We’re delighted to welcome Derek Wilson for a two-day masterclass exploring the intersection of wheel throwing and sculptural forms. The course will take place on Saturday 30th May and Sunday 31st May from 10am - 4pm.

This workshop is designed for intermediate to advanced participants looking to expand their making beyond functional pottery and explore the potter’s wheel as a creative and conceptual tool. Across the two days, Derek will guide students through his approach to developing sculptural vessels, encouraging a balance of refinement, experimentation, and playful enquiry.

What You’ll Learn
Through demonstrations and hands-on making, participants will explore a range of processes central to Derek’s practice, including:

• Form development: Using the wheel to create and evolve sculptural vessels
• Altering & assembling: Cutting, joining, and reworking thrown forms, incorporating slab-built elements
• Deconstruction & reconstruction: Breaking away from traditional forms to create new compositions
• Refinement & finish: Focusing on simplicity, proportion, and considered craftsmanship

Students will be encouraged to sketch, document, and reflect throughout the workshop as a way of developing ideas and building a personal approach to making.

Derek will demonstrate his own methods of producing sculptural vessels, offering insight into his studio practice and the thinking behind his work. There will be individual guidance and group discussion across all stages, supporting each participant in developing their own outcomes.

About the Artist:
Derek Wilson is a Belfast-based ceramic artist whose work sits between studio pottery and conceptual art. Working primarily with the vessel form, he explores the relationship between function and abstraction, combining a minimal aesthetic with strong material knowledge and craftsmanship.

Derek studied at Belfast School of Art (MA Fine & Applied Arts) and later trained as a production potter with DCCI, working in potteries throughout Ireland. Derek has exhibited internationally and his work is held in both public and private collections. He has taught in Ulster University Ceramics Department for many years. At the core of his practice is a search for simplicity, drawing inspiration through a diverse range of sources, including mid-century painters, the modernist movement, British and Russian constructivism and the history of the ceramic industry in Europe and Asia.