Eli Paulger

Perfectionism has always been a challenge for me, pottery has shown me that small mistakes and flaws aren’t as important as I imagine, and with each finished piece, I practice allowing myself to let go of the need for everything to be exact. I’ve spent the last seven years exploring clay from the Saramica open-access pottery studio in Northamptonshire, and it’s only recently that I’ve felt ready to put my work out into the world.
I enjoy taking a fuzzy idea from my head and a lump of mud, and shaping it into something real, that I can see and feel, and that is uniquely mine. I’m driven by the challenge of pushing what my skills and the clay can do together. I hand throw my work on the wheel, creating striking, refined silhouettes with smooth, flowing surfaces that meet at sharp, precise edges. I like pushing the boundaries of form and proportion, often prioritising what looks right over what is strictly functional. I often finish my pieces with a satin white glaze, preserving each pot as I envisioned it while shaping it on the wheel.