"Joanna's work has a beautiful, soft, fresh and feminine quality which I love". These are the words of the potter, Robin Welch, with which I concur but could not have put so succinctly. They are praise indeed from such a well-regarded member of the British pottery establishment and an apt way of welcoming Joanna Howells back to the Harlequin Gallery.

Joanna's porcelain pots are thrown and altered while still soft and are concerned with form and texture. After throwing she applies a slip, which she draws through with a variety of combs and sometimes her fingers to embellish the work with a few moments of free expression. Thus each piece is unique. She is also interested in her work having a sculptural quality yet all of her pots remain functional, begging to be used.

In the two years since last exhibiting at the Harlequin, Joanna has brought her white porcelain together with black in a union of opposites. As Joanna says, "A glaze I concocted years ago in a spirit of playful experiment has finally been partnered with form. The black is volatile, unpredictable and shot through with subtle crystal clusters. While the whites are quiet, serene, the black pots are both striking and enigmatic."

Over the last few years Joanna has taken part in many pottery events around the country but has decided to cut back on these dramatically from now on, as it reduces the time she has to produce and develop ideas. Hopefully, you will be able to come along to this exhibition to take one of the few opportunities available to you this year to see a varied selection of Joanna's work.

Like Joanna, Laura returns for her second Harlequin exhibition with a body of work predominantly painted during the last year. Compared to her 2001 Harlequin show there will be less of an emphasis on landscapes and more use of acrylics rather than watercolour. This shift was not planned but has happened before during her career, as I imagine it does with many artists. However, although Laura is reluctant to speak too much about her work, she is now very happy with the paintings that she is producing as a consequence of this period of change.

Laura continues to teach, as she has done since finishing her training at St. Martin's School of Art but following her move to the South Coast has given up her studio at the Art in Perpetuity Trust in Deptford, where I first came across her work. Laura has had a busy period of exhibiting since her last Harlequin visit. She has shown in Berwick upon Tweed, taken part in a group show at the Metropole Gallery in Folkestone and has an exhibition with the Scottish Borders Arts Council coming up. After this period of activity she plans not to exhibit again for at least a year so, as with Joanna, this exhibition gives many of you the last chance to see her work for some time.