Nichola Gensler came to pottery after almost 20 years working as a chef, then pastry chef and finally as a baker, having set up and run a bakery in London for ten years.

She predominantly makes pieces on a throwing wheel and works in a mixture of clays, but particularly enjoys ones with a biscuity texture and toothsome quality. She often enhances this by carving into the surface of the piece when it is leather hard, as well as stretching and distorting the clay to explore its plasticity ahead of firing, which is mostly completed in the gas kilns at Yorkshire Artspace.

Surface techniques, such as fluting and faceting, are really important processes for Nichola. They allow her to form a tactile dialogue with the piece in a more thoughtful way after the initial fast forming on the wheel.