Sarah Myerscough presents a series of Inclusion Jars by Welsh ceramicist Adam Buick at The New Craftmaker. Buick is best known for his distinctive porcelain jars, which draw on the form of the traditional Korean moon jar while remaining closely connected to the landscape of the Welsh coast where he lives and works. In his Inclusion Jar series, Buick presses pebbles sourced from local Pembrokeshire beaches, such as igneous and slate, directly into the porcelain as he throws. The term inclusion comes from geology, referring to a material trapped within a rock or mineral as it forms.
As the porcelain dries and shrinks around the pebble, tension causes cracks to appear. During firing, heat and pressure transform the embedded stones, releasing minerals into the glaze and introducing an element of chance into the making process. The result is a series in which each vessel develops its own unpredictable surface and character.
Sarah Myerscough reflects on the making of the Inclusion Jars and the ideas of imperfection, risk and transformation central to the work:
“Korean moon jars are the inspiration for Adam Buick’s Inclusion Jars. In these works, pebbles are pressed into porcelain or stoneware during the throwing process. An unpredictable act of making that stands as the antithesis of purity, precision, and perfection historically associated with the traditional jar.
Through this subversive act, Adam disrupts the white surface, and the simple, prosaic pebble from his local Devonshire coast becomes an emblem of deviance on the delicate, untainted surface. Through such an action, he moves from subtlety and delicacy in making to an aggressive, unpredictable crafting process, risking hours of precise work and skill.
During the drying and firing process, heat and pressure cause tension, melting, and mineral release, giving each vessel an unexpected textural surface, often accompanied by large cracks, where the earthy material will often ooze out over the smooth clay, giving each its unique character — a scar that blemishes the smooth clay. I see that there is beauty in this bravery, and much like life, where unpredictable events disrupt our attempts at perfection, these pieces remind us that nothing is truly pure or flawless. These imperfections reveal a unique fortitude, showing that we can endure the unexpected and find beauty in those outcomes.”
-Sarah Myerscough, Creative Director at The New Craftmaker
