The MA collection

THE ART OF WALKING 

Inspired by Victor Pascoe I drew some abstract designs, marks to represent the boulders and rocks on the walk.

 

 I capture the moment with abstract paintings that are immature,  using marks and line to represent the view and the memory as a record to then apply to my ceramics in my studio. 

My work centres around the outdoors, particularly geographical areas of natural beauty,  the North York Moors rocks and cliff formations having huge impact on my artwork. I am fascinated by shape, form, line and space which drive my ideas and creativity. The imagery is often abstract, and these form the basis to my work.

Reduction firing in a sagger in an electric kiln

  I explored the idea of firing a Saggar in my electric kiln and following a course in the Netherlands I have explored my interest in  this field and developed my practise to create the colours and smoky effect the Saggar has in a gas kiln. These colours have allowed me to reproduce colour and texture found on the moors, boulders and rocky cliffs on the North York Moors which has enhanced my work and created the outcomes I was looking for.

I love the unpredictability of firing in a sagger, each piece is lovingly wrapped with string or cotton cloth soaked in oxides and copper wire before placing amongst hay, dried heather, sawdust and sheep wool.

I believe my art is influenced by walking, the natural light, the weathered boulders and the rich edges and lines that come together and create each piece either from memory or a drawing which then translates through my hands to the clay. The rich landscape of The Cleveland Way, the North York Moors and coast have provided inspiration for each piece to develop. Taking the colours and forms from the walk I have made a series of pieces to reflect the landscape and to show the emotions crafted by our conversations and walks.

Through out my year on the MA at Sunderland I have been walking the Cleveland Way. I thought this was a great opportunity to use this as inspiration for my degree. 

I have been inspired by the standing stones, weather (wind, sun, snow, rain), the moors, the coast and all things in-between. 

Looking closely at rock formation, marks and weathered stones I created some experimental pieces. I went on to look at glaze  colour and created many test pieces.

Test pieces creating glazes to represent the moors.

 I see myself as an artist creating sculptural ceramics, often working with found items that enhance and communicate my work to the viewer.

I have a sustained love for the outdoors and have made pieces for the garden which sit amongst the flower beds. Each piece is a  reminder of the experience it has been sourced from. A story or narrative is an important part of my work, creating with a contextual understanding evokes a special response to each piece. This reaction to a situation informs my work, it starts with a walk, a view, a photograph and an abstract painting follows; these then form part of my practice and I continue this response to the clay, forming a structure through manipulation, allowing it to respond to touch and celebrating the unknown results. 

In recognition of great friendships, I have explored these ideas through my work as a ceramicist. By using clay as a metaphor for friendships and the 109 mile, 10 day, Cleveland Way walk which took place over 2023 and 2024 accompanied by the same two dear friends who have joined me on many other walks. (Fig 7)The changing lines and creative structure of each piece I make will not only represent the ups and downs of life but also the challenging walks we do together.  The support the clay gives in creating the form is the support friendships give during the walk and throughout life. I wanted to create pieces that reflected the landscape, the boulder, the standing sone, but also to resonate with the true meaning of walking with friends and how that impacts on my life as a ceramicist.

To my mind photographing my work in the place where the inspiration developed allows the piece to soak up the colours and forms around it. It becomes part of my practice and contextualises each piece, giving it perspective.