Rhian Malin

Rhian Malin

Rhian set up her studio in Warwickshire after graduating from Camberwell College of Art in 2014 with a degree in 3D Design. It wasn’t actually until her final year that Rhian knew she wanted to become a potter, and unlike most potters who practice on other materials initially, Rhian learned to throw with porcelain from the outset, despite it being notoriously difficult to work with. The collection of blue and white vessels she produced for her degree show was such a success, they all sold.

We first encountered Rhian’s elegant porcelain objects at a ceramic fair in 2016 and were blown-away by her expert craftsmanship, impossibly intricate designs and amazing ambition, “I want people to look at my work and be really amazed that something so intricate has been made by a human.”

Inspired by her Grandmother’s Willow Pattern collection, Rhian continues the long tradition of throwing and hand-painting porcelain with cobalt-blue decoration and has created a new contemporary aesthetic for this much-loved style.

She takes a mathematical approach to applying geometric patterns to her vessels.  She is the ultimate perfectionist, dividing each pot into sections and replicating the design. “I sketch straight onto the porcelain in pencil first, working freehand to build a design which evolves as I work.  Then I overwork the design with a delicate brush and glaze.” As a result, her vessels bring this ancient practice into this century and have a unique quality that could not be created by machine.

“Being a perfectionist is both a gift and a curse, but I probably wouldn’t be able to produce the hand thrown forms or hand-painted patterns if I wasn’t.”