Ross ceramics artist Steve Freer mastering an ancient Japanese pottery firing technique and is one of the artists featured at Made in Ross.

Made in Ross is an art cooperative which helps local artists get their work out into the public. Made in Ross is in the most central part of Ross and the focal point of the high street, giving featured artists a real spotlight.

Made in Ross is a co-operative where members of the public can enjoy a showcase of local artistic works, the Ross Market House gallery is open every day from 10am until 4pm.

Steve, who has lived in Ross for about 23 years, told the Gazette: “If people visit, and see that the stairs are open, they wander up. We’re always meeting people visiting the area from all over the UK.”

One of Steve’s pieces for sale was made using an old Japanese technique called raku firing, where the pot is fired outside. Usually when a pot is fired it takes up to two days, however with the Japanese technique, it’s fired at 1,000 degree celsius and finished within 45 minutes. The pots are visibly red hot when they’re taken out, placed using long tongues into a container of sawdust, the sawdust catches fire and that’s what turns the unglazed clay glazed black, carbonising it. One of his pieces was on the gallery shelf the day after it came out of the kiln.

Whilst Steve has yet to suffer a pottery related injury as a result of working with the hot materials, he takes care, keeping a bucket of water handy, wearing welders gloves and a apron.

He said: “As long as you’re not rushing and you don’t trip over, it shouldn’t be a problem.” He added: “The thing you see on TV where they take it and plunge it into a bucket of water and it hisses, you’re not really supposed to do that—but you do it sometimes, it’s fun—you take one of those sprays you use to spray water onto a plant with and just spray it gently, it takes the temperature down more gradually.”

Once the temperature as been taken up to 1,000 celsius a horse hair can be draped across the pot and become carbonised on the pot, leaving a black line.

Prior to his retirement, Steve worked for 25 years as a TV producer for the BBC in Cardiff. He worked on a large number of documentaries, as well as several high profile music and arts programmes. During his student days he trained as a painter; about 10 years ago, he was visiting John Kyle High School for his daughter’s open day and saw a pottery display. The teacher, who was Monmouth based, invited Steve along to one of the school’s adult education classes. After several years Steve graduated to his own self-built studio and joined another open-access studio in Hereford called CUP about three years ago, where people who are fans of pottery are able to use the facilities there. Steve’s time at CUP bolstered Steve’s pottery skill base, where he learnt more nuance aspects of the craft such as which glazes go together.

He said: “Quite often when you make this kind of stuff you just make it at home and give it away to relatives at Christmas who probably don’t want it. There’s a point where you do think about doing craft fairs and joining a gallery like Made in Ross. It professionalises what you do a little bit. You have to think about putting things up for sale and putting things on display. Everybody here has been through that, people learnt the skill, and then you get to another level.” He added: “It also mounts up a little bit as well. It’s not about the money, it’s just nice that someone else wants it, the stimulus of selling it to other people, that it’s good enough to take away.”

In July the Gazette reported on several of Ross-on-Wye artists showcasing their work at Made in Ross at and event known as the Private View.

For their first event since 2019, upstairs at The Market House, a range of work by their talented members, 13 in total, some of whom have joined in the last year. The artists feature all developed their crafts in their spare time and the exhibition was an opportunity for many of them to showcase their work.