Inspired by ancient icons and vessels, my work echos forms of Neolithic fertility statues exploring the rites and rituals of the human experience. I predominately make decorative ceramic vessels, characterised by their organic but unexpected forms, with handles that fully integrate into the shape of the piece. Focused on the silhouette, I like to imagine my shapes as cut outs translated into sculptural pieces.
Due to the tactile nature of handbuilding each piece is unique and has its own individual character.
I’ve always been fascinated by ancient artefacts in museums and the cyclical nature of ceramic artefacts being rediscovered in the ground from which they came. I like to experiment with the material; working with textured and heavily grogged clay. Exploring what’s possible with the natural clay body, I use raw, textured and burnished finishes, and the nerikomi technique to make patterns with contrasting clay. When I do use glaze I like to use bold colours to highlight the distinct silhouetted forms of my vessels.
When placed in modern environments and domestic settings it highlights the presence of ceramics in our human history, using ceramics as we always have, both in the mundane and as objects of admiration.
