Andrew Ludick - Handbuilt Ceramics
Tell us a little bit about what you make
I make ceramic sculptures using a hand-building and coiling technique. I make them using a white or red earthenware clay and I decorate them with different colours and designs depending on there shape and form.
Could you describe your studio to us? What is your favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?
My studio is in the Castlcomer Discovery Park. The stables and buildings here have been renovated and turned into studios, so I share a studio/shop space with my wife Rosemarie Durr who is also a ceramicist. My space isn't very large so I try and use my space wisely, and have my workbench and a sink and my tools all in order. I also have books and pictures of art and objects that I like and are influences on my art. I like to listen to music while I work, mostly jazz and classical, and traditional music from around the world.
What is your favourite tool and why?
I have a scraping tool that was made from a bicycle spoke that I purchased off an Asian fellow. Also, I made a scoring tool from part of a comb and a stick. I like tools that are remade from something else. I also have a bunch of needle tools that are made from old mechanical pencils.
Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your work?
I like to communicate visually and I have always loved to draw and paint since I was young. I had originally studied in fine arts and painting and drawing in college and slowly moved towards ceramics. I like making with ceramics because I have lots of options both two dimensionally and three dimensionally. I can make pieces very plain like a straight-sided vase and drawing a complex picture or pattern on them or I can make something very sculpturally complex and have no design on it at all, maybe just a solid colour. So I can express myself in many ways depending on my feelings and mood.
Andrew makes a collection of brooches exclusively for Irish Design Shop which you can purchase here