Direction
​Ceramics reflect a turning point in my mid life, when I decided to change direction and follow my dream.
Story
Like for many people lockdown created a time to pause and reflect which led to a short course in throwing in 2021 and the end of a corporate career.
I then renovated an old stable block to create Snowdrop Studio, where I started to build my confidence to both practice ceramics and to teach.
The studio is inspired by three generations of artists set in a lovely English garden, where I enjoy and feel supported by nature and my family around me. I love how working with clay slows me down, helps me to listen, be patient and hopeful. Each piece whether, functional, decorative or sculptural aims to share a sense of belonging and calm.
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My work draws upon my personal experience of grief, pivotal moments where life events shape us and how we can choose to change, adapt and thrive. I am particularly interested in highlighting edges, which to me represent moments where change happens together with exploring what makes something functional, and whether we can function in unusual ways.
Process
After experimenting with many areas of ceramics and developing skills through online courses, this has led to a practice focusing on white stoneware and porcelain.
With a strong emphasis on surface design, carving and texture, reflecting a first love of drawing and painting.
I am intrigued in the process stages of clay, from handmaking slip, leather hard to vitrified stone and the potential of feeling undefined and being discovered through time. ​
Aesthetic
In my work I hope to share the power and beauty of grief and the colours of experience. Developing an aesthetic that holds colour, that once may have been very bright but now more faded with muted elements is important as this shows that through experience colours that were once bright and innocent, take on board new aspects. This can be in the pigmentation of the colour, fading or density.
The pieces are often carved, with markings and lines, that tell the piece's story together often with written poetry.
I frequently like to make pieces in sets, often which hold and nestle within each other. This builds on the feeling of connecting and being protected rather than feeling isolated.