Walter Keeler was born in London and studied at Harrow School of Art. In 1965 he established his first workshop in Hertfordshire, moving to Wales in 1976. He has held a number of teaching positions, and his work has been exhibited worldwide. Keeler began by making functional oxidised stoneware pots, but after moving to Wales his work began to acquire a more sculptural feel that took 18th Century Staffordshire-ware and tin oil-cans as points of reference; the pieces made were wholly functional. These more sculptural works offered a range of possibilities with the salt glazing techniques he then employed to create a new and more inventive form of domestic-ware. His more recent work has moved on from the precisely pitched forms of his salt glazed works to become more whimsical; the somewhat austere grey, blue and green salt glazes have given way to works inspired by 18th Century English Whieldon-ware made from earthenware and glazed with colour to give a tortoiseshell effect.

Further reading:
Emmanual Cooper and Amanda Fielding, Walter Keeler, Denbirghshire County Council, 2004 (ISBN 1900941716)

 

Glossary

  • Earthenware

    One of the three major types of pottery, the others being stoneware and porcelain. It is opaque, soft and porous unless covered completely with glaze. The firing temperatures can be low - 800ºC or high - 1200ºC, when it starts to vitrify, becoming stoneware.

  • Stoneware

    One of the three major types of pottery, the others being earthenware and porcelain. A buff, gray or brown clay is mixed with other clays and ceramic materials to make a heavy, opaque, highly plastic clay body that is fired at a high temperature - above 1200ºC. It is in between earthenware and porcelain in its character. The term stoneware also refers to the clay body and objects made from it.