Through a new series of interviews, ‘Makers at Work’ celebrates Scotland as a place of making, capturing a diversity of disciplines, practices and making spaces.
First up is Cara Guthrie and her studio outside Dunkeld in Perthshire. We chatted to Cara about her practice as a studio potter, her experience of learning craft at school, and the challenges and joys of making in Scotland.
How did you get started working in your craft?
I didn’t make anything with clay until I was 27. It was entirely out of my orbit and never something I was offered at school, but after just one taster evening class, I totally fell in love with clay and pottery. I felt such a strong pull towards it and just sort of had to make it part of my life. At first I didn’t think there was a chance I could make a career of it, but over time and after two apprenticeships, I was working for a potter as my job.
What was your experience of craft education in school?
Pretty much non-existent. My art teacher was very much fine art focused and whilst I loved painting and drawing, I didn’t have the natural talent to think of myself as an artist.
What is most challenging, and most enjoyable about your practice?
The most challenging part of it is being self-employed. It’s hard to keep cashflow even, especially with customers not always being the fastest at paying, and the cost of everything – materials, energy, logistics – have shot up in recent years. I’m lucky to have set up a model where I work to order, so there is a degree of security in that for me. I think I’d be too nervous if I were making work and hoping what I made sold. The model I work to is also more sustainable – I only make what I need for a project.
I don’t get paid holiday, but a great joy of self-employment is that I make up my hours. If there’s a beautiful day coming up, I can spontaneously take it off to hike up a hill and just work a day on the weekend instead. And the enjoyable aspects are limitless. I love what I do for work. I am still, ten years on, completely obsessed and in love with making pots and pottery as a craft. I feel so grateful to love what I do for a living every day.
What would improve your life as a maker or what support do you think is missing?
I’d love more time to experiment but it’s so hard to make that a reality when the cost of everything has shot up so much across domestic and work life. I also have two small children and high childcare costs, so I do sometimes resent coming into the workshop and feeling like I have to be this ultra-productive machine rather than a creative human. So, work would be greatly improved with free childcare!
How do you view Scotland as a place for making, selling, exhibiting and celebrating craft?
I think the cultural landscape of craft in Scotland has changed dramatically in the time I’ve been part of it. There are so many incredibly talented people making really interesting work and continuing to push boundaries. And the word is getting out. It feels as if Scotland is finally being taken seriously on an international stage for craft.
Cara Guthrie is a Scottish studio potter. After discovering her love of ceramics through an evening class, she trained through apprenticeships in Denmark and the UK, including at KH Würtz pottery. Now based outside Dunkeld, Perthshire, her work is represented by Bard. Her stockists include Elliotts, Inver, L’Enclume, Kol and Little Chartroom, and previously Kettle’s Yard and Toast.