Venetia and John Sharpe together are a creative force of nature. From ceramics, metal work, lapidiary to their newest venture, Southern Essence Distilling,  this couple does it all. In their ceramic work, John often creates massive pieces and Venetia completes the pieces with her own glaze formulations. Both are skilled at both wheel work as well as hand built objects and the variety that they produce together is limitless. The softer elegant shapes that Venetia creates in porcelain showcase her talent for delicate detail. "The creation of the piece is what art is all about. Working the raw materials, finding the limits of the material and listening to what it has to say are integral parts of handmade pieces." As a Special Forces Soldier, John Sharpe traveled around the world absorbing many of the themes that he includes in his work. "It was fascinating to live and work in other countries assisting others in small towns and jungle villages."