As a Ceramist, I am inspired by the beauty and uniqueness I see in nature. In particular, the intriguing structures and colours that decay stimulates and the revealing of intricate textures and patterns that evolve during the decaying process. I use a range of hand building techniques such as slab building, coiling and throwing to create sculptural vessels and forms. I use the clay surface as a canvas to create an organic feel through colour and texture such as mark making, printing and slip layering. I love being in the moment with the clay and conveying what I see when I’m looking at nature, the fallen sea of leaves that might carpet a pathway or delicate skeletal remnants. I feel that our human connection with nature lies with our own uniqueness and impermanence.

When I’m out walking, I often find myself scanning the leaf carpeted paths, taking photographs and collecting leaves and objects which inform my sketchbook work. Texture is a key feature in my work and I have found that Stoneware clays are quite adaptable to a range of additions from sand and perlite to granola and coffee. By using slabbed clay as a canvas, I add additions, together with a range of layered slip or engobe colours in a painterly way. I try to create a flow of texture and a movement of colour around the slab. This is then interjected with small areas of interest, using mono-printing and imprints influenced by Skeletal leaf segments or sections of bark, which becomes a collaged effect. Therefore, by using collage on the surface, I can achieve an essence of nature’s patchwork spectacle. The construction of my vessels and sculptures are usually created while the clay is still pliable enough to slump and tear but I often let the clay determine its own path, which I feel adds to the organic or asymmetrical outcome. After the piece has been bisque fired, I apply washes and glazes to add further depth before the final firing.

By creating a textured and colourful environment on and in the clay, I hope to achieve a feeling of intrigue of depth and layers. The vessel or sculptural element also takes on an organic form to further capture the story of life and decline. I’m trying to capture an essence of nature, something known, something that has been and is still trying to be.