EMILY OLIVIA TAPP | FINDING SPACE
It has been almost 4 months since Emily Olivia Tapp, also known as EOT Ceramics, transformed the yoga studio here at Argal Home Farm into her new potters workshop. Yet despite this change of practice, an air of stillness and reflection has been preserved in the room. Naturally lit and spacious, it is immediately calming to enter. With simple wooden furniture, muted colours of work in progress and the gentle movement of a potters wheel. Most of the time Emily hasn’t noticed you’ve arrived - head phones in and focus unbroken, from shaping clay to taking stock of a fresh kiln batch.
The previous purpose of this space has set a peaceful tone. And Emily’s thoughtful and dedicated approach to her craft is amplifying it. Yoga and pottery studio design - a synergic pairing? Either way, it certainly feels serendipitous that the two have come together…
When are you most calm?
Throwing at the wheel - when the consistency of the clay is just right and I’m throwing a form I know well - I can reach a flow state and the experience is almost meditative for me.
When are you most excited?
Unloading a kiln - when the firing has gone well!
When are you most angry?
Again, unloading a kiln - when the firing hasn’t gone so well…
When are you most inspired?
I am constantly inspired by other makers, not only in the medium of clay but across all disciplines from metal to wood and textiles. I’m very inspired by the history of my craft. On a trip to London I spent hours poring over the extensive ceramics collection at the V&A - which is the most astonishing and awe-inspiring collection ranging from about 2500BC to the present day. I left feeling inspired and humbled, and I knew I’d found the medium I would be working with for a very long time.
Your practice started as an artist painting with natural pigments concocted with raw materials - earth, rocks and minerals. And now your hands are predominantly coated in either wet or dry clay. What is it that draws you to working with the ground?
As a maker working with clay, or with any raw materials really, there is an element of control that has to be relinquished. Although at times that can be frustrating, it’s a magical process. The alchemy of turning clay into ceramic, and mixing vibrant and glassy glazes from chalky, raw materials that transform in the heat of a kiln. It keeps me engaged and inspired and wanting to learn more - just as it did when I was mixing paints from earth pigments.
I think what draws me to ceramics the most is how tactile it is. I love the hands on the process of working with clay - there is nothing in between you and the medium. No paintbrush, no necessary tools, just hands on clay. Taking something so pliable and changeable, and turning it into an object with permanence - it comes with a sense of responsibility and excitement. There are endless possibilities with clay and that’s why I love it so much; it feels like I could spend my entire life working with it and still have ideas to explore.
Can you tell me a bit about your journey from painter to potter?
Towards the end of my degree I started making pots using handbuilding techniques such as pinching and coiling. I was interested as to how the found earth pigments I was using in my paintings would translate when used in slips and glazes, and fired in a kiln to stoneware temperatures. These pots were like canvases for me to experiment on. I was drawn to clay even more and as a collector of ceramics myself, and so I decided to start to make more functional pieces like mugs and bowls. I tried pinching, slab building, press-moulding and slip casting but eventually realised I wanted to learn to throw.
A local potter and I did a skill swap - I photographed his work for an exhibition catalogue in exchange for a a few pottery lessons. After my lessons, he very generously dug an old, rusty unused wheel out of the back of his studio and loaned it to me so I could practice further at my own studio. I remember him saying that the only way to really learn to throw was to put the hours in and make lots of mistakes. He also said it would be the hardest thing I would ever do and he was right! I spent 9 months at that wheel, every day that I could, practicing techniques and teaching myself to throw new forms. Eventually I bought my own wheel and the loaned one went on to another potter starting their own journey.
Although I haven’t painted for a few years I’m definitely rekindling my love of mark-making in my upcoming Cobalt Collection. I’ve been experimenting with spontaneous and experimental brush strokes, using my pots as canvases once more.
Now you've settled into your new studio at Argal Home Farm, how is the space influencing your work?
Having a studio full of natural light with peace and quiet - and based in a beautiful farm setting - has definitely influenced my attitude towards making. I no longer just see the studio as a place of work and productivity, but also as a creative space of calm and rest. It’s allowing new ideas to ruminate and come to fruition.
I’m enjoying sensing my surroundings as I work - the scent of roasting coffee wafting over from Yallah and working with my doors wide open so I can hear the birds singing outside. Also punctuated by the comforting sound of a sewing machine working away from the Francli studio next door! My old studio was very small and quite dark, so in contrast this studio feels like a breath of fresh air and an opportunity to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. I feel like that’s happening in my work, too.
I’m paying more attention to the little details, I’m making space to explore avenues I’ve never made the time to pursue before and my work feels calmer, less urgent. I’m not sure if mugs can bring a sense of calm, but they do to me now, when I take them out of the kiln and put them on my shelves. Perhaps it’s because I felt that way when I made them.
How do you hope your pieces interact with the world once they leave your studio?
When designing new pieces, or making a batch of existing designs, functionality is at the forefront of my mind. I own a few pieces of pottery that feel almost too precious to use on a daily basis and although these pieces are incredibly special to me, I wish for my work to be used every day; the cup you reach for to drink your morning coffee from, the mug that is always in use for cups of tea and rarely gets put away!
I really enjoy when specific pieces become part of a daily routine, bringing a little burst of functional, handmade joy to a moment. All of my pieces are interior glazed with a high gloss which is very resistant to staining and marking even with daily use. And unless noted individually, they are are dishwasher safe too.
Long story short, I want my work to be used, and enjoyed - not just kept for best.
I've been lucky to see some samples and experiments in the studio recently... What new collections have you been working on?
Since being in the new studio I’ve been able to experiment and play with new designs and ideas in a way I haven’t done in a long time so I’ve got some exciting new projects launching over the next few months. On Thursday (July 7) I’m launching a brand new Cobalt Collection that will consist of mugs, tumblers, breakfast bowls, small plates and one-of-a-kind bud vases all with a signature, hand-painted cobalt stripe design. These pieces are quite a departure from my usual matte glazes - with gloss surfaces and vibrant blue details. They’ve been a joy to work on and I’m looking forward to sharing the collection.
In August I will be releasing a coffee focused batch of my two mug sizes across all glazes, with a new addition to the range: the EOT Coffee Dripper. I’ve been meaning to design these for quite a while now and finally made time for them - the results so far are really promising. I have a couple of tweaks to test out and then I’ll be ready to make a larger batch for the shop…
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Emily at work in her Argal Home Farm workshop, wearing the Francli Potters Apron in ‘Sienna’
Discover The Potters Apron