Meet The Maker: Peter Arscott

Who are you, where are you from and what do you make?

My name is Peter Arscott. I was born and brought up in Peru, though I have lived in the UK most of my adult life. I make ceramic pieces using stoneware, usually vases. Everything is made by hand or on a slab roller, I do not use a wheel, and little planning goes into the shapes or the colours – cutting out and joining pieces and fragments as the mood takes me. As a result of this approach, I do not make things twice, and though you can put flowers in my vases, I am not very interested in function. I am more interested in playing with form and allowing the pieces to work as paintings.

What inspires you?

Music, paintings, other potters. Jazz is good company when making vases and I am very keen on Thelonious Monk and the way he plays the piano, using strange notes that at first sound strange and only afterwards make sense. Sometimes this syncopation gets into the vase.

What is your workshop luxury?

Radio and CD player, and bottle opener.

Your favourite studio lunch?

Mr Waller’s pork pie from the butcher’s on Ledbury High Street. Occasionally when I know I am not seeing anyone for a few days I will indulge in his pork and garlic pie. On Fridays, if it’s a late session, I will open the wine.

Best spot in the British Isles?

The concourse at Paddington Station – I was born in Peru.

What do you find challenging about being a creative?

Trying to be disciplined. Because I am a painter by nature, I am prone to going off where the brush leads me, but with ceramics there is less scope for making something out of previous mistakes, which canvas allows. I try to think ahead more when painting my vases.

What would you like to learn next?

To play the harmonica.

How do you let your hair down?

By researching the variety and wonder of the Tempranillo grape, with friends.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Radio 6, Jazz FM, and, for some reason I cannot fathom, Goldfrapp’s ‘Utopia’ which has become an ear worm, but one I like, and whose lyrics I still do not understand.