Studio pottery is
pottery made by professional and amateur
artists or artisans working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves. Studio pottery includes functional wares such as
tableware,
cookware and non-functional wares such as
sculpture. Studio potters can be referred to as ceramic artists, ceramists, ceramicists or as an artist who uses clay as a medium. Much studio pottery is
tableware or
cookware but an increasing number of studio potters produce non-functional or sculptural items. In
Britain since the 1980s, there has been a distinct trend away from functional pottery, for example, the work of artist
Grayson Perry. Some studio potters now prefer to call themselves ceramic artists,
ceramists or simply artists. Studio pottery is represented by potters all over the world and has strong roots in Britain.