’Christopher Hepworth as born in 1970 in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. His love of Raku began whilst he was studying at night school “Compared to the normal glaze firings which could take days to see the results, raku was instant, which appealed to me. It had a dangerous, boy-ish element to it, with the naked flames and being hands on at 1000 degrees C – that was exciting”. Despite his early attempts resulting in black, charred and cracked pots, Chris continued to research and practice the technique as much as he could. This dedication paid off and in early 2003, Chris’ raku pieces were outselling the functional work, and he decided to concentrate fully on producing raku art. Over the years he has built up a national and international reputation for his work.

Working from his studio at home, all his pieces are hand thrown, he refuses to use moulds or to use a template to slab cut his pieces as he doesn’t want his work to become an impersonal production line. . The clay Chris uses is one that he ahs developed himself over the years to enable the fine throwing he demands, and he has also developed the glaze that is optimum to achieve the vibrant and unique pieces of his art.