“Most people who walk in say they’re not creative but they leave with a totally different attitude.” It’s an easy statement for Katherine Staples to make - a clay artist on a mission to share her passion through pottery classes. Katherine discovered a love of ceramics while studying for a crafts degree at university, and went on to complete a masters in studio ceramics at Loughborough University.
Her second child arrived just six weeks later, and the arrival of her third child coincided with her role in a 500-piece, month-long collaborative exhibition. Today, she splits her time between making her own sculptures - often commissioned works - or teaching others how to enjoy ‘playing with clay’ from her recently opened cabin studio at Wymondham Windmill. It is positioned among shops selling gift, clothes, furniture and bikes, plus a business offering horse riding lessons on a simulator, all in the shadow of the windmill and designed to offer visitors a shopping experience.
Moving to the new cabin gave Katherine more space than she had in her garden studio at home in Whissendine. “I don’t even know how I fit it all in at home,” she said, adding her new space means she now has a gallery showcasing paintings, pottery, sculptures and jewellery by fellow artists she admires, and well as pieces she has crafted. The studio itself includes five potter’s wheels and two kilns.
She has also added silver jewellery-making courses to those she runs, from one-off taster ses.