The CPA’s governing body has up to nine Selected and Fellow member councillors, who are proposed and voted for by the membership to serve for a term of three years. The honorary officers of Chair, Vice chair, Treasurer and Secretary are appointed by Council to serve for one year at the first meeting after the AGM. Occasionally Council may co-opt members from outside the membership, who might bring in specific expertise.
The Associate membership is represented on Council by a non voting councillor. Council is responsible for the selection of new members, and for all the activities of the association and it’s companies through their respective sub committees and boards. Council is also supported by the Members and Associates Advisory Committee(MAAC), which organises lectures, studio visits, workshops and other activities. MAAC is mainly composed of volunteer Associate members.
IRENA SIBRIJNS – CHAIR
Irena Sibrijns has been a potter for over thirty years. Inspired by an avid interest in 20th century English decorative arts tradition, Irena creates exquisite, and entirely unique, ornamental and functional pieces with equal enthusiasm.
First trained in Wiltshire, Irena moved to work in the South of France before returning to the UK in 2001 to establish her workshop in Suffolk, where she still lives and works today. Often inspired by locations, including the Suffolk coast, Irena references Charleston House and Farleys House and Gallery as places that have had a great impact on her work.
BILLY ADAMS – COUNCIL MEMBER
Billy was born in Northern Ireland and spent his youth roaming the hills of Donegal, exploring the landscape. He completed an MA in Ceramics at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education in the late 1980s and he has been living and working in Wales ever since.
His work is influenced by landscape settings, especially the wild, rugged beauty of Connemara and Donegal, and the dramatic West Wales coastline.. He is interested in addressing the relationship we have with the landscape.
https://www.facebook.com/BillyAdamsCeramics/
JO DAVIES – COUNCIL MEMBER
Jo specialises in wheel-thrown porcelain and works from her studio in Hackney, East London. Her practice includes hand-making a fine porcelain design range, lighting and unique objects. Her individual approach to wheel-thrown ceramics, where high-fired porcelain often appears paradoxically to be fresh off the wheel, balances softness with rigidity, smoothness with weight and tactility.
As a Royal College of Art MA graduate, she exhibits internationally and has worked with, amongst others, the National Portrait Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth Wakefield, Somerset House, Heals and the National Trust. Her practice has been supported by the Crafts Council and Arts Council England.
CAROL SINCLAIR – COUNCIL MEMBER
Carol has been a maker, mentor, and advocate for the craft sector for over 30 years, combining her own ceramics practice with her work as a creative business adviser.
She enjoys pushing the boundaries of porcelain as her chosen material, and recognises the importance of balancing creative experimentation with business confidence to develop a sustainable, successful practice.
She brings extensive governance, fundraising and organisational development experience, having run her own gallery and served on the board of a number of charities and social enterprises, including her role as Chair of Applied Arts Scotland, Co-Chair of Angus Creatives, and as craft representative on the Creative Industries Leadership Group who advise Scottish Government Ministers.
https://www.carolsinclairceramics.co.uk/
RACHEL WOOD – COUNCIL MEMBER
I make my pots using a combination of techniques – throwing, pinching and coiling.
I use stoneware clay, assortment of slips and glazes, electric fired to 1260 degrees.
Featured here are a sculptural thrown and assembled Bark vessel; pinched and coiled conical bowl; pinched and coiled tall bottle.
ANIA PERKOWSKA – COUNCIL MEMBER
Ania is passionate about ceramics both as a maker of 15 years and a vital part of cultural heritage and creative expression. She has been an active member of CPA for most of that time, with keen interest in supporting studio potters and advancing the appreciation of ceramic art in the UK.
With a background of 20 years in fast paced corporate management, client retention and customer engagement roles in her previous career, she brings a combination of strategic thinking, collaborative leadership and practical skills.
With a background of 20 years in fast paced corporate management, client retention and customer engagement roles in her previous career, she brings a combination of strategic thinking, collaborative leadership and practical skills.
http://wwww.aniaperkowska.com/
JEMMA GOWLAND – COUNCIL MEMBER
Jemma first trained for a BSc in Engineering Product Design, and worked in the fields of industrial design, production, and architectural model making before becoming a teacher of Design and Technology. With experience in making using a very broad range of materials, for a wide range of purposes, ceramics has become the abiding interest with it’s unique versatility and surface possibilities, the technical challenges and opportunities seem endless.
Being a mother, wife and daughter, as well as a woman working in a largely male field, has led to an examination of the role of the female, and how societal norms can still shape the way children are raised.
SUE MUNDY – COUNCIL MEMBER
Working with clay allows Sue a secondary voice, a line of communication through form. Her work explores the fragility and hidden strength found within the natural world.
The slow repetitive hand-building techniques she uses to create her pieces offer a considered way to develop the work as each piece calmly grows. Deliberate junctions are made by breaking and re-joining the form where collars or shoulders then evolve. Surface markings are infused into the work during the making, with slips and oxides being applied throughout the drying stage. Built with White Stoneware the work may be glazed or left bare.
Sue graduated from North Staffordshire Polytechnic in 1986 and has enjoyed exhibiting her work through galleries and specialist ceramics events ever since. Sue’s work has been sold through Bonhams contemporary ceramics auctions, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Beaux Arts – Bath and Liberty’s of London.
LOUISA TAYLOR – COUNCIL MEMBER
Louisa is committed to strengthening and sustaining the field of studio ceramics in the UK. As a practicing ceramicist for over 25 years, specialising in wheel-thrown porcelain tableware and high-fired glazes, she understands the discipline both as a maker and as an advocate for the craft.
Alongside her practice, she is a published author and has written three books on ceramics, with a fourth due for release later this year.