I'm Taylor Shaw, a potter based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and the founder of The Scarborough Pottery.

Where it started

Originally I studied fine art sculpture at Edinburgh school of art. My journey exploring clay started during the chaos of 2020 lockdown. I jumped at the opportunity to study a masters in ceramics at the university for creative arts.

About my practice

Working primarily with wheel-thrown stoneware, my practice explores the relationship between ceramics, landscape and material culture. Through locally gathered clay, naturally derived materials and traditional firing methods, I create functional and sculptural ceramics that reflect the character of place.

My work is rooted in an ongoing body of research, Making With Place, which investigates how ceramics can reconnect people with the landscapes they inhabit. Through local clay, wood firing and geological research, I explore the stories held within materials and question our modern relationship with the objects we use every day. A central thread of this research examines the language surrounding 'wild clay', asking how industrialisation has distanced us from the origins of our materials and how ceramics might help rebuild that connection.

Alongside my studio practice, I founded The Scarborough Pottery, where I teach wheel throwing and ceramics through classes, workshops and community making. Teaching has become an extension of my own practice, sharing traditional skills while encouraging a deeper appreciation of the materials beneath our feet.

My work is rooted in the belief that every pot begins as geology. Rather than making work about the landscape, I seek to make work with it, transforming local materials into functional objects that carry the story of where they came from.