A POTTER from Castle Douglas has won the prestigious UK Maker of the Year Award.
Slipware potter Hannah McAndrew was awarded Maker of the Year at the UK Heritage Crafts Awards and presented at a prestigious winners’ reception at the House of Lords on Monday.
Hannah has been running her own workshop since 2003, her work draws influence from the ancient British folk heritage of country pottery, whose makers demonstrated extraordinary, intuitive skill, a high benchmark to which she aspires.
Her winning piece, a ‘This is England’ charger, was made as a response to the racist abuse during the Euro 2020 football tournament and raised £9000 for FareShare UK. The piece was accepted into the permanent collection of Centre of Ceramic Art, York Art Gallery in 2021.
Hannah didn’t expect to win the award and was shocked when her name was called. She said: “Just to be shortlisted was pretty amazing. The other two finalists, Fergus Wessel and Rachel Frost, are exceptional craftspeople.
“I was absolutely stunned when my name was read out, amazed, followed by terrified that I might fall over the step onto the stage.
I’m still stunned actually, what an honour it is. It’s great for brown clay pots to be given a moment of acknowledgement too. Thank you to everyone involved, I am really delighted.”
