Steve Harrison Ceramics

Steve Harrison (1967 - ) Ergonomic Salt Glaze Ceramics

Steve Harrison is a leading ceramist working mainly in salt glaze (a technique that adds salt to the glaze creating a highly attractive surface quality).

He makes ceramic vessels that are simple and elegantly functional, and he has adapted these qualities to create dishes and cups that especially easy to hold and use.

The examples in the collection shown here were made specifically for Adorn, Equip, a touring exhibition from 2002 that challenged the view that the equipment and accessories used by disabled people had to be uncool. For example, the bottle with the large stopper is easy to open and hold, with the use of an oversized stopper adding to the appeal of the vessel in a way that wouldn’t happen if the stopper was in proportion. Harrison thought they made the bottle look more unexpected, like a piece of sculpture.

The beakers and the bottle also have indentations in their sides to make them easier to grip and the bowl has large lug handles in order to make it easier to grip and lift.

Harrison wrote about the works at the time:

“There is a truth in the design if it already assumes the characteristics associated with the issues
addressed within adorn, equip”.