About Andrew Pearson the Stone Monkey.
I have been making ceramics since 2002. My interest first started with Bonsai in 1993 of which the pot is an intrinsic part of the finished image. I was introduced to Ceramics and I had a go at making my own pots and with a lot of time and practise I started to get better. After purchasing a small electric kiln I started to make, glaze and fire Bonsai pots. At first I made them for my own enjoyment and for my own trees, however members of my local Bonsai club started to ask for pots for their trees and I also sold some to a local Bonsai Nursery.
I gained a lot of inspiration from other great Potters and this drove me to search for my own individual style, however Japanese ceramics always, and still does, have a huge influence over me. Over the years I attended several courses at colleges and universities in my quest to improve and better myself. These courses have included throwing pots and glaze formula. In the early part of 2003 I purchased a potter's wheel and a 9 cubic foot gas kiln. Again there was another learning curve with new glaze recipes and reduction firing. Eventually I progressed enough to sell my Bonsai ceramics all over Europe via shows and also from my website under the name of Stone Monkey Ceramics
I also have a huge interest in Studio Ceramics and I am just starting to deviate from the field of Bonsai Ceramics on a different but complimentory journey. I am an avid d fan of the "Leach Tradition" as this stemmed from the Japanese ethos of producing pottery of which I try to portray in my work. I love subtle lines and quite forms and the ceramic pieces I create must have "Wabi-Sabi", beauty in in-perfection and aged things. In 2010 I saw the Japanese potter Ryoji Koie at a demonstration at the V&A Museum, he had a huge impact on the way I work now and how I approach the clay. I like to think now that my ceramics have a voice and are an extension of me, embodying a little of my way of freedom, spirit and life.
Bonsai ceramics form the backbone of my repertoire and it is a form that I associate closely with and very much love. The Japanese write Bonsai with two Kanji, the first meaning pot and the second meaning planting. One without the other is not Bonsai and the pot in which the tree sits is an essential part of the finished image
In 2015 I was accepted to enter pots in the prestigious Gafu Ten show in Tokyo. I was priviledged to have been awarded the Gold Award for the unglazed catagory of bonsai pots
Pottery CV
Bonsai Ceramics
Noelanders Trophy, Genk, Belgium: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 , 2013, 2015, 2016 & 2017
Best of British Bonsai Expo, Birmingham, UK: 2009 & 2011
Joy of Bonsai Expo, Bath, UK: 2010
Bonsai World Expo, Crawley, UK: 2011, 2013 & 2015
French Bonsai Expo, Plourhan, France: 2010
Bonsai Traders Association Shows, UK: 2009, 2010 & 2011
European Bonsai Association Show, Ostend, Belgium: 2007
Natural Flux Exhibition, Brick Lane Gallery, London 2013
Shohin UK, Bristol, UK: 2013 & 2015
Spirit of Shohin, RHS Wisley, Surrey, UK: 2016
Swindon Winter Image Show, Swindon, UK: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 & 2017
Bonsai Europa, Bury, UK: 2015 & 2017
Gafu Ten Bonsai Show, Tokyo, Japan: 2015 & 2016
Awards
Gold Award "Unglazed Category" 40th Gafu Ten Show Japan 2015
Studio Ceramics
Ceramics South East 2009
London Potters Exhibition, Morley Gallery, London 2011
Singing Soul Gallery, Cranbrook, Kent 2011 – Current day
West End House Gallery, Smarden, Kent 2011
Association Membership
Studio Pottery.co.uk