‘It’s like playing with mud’: how pottery is enjoying a revival

Sales of pots and applications for courses are soaring across the UK as the Leach Pottery in St Ives is discovering

For Ellie Woods, the attraction is creating something beautiful but functional - plus the childlike joy of getting her hands grubby.

I think it's the hands-on part of it that really appeals," said Woods, a 25-year-old apprentice at the Leach Pottery in the Cornish town of St Ives. I love the fact that people are going to hold and use our work; it's so intimate, more intimate than looking at a painting or piece of sculpture."