Terri Smart's secluded pottery workshop nestling next to the garage of Cherry Cottage, Back Lane, in East Clandon affords a peaceful view over open fields of Surrey. Here, enjoying the quiet and solitude, save for the companionship of BBC Radio 4, with her own wheel and kiln, her clays, glazes, and colours, she creates a unique range of pottery items. For Terri, her work is a passion, even a compulsion. She is fascinated by the feel of the clay, the adventure of experimenting with new techniques and the excitement of taking the finished article out of the kiln.

Terri has not always been a potter, although, to use her phrase, she has always been a bit "arty farty",taking after her father, who was himself an artist. As a student she completed five years training to be an architect then after a spell running a drawing office of a surveying company in England, was enticed to go to Abu Dhabi to work as an architect there. This was the start of fourteen years abroad. After four years in Abu Dhabi and various jobs in interior design and architectural drafting, she moved to Paris to work in interior design where the french she had learned at the Lycee in South Kensington, came in handy.

Next, Terri worked for seven years in Hong Kong as an interior designer for two companies including a Chinese firm of architects. At that point, tired by the Hong Kong rat-race, she swapped interior design for pottery. She began day classes at "The Fringe" in a studio owned by an Asian potter in Hong Kong where her English pottery teacher, Liz Cameron, was both excellent and a great inspiration.

Before long Terri was hooked. On moving to Singapore with her husband a year or so later, she rented space in the studio of a Singapore potter, Peter Seah whose experience she could lean on when the need arose. Returning to England in 1994, she set up her own studio at Cherry Cottage and completed her City & Guilds course in Ceramics in 1999, for which she needed to demonstrate competence in a wide variety of techniques including throwing, coiling, slab building and slip casting.

Terri displays and sells her work at Guildford House Gallery on Guildford High Street and at many local Surrey galleries and galleries around the country. She can occasionally be found at a good craft fair. She is a member of several societies (see panel above) and exhibits at their shows and exhibitions, often creating items for these shows that are "a little bit different and not especially practical". She has set up Kaleidoscope, a cooperative which brings together artists with different skills - glass, textile art and photography as well as ceramics.

Whatever you are looking for, a special gift or a piece to add to your own collection, why not call her on 01483 222710 to buy or commission pieces or go and visit her at work. She is happy to undertake commissions based on any image of her work on her website as well as your own ideas. Whether you buy 'off the shelf' or commission a piece you know it will be  unique.

Thanks to Liz Harrison for this text