“I was thinking of who would use crockery like that and that’s how I met Doug, through creating ceramics for Silo. “I wanted to get my work out to the people as quickly as possible and in abundance. “When I was working in Brighton I didn’t want to make pottery that was exclusive and unattainable for the general public,” said Mark. Offered the chance to create a new material in partnership with the restaurant (look left for more on this), he moved back to the UK, plugged the potters wheels and opened the doors. His relocation to Hackney Wick came via a message from Silo owner Douglas McMaster, who he’d met and supplied when the restaurant was also based in Brighton. Having originally set up shop in Brighton, a lack of empathy from his landlord during the pandemic saw him return to Malta rather than take up the Government’s generous invitation to re-train in cyber. “I’ve been so lucky to be able to learn new techniques and skills from potters such as Michael Casson and Terry and Beverly Bell-Hughes.” Mark Ciavola of Potters Thumb in Hackney Wick- image Matt Grayson “He suggested courses for me, so I went to Harrogate College where I did my national diploma, and then to Cardiff to do my degree. He’s been hugely influential in the contemporary ceramics world and has pieces in the British Museum and collections all over the world. “That included Phil Rogers in Wales who, along with my mother, took me under his wing. “So I had the pleasure of meeting all these potters in Greece, the UK and Italy. “I was fortunate to travel a lot with her, visiting potteries across the world, but mostly in Europe,” he said. “She forged a career as a potter at a time when the craft was dominated by men, teaching, nurturing and inspiring numerous others in their native Malta and seeing her work enter the island’s National Collection. In fact, it was his mother, Anna, who sadly died last year, who had the biggest influence on Mark. “At a very early age I showed signs of interest and my parents saw that and guided me,” said Mark. Lamenting the shrinking presence of pottery in schools, he is determined to pass on the knowledge he’s accrued from a lifetime spent around ceramics. He also supplies it with its hand-thrown cups, from which we’re drinking and that’s not the only reciprocity, but more of that later. Mark Ciavola is the ceramicist behind Potters Thumb, which offers clay-based classes and memberships at its studio space above the zero waste venue. I don’t immediately realise it, but as I raise the cup of tea to my lips at zero waste restaurant Silo in Hackney Wick, they’re touching an object conceived and created by the man sitting beside me. Subscribe to Wharf Life’s weekly newsletter here Potter Mark Ciavola talks ceramics, education and creating a new kind of porcelain out of waste glass Pottery classes and services are offered by Potters Thumb – image Matt Grayson
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