminisces over how incredible it was to experience a family “light up with the same sense of joy.” Smiling, he adds “I don’t think there are many people that can say they’ve taught four generations in a sitting” he foundly tells me.
Creativity, afterall, is rarely about the outcome. It’s about the process, the play, self exploration, self expression and connection with ourselves and others. Pottery becomes an exercise in community, playfulness and mindfulness, and Laurence’s open-to-everything approach holds both a profound sense of curiosity and a deep commitment to shared experience. As Laurence often says, “a pot without soul is just clay around a hole”.
