My Life in Pottery

Thames Ditton Potter Johdi Hutchins makes little creations she hopes will make you smile.

A sense of order is the first thing you notice on entering Johdi’s studio. Rows of creamy white mugs, bowls and plates are neatly lined on tables and shelves to air dry. In the corner is her compact potter’s wheel and in the shed to the side is where you’ll find her kiln.

Today her commute to work is just a gentle stroll through her pretty garden to the shed at the end. It’s a far cry from her previous hectic careers which varied from financial PR in the city to concert promotion for the likes of Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Michael Ball and later teaching IT at Richmond Adult College. But then she decided to do something for herself, to challenge her inner creativity. A pottery course at Esher Adult Learning Centre was the solution.

Soon, throwing pots just once a week at college was not enough so, in 2019, she converted her garden shed into a studio, bought a pottery wheel and kiln. Then having secured a stall at a local Farmers Market she started The Thames Ditton Pottery Shed. Johdi’s first creation on the wheel was a simple little pot for her paper clips. Like everything she makes it is useful yet aesthetically pleasing and makes her happy. In fact, she enjoys every element of making ceramics, from the moment she cuts and weighs the clay for individual pieces to wedging (kneading) it to eliminate any air bubbles and finally to the throwing process. To take the guesswork out of creating her identical mugs or bowls she has a pair of high- tech lasers which indicate the correct sizing.

Although Johdi admits to being a little impatient, she sticks to the necessary 24-hour timing to air dry the new pieces. ‘If the clay dries too quickly’ she says ‘you get S cracks in the base and the only solution is destruction’. But ever resourceful Johdi recycles the clay by chucking it into a bucket of water where it reverts to the original consistency

Following the initial bisque drying in the kiln Johdi hand glazes her pieces, usually applying as many as six layers of glaze, all in her signature colours of soft blues, greens, purples and pinks. Then it’s into the kiln for the final day-long firing.

When preparing for selling at an open market in Thames Ditton, there’s a period of intense creativity when she is often at the wheel in the early hours. On less busy days she will work on new designs like her noodle pots with dips in the side to rest chopsticks. Match holders and fridge magnets are also fun, but if she gets stuck, she’ll find inspiration by chatting to other potters who she says ‘are always really kind at sharing their knowledge’.

A day throwing pots can leave Johdi with sore thumbs, wrinkly hands and a desperate need for a glass of wine but she wouldn’t have it any other way. ‘I enjoy every single process of creating pots’ she says ‘especially when I open the kiln and see the results.’

Janet Donin