The scent of coffee and the hum of conversation filled Copeland Park, Peckham, as crowds spilled into the Autumn International Ceramic Market. Tables brimmed with hand-thrown mugs, sculptural vases, and bold contemporary forms. The air buzzed with curiosity and appreciation — a gathering of artists, collectors, and admirers united by the tactile beauty of clay.
Over 150 established and emerging ceramic artists from across the UK and Europe came together for this celebration of form, function, and creativity. From delicate porcelain vessels to raw, experimental sculptures, each maker brought a story shaped by their hands and imagination.
As I moved through the stalls with my camera, I photographed ten artists and went in depth with three of them — uncovering the stories behind their craft, the philosophies that shape their work, and the passion that drives them to return to the wheel.
The History of Ceramics in the Arts
Ceramics is one of humanity’s oldest art forms — an expression of both necessity and creativity. Long before the concept of “art” existed, clay was moulded into vessels, figurines, and ritual objects, connecting people across cultures and centuries.
From the refined porcelain of China’s Song Dynasty to the rustic beauty of British studio pottery, ceramics have mirrored the societies that shaped them. In the 20th century, artists such as Lucie Rie and Hans Coper elevated ceramics to the realm of fine art, blending modernist design with traditional techniques.
Today’s ceramic artists inherit that lineage — but with a contemporary edge. They blend tradition with experimentation, utilising glaze chemistry, sculptural abstraction, and digital tools to reimagine the possibilities of clay. The movement’s revival reflects our broader cultural shift towards craftsmanship, sustainability, and the handmade.
The Rise of the Independent Ceramic Scene
In recent years, ceramics have emerged from the studio and into the cultural spotlight. The surge in independent markets, workshops, and collectives has created new opportunities for makers to connect directly with audiences.
Peckham, with its thriving creative community and adaptable spaces like Copeland Park, has become a natural home for this renaissance. The Independent Ceramic Market — now an established fixture of London’s art calendar — reflects how accessible and diverse the craft has become. This was my first time at the Peckham Ceramic Market, and I was amazed by its size and the number of stalls.
Whether it’s functional homeware or conceptual art pieces, these markets celebrate clay in all its messy, tactile glory.
Voices from the Clay – Artist Stories
Qbe Qbe – “The sculptures I make are mainly a reminder to love yourself”
About Qbe Qbe
The sculptures I make are mainly a reminder to love yourself, to wake up every morning with the awareness that you are a gift and that you are unique. My sculptures are hand-built using a combination of coiling, pinching, and traditional slab building techniques.
Goals and Aspirations
Continue creating unique pieces that I can share with more people.
I would like to work on collaborations with interior designers, hotels and boutiques. And I’m hoping to start selling online next year.
Inspiration
After moving to London, the death of my parent prompted me to start my journey in ceramics, taking inspiration from both my cultural and luxury fashion background.
⭐ Upcoming Markets! ⭐
NOVEMBER
Saturday 8th Solo Craft Fair
Leadenhall Market
11am–5pm
Saturday 15th Saladdays Market
Battersea Power Station
11am–8pm
Saturday 29th Urban Makers Market
Ecology Pavilion Mile End Park E3 5RP
11am–5pm
DECEMBER
Saturday 13th Solo Craft Fair
Leadenhall Market
11am–5pm
Sunday 14th Independent Ceramics Market
Unit 8 Copeland Park Peckham
11am–5pm
Robynne Morris / RMo Studio – “Pottery became a form of therapy for me”
About Robynne Morris / RMo Studio
I’m a potter based in Liverpool, creating functional and unique stoneware ceramics. I first worked with ceramics over 18 years ago in college, and I picked it up again in more recent years after attending a local pottery course as a means to support my creativity alongside a full-time, office-based job.
RMo Studio was subsequently launched in 2016. Since then, I have continued to develop my product line.
Goals and Aspirations
Currently, I work from a home studio in a cellar that my business has outgrown. However, I have recently taken over a light-industrial unit, which I am renovating into a pottery studio. This will allow me to offer workshops and lessons, and to expand my pottery business by scaling up production.
Inspiration
I am a very creative person, but for a long time, I was working in a role that didn’t allow me to express that side of myself, and my job could be quite stressful at times. I decided to take an evening ceramics course, and quite quickly got hooked. Pottery became a form of therapy for me. A way to slow down, focus, and find calm whilst working with clay.
⭐ Upcoming Markets! ⭐
Lots of workshops, click on Instagram link above to find out more.
BAMBER – “i love how physical it is , squashing things around n making things with your hands”
About Bamber
I’ve been working with pottery for about six years. I got into it as soon as I could after I left school, because it was all I could think about for years, haha.
Started with a kick wheel and slowly shifted into hand-building (and using an electric wheel sometimes for fun). For the past three years, I’ve been working in a small studio in Winchmore Hill, where I also run the pottery shop. We stock work from a variety of potters, mostly from around the UK, and I run workshops on weekends where people come by and spend the day making whatever they feel like creating. It’s so much fun seeing what you and on stuff people make, my favourite things recently have been a bright green frog by Khaled and a wheel-thrown witches’ cauldron by Ana 🙂
Goals and Aspirations
I am excited to be lined up for two more independent ceramics markets (in December and February), and I would really love to continue working on wholesale orders while also being more consistent with my online shop. I love building big collections of different things over a month or two, like a one-person pottery factory, so I really hope to be able to continue doing that 🙂
Inspiration
I think it always felt like the thing I found most exciting. I love how physical it is, squashing things around and making things with your hands and carving away to smooth out surfaces, and then seeing the marks from your fingers kept forever in the final pieces. it is scary that so much is out of your control – i feel like i am never sure how things will come out of the kiln as so much of the process is just left up to my judgement, and going with that without fully knowing what will happen – but i do think that really helps teach resilience in the making process and gives you skills that can transfer to help you in other areas of your life.
It also feels like such a diverse medium to make so many different things – not just a way to make sculptural/art pieces but also to make functional items like mugs or pots (or door handles or shelves or tables!) more beautiful and fun to use and to bring art into every corner of life.
There are so many constantly evolving possibilities of things to make and problems to solve, and that is so exciting to me 🙂
⭐ Upcoming Markets! ⭐
Sunday 14th December Independent Ceramics Market
Unit 8 Copeland Park Peckham
11am–5pm
Photos from the Market
Reflections – Clay as a Modern Art Form
By the end of the day, what remained wasn’t just the art, but the sense of community. Each conversation revealed how ceramics continues to evolve while remaining rooted in something elemental: earth, fire, and touch.
In an age of mass production, these artists remind us of the importance of taking time — of crafting something that reflects the touch of a human hand.
Perhaps that’s the true beauty of ceramics: not perfection, but permanence through touch.
Thanks for reading this article and viewing my photos. More information about the three artists can be found on their Instagram links. Until next time, keep pottering…
