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Svend Bayer was born in Uganda in 1946 to Danish parents and was schooled in Africa, Denmark and England, including Exeter University from 1965 - 68. In 1969 he began work at Wenford Bridge Pottery with Michael Cardew, and in 1972 joined the Brannam Pottery in Barnstaple, working as a thrower for a year. After travelling in the Far East, Asia and the United States, he set up his own workshop in Devon in 1975, close to the Devon ball clays he uses. Bayer has exhibited widely in Europe, the Middle East, North America, Australia and New Zealand. “I have always fired with wood. Initially it was simply the fuel I used to harden my pots. Any evidence of wood firing was neither encouraged, or discouraged, it simply happened. Over the past 20 years the length of my firings has increased to a point where the effects of the ash, embers and heavy reduction of protracted firings have become a major feature of my work. To begin with the majority of the pots were packed unglazed, relying entirely on the firing for their surfaces. More recently I have noticed how some of the glazes I use are transformed by long wood firings. These glazes; kaki, tenmoku, celadon and shino would traditionally be protected from kiln ash, but I love the startling colours and movement that result from this exposed treatment. By nature I am timid but when it comes to firing I am reckless to the point of stupidity. Again and again I make the same mistakes. Mostly the euphoria of finishing a firing lasting many days will have plumbed the depths of a full blown skandiwegian depression by the time I have unpacked the kiln. So why fire in this way? The answer is that every now and then everything falls into place and the results can be spectacular. Like some jaded old gambler, it is enough to keep me coming back in the hope of more of the same”. Svend Bayer 2010 |
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