After an apprenticeship at the Leach Pottery, Ian Steele returned to Canada and set up his pottery on the east cost of Vancouver Island in 1970. However by the late 1970’s the Steele and his wife Barbara decided to move back to England where he set up his second pottery, this time in Chudleigh, Devon. Steele potted here for more than 30 years making simple, elegant ceramics true to the Leach Hamada tradition.

I’m not sure what kind of fruit Steele depicted on this jar but he managed it with minimal gestures. First painting the pot with an iron oxide wash, he then applied the hot wax with quick, elegant brushstrokes to give the impression of the piece of fruit. Steele then dipped the jar in an ash glaze, and when fired, the wax burned off to reveal the iron oxide beneath, leaving a calligraphic image of the fruit to appear.