Samantha McEwan, ceramic designer and maker at Krankpod, started her career at Bournville College of Art and Design in 1991. She acquired skills within most disciplines which included painting, sculpture and textiles. Samantha specialised in handmade ceramics and produced work influenced by her love of colour and decoration. Her time at Bournville was a very exciting phase in her creative development, allowing her to work with a range of new materials within an inspiring environment. Samantha went on to complete a ceramics degree at Staffordshire University between 1993 and 1996 and gained experience in slab-building, mould-making and decorative techniques such as sgraffitto and pipe-lining. Her interest in organic forms inspired her work and she'd often look at unconventional sources of reference material: one project explored forms that could not be seen with the naked eye such as plant cell and germ formations which showed an amazing array of shapes and patterns. Samantha returned to Birmingham after her degree and worked as a waitress and shared studio space at the Midlands Art Centre in Birmingham where she experimented with tile and bowl making and also modelled for resident sculptors and painters in order to fund her work. During this period she felt the need to practise ceramics full time and wrote a business proposal for the Princes Trust funding. Her application was successful and she started Krankpod Ceramics in 2000. Krankpod's full range of work includes decorative bowls, coasters, tiled mirrors and coffee tables. Her work is sold in galleries across the U.K, and she also creates work for commercial and private interiors, the most recent being 'Ashbells' (restaurant) Notting Hill, London Krankpod's studio is based at the Custard Factory in Birmingham, which was the original Birds Custard-making factory and has now been transformed into studios, workshops, offices, retail outlets and galleries and exhibition space. She draws inspiration for her designs by studying organic objects such as pods, leaves and seeds. Original drawings are translated into clay using a method which is unique to her. Colour themes range from subtle to deliciously rich and vibrant. The use of contrasting gloss, satin and matt glazes makes her work tactile and inviting to touch, bringing a fresh approach to handmade ceramic design.
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