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Luke Eastop | Episodeg 271
Luke Eastop is a ceramicist with a background in the creative arts, and more recently as a chef. Both occupations have informed the development of his work, focusing on pared-down ceramic pieces, exploring the basic material qualities of clay, form, function and utility. He started making ceramics following the passing away of his grandfather, British studio potter Geoffrey Eastop, and is currently working in his studio in Berkshire.
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What is the best advice you have been given so far about creativity? About how to keep it growing?
I think it is tied into what I was talking about earlier, of putting your head down and just going forward and doing it. I feel like it is something I have had to overcome to make this work. Not worrying about it so much, about getting it wrong. Rather than advice it’s just a a thing I have had to learn to put myself out there and not worrying about it not being good enough.
Do you have a message or a feeling that you try and communicate with your work?
It’s something I have been thinking about. One of the things I love about ceramics is the tradition of going back thousands and thousands of years and for all it’s quotidian and domestic aspects of it I think there is something kind of deep. There is some kind of connection that almost everyone has connection to these objects. On one hand we use them every day but there something about elevating these honest human forms and I think it speaks to people.
How do you get feedback for your work, to know that you are on track?
I guess it’s kind of this daily feedback of Instagram. You almost have this approval counter with how many likes you get on a photo. So I guess trying to work that out is useful. I kind of know that if I post a photo that I think is interesting, like a close up or texture, I know it will not get as many likes but I think it is and important part of the theme. I think there is a dynamic relationship you have with the followers that allows you to develop a sense of what is going well.
Can you explain what your marketing strategy has been?
I think it has mostly been tied into this amazing dynamic, sketch pad-notebook, Instagram that you are daily doing. As far as marketing I wanted to be fairly honest and have a good balance of production images and when I can explaining what I am thinking about with maybe a technique or a process. So through Instagram you are getting a kind of whole picture of what’s going on here in the studio.
If your work was considered a national holiday which holiday would your work follow?
It would be Boxing Day because that’s the day when everyone would meet up here. That’s the big event at this house of the year.
Book
Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
Contact
Instagram: @luke.eastop.ceramics