Spillway

Spillway was a private commission for a small courtyard, and deciding on a square form for the vessel, William Pye has acknowledged its location. In creating a brimming dish combined with spouts, Pye has given himself the opportunity to contrast apparently still water with fast moving falls of water and lively splashes. The tension of the water within the vessel - reaching the brim, but not falling over its straight edges - is heightened by the apparently precarious nature of the whole form which, like a ballet-dancer, stands almost on a single point. 'In a way' said Pye, 'the falling water paradoxically suggests guy-ropes securing the corners of the dish, rendering it apparently less precarious.' The spoon deflectors at the four corners which receive the water as it falls from the spouts send splashes back towards the rebated area at the foot of the vessel where it returns to the reservoir underneath.