Karin Hessenberg (born 1944) studied ceramics at Camberwell. Working initially in central London, her early output included burnished smoke-fired thrown and hand-built pieces, her interest in fire-effected surfaces and archetypal shapes confirmed by a visit to Peru where she responded to the sculptural directness of Inca forms. She has also made interesting use of combined clays. Hessenburg’s best pieces had an elemental simplicity, some of them an intriguing combination of form, texture and colour that was always sympathetic to the material.

Long based in Sheffield, Hessenburg has now moved to very different areas of ceramics creativity.

David Whiting