JULIAN SMITH - BIOGRAPHY

ARTIST STATEMENT

Julian Fullerton Smith has been working with clay for well over 20 years. After training in Scotland and Wales, he moved to Ireland in 1995. Initially he lived in Galway but soon discovered Kinsale, and established his own studio there in 1996.

Julian has chosen Raku as his ceramic medium. He produces one-off cast and hand-built ceramic pieces and small numbers of thrown shapes.
Body casts with white crackle or copper glazes often incorporating tattoo like designs.
Individual wall panels with mystical themes telling stories of past deeds and ancient landscapes are beautifully made using gold and silver leaf along with a variety of hand make glazes.

Julian has established himself as one of Ireland’s foremost Raku artists. Raku is a technique originating in Japan in the sixteenth century, in which work is rapidly fired and removed from the kiln when glowing red-hot. The piece is then placed in a container with combustible materials creating striking colours using metallic oxides. The charm of Raku lies in its use of primitive materials which nevertheless can produce highly sophisticated results.

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