Rob Whelpton was born in 1952. He trained at North Staffordshire Polytechnic, qualifying in the art of ceramics in 1974. After college Rob spent time in Botswana and Denmark until 1983 when he returned to England.

Rob has created a distinctive style of ceramic sculpture. He uses the ancient Raku process firing each art piece outdoors. The crackling of the glazes and vibrant colours of each sculpture is achieved by placing the red hot pots in sawdust, which ignites with the heat, further charring the unglazed areas. Changing humidity and temperature means that even for a sculptor of Whelpton's experience each sculpture takes on a different and unexpected finish following the Raku process.

To see a slide show, with further information, click on any image. Clicking on the left or right side of the enlarged image will show the next or previous image.