Mike Dodd, Famous British Potter - Stunning Large Hand Made Sgraffito Ash Glazed Vase

A strikingly beautiful impressed and sgraffito large hand made ash glossy dripped glaze vase of ovoid form with incised decoration made by the long established and highly influential potter Mike Dodd (British b. 1943).  Sgraffito is a decorating pottery technique produced by applying layers of colour or colours to hard pottery then scratching off parts to create contrasting images, patterns and textures and revealing the clay colour underneath.  This is a fantastic example of this technique with the lighter and darker shades and different textures showing up wonderfully well and with the vase being in perfect condition.  A very British style of vase in the “studio pottery” tradition with impressed maker's mark. A wonderful addition to a contemporary or period interior.  Mike Dodd, born in 1943 studied pottery under Donald Potter who was a student of Eric Gill. He studied at Cambridge University and  left in 1965 with an Honours Degree in Natural History and went on to do a post-graduate course in Ceramics at Hammersmith College of Art in London. He taught at Cumbria College of Art and at the Royal College of Art, London.  Mike Dodd’s studio pottery work is notable for using natural materials found in the areas around his studio – in the tradition of “the Father of British studio pottery” Bernard Leach who advocated the use of local resources as part of the potter’s “idealised rural lifestyle”.  He has established at least six workshops in locations around Britain and is currently in Glastonbury, Somerset – a town steeped in myths and legends about England’s ancient past and, of course, home to the world famous and culturally significant annual Glastonbury music festival. Dodd has a strong commitment to animal welfare, conservation and environmental issues. He has held workshops at Landshut College for Ceramics in Germany and the Golden Bridge Pottery in Pondicherry, India. Mike Dodd’s work is internationally renowned and is shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and in the Ulster Museum in Belfast – the largest museum in Northern Ireland.  It is also exhibited at the London Craft Council.  Designer & Marks:- Makers mark 'Md' impressed on the side of the base of the vase. Please see photographs. Material:- Earthenware