Carla Murdoch Ceramics

From student to teacher to independent ceramist, Carla appreciates the joy of doing something you love every day and has learned never to underestimate the power of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. 

Bringing Happiness Home

It was love at first touch when Carla Murdoch’s fascination with clay began in 2005. The pull was so strong that she embarked on a glass and ceramics degree at the University of Sunderland, becoming the first uni-goer in her family.

Upon graduating, a national recession pushed Carla down an admin pathway she hadn’t planned, and although she continued to play with clay on the side, she felt space for her creative joy dwindling. 

Thankfully, a life-affirming tumble on a muddy Norway mountain, followed by a teary peanut butter and banana sandwich in a steamed-up car, sparked a fire in Carla to return to what made her truly happy. Back to working with her hands and creating with clay. 

A spell teaching pottery and sculpture between 2016 and 2018 went some way to refilling her cup but still didn’t quite scratch that expressive itch. So, in 2018, Carla gained a place on the esteemed Yorkshire Artspace Starter Studio Programme, which fosters talent by providing a supportive environment for independent ceramist enterprises.  

And, though the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 cut her time at the shared studio slightly short, she brought her throwing wheel home, ordered a kiln and the solo journey of Carla Murdoch Ceramics began.

Where Comforting Routine Meets Creative Adventure

Through trialling, testing, and artfully making within her Sheffield garden studio, Carla’s ceramics are a celebration of function, form and beauty. 

They are inspired by wanderlust-worthy travels and grounded by what we need around the home, with Japanese ramen bowls and Copenhagen-influenced tumblers sitting comfortably alongside rustic foraging bowls and earthy dinner plates. 

There is warm familiarity in the repetitive nature of Carla’s precisely crafted pottery bearing soul-stirring colourways but equally excitement in her exploration of new ideas. From dipping her brush into hand-painted, patterned pieces to experimenting with the chemistry of glazing and firing, she brings fresh ceramic spirit to the table and home.

Above all else, Carla takes great joy in the transformational stages of nurturing something from humble to wholesome. Whether that be a recipe in her kitchen, a seed in her allotment, a jigsaw in her living room or a ball of clay in her Yorkshire studio.