Doug Fitch is one of the UK’s leading slipware potters and watching him demonstrate his highly honed, traditional skills is sheer pleasure. ‘My clay is a blend of earthenware from Devon, dug from rich seams that have been exploited by potters for centuries. My pots are made on the wheel in the traditional manner. I draw great influence and inspiration from the pottery of the medieval period and the tradition of English Country pottery that provided basic, utilitarian rustic wares to the local rural community up until the beginning of the twentieth century.’ During the festival he will demonstrate throwing and handling a large harvest jug as well as a number of different approaches to decoration, including sprigging, slip trailing and sgrafitto.
