Nic Collins (potter)

Nic Collins is a woodfire potter who works in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor.

Early life
Collins was born in 1958, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. He is a self-taught woodfire potter who started building kilns and wheels during his 20s. He experimented with raku, salt glazing, and sawdust firing, using clay sourced from local riverbanks. Collins had formal schooling in ceramics from Derby College of Art from 1985 to 1986 before going to Italy and Germany to work in other studios.

Process
Collins uses stoneware clay thrown on a kick wheel. He finds his aesthetics through imperfections. For example, he claims to have had a crush on a girl because she had a large scar on her face. Collins way of throwing continues with the way he decorates his pots. Through the woodfire process, he creates imperfections by placing pots on their side on top of shells. Collins stated that the process of putting pots on their sides and stacking them, the interesting area of the pots is on the front rather than the bottom.

Inspiration and philosophy
He states that simple pots are beautiful and that medieval pots are some of the most beautiful. He states that pots should be made from the “heart” and not from the “head”. He also said that if you think only about how thin, how stretched, or how light a pot is, then the pot is not necessarily bad, but it makes the pot stiff and people don't want to pick it up.