The Influence Of Childhood

This piece of earthenware makes me smile!  As I child I loved to "take my pen for a walk" and then colour in the design that was left. I really enjoyed the making of this piece, each section hand painted with two coats of yellow under glaze, and then finished with two coats of clear glaze.
It was quite a relaxing, meditative experience that took me back to my childhood when hours would pass in the blink of an eye as I was so absorbed in my art.  I love the peace that engulfs me when I'm working with clay.
"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." - Thomas Merton

The "Broken" Bowl

This textured, 'Broken Bowl' was made using earthenware clay. I crammed greaseproof paper inside the bowl after I'd coiled and shaped it.  This left crinkles and indents, creases and interesting patterns which are unique.  I worked over and over in one area (the broken piece) working it thinner and thinner, pulling the clay upwards and outwards until a crack appeared.  As the clay dried the crack became much deeper - and after firing, deeper still.  This crack is too wide to be "fixed" it is deep and noticeable; and it's a beautiful thing that can still be used as a vessel of some sort...no matter how broken we are, we are still beautiful and have a purpose!

Blue Swirl Tea-Light

I spend a lot of time on the west coast of Scotland.  The sea can be wild, intriguing and so, so beautiful - this little blue swirly tea light reminds me of my times on Islay.

I used stoneware clay and covered it in 3 layers of lead - free glaze and then finished it with a clear glaze.

It's one of my favourite, early little pieces.

In the beginning.....

In the spring/summer of 2015 I took the leap and went to my first ceramics class in Birnam, Perthshire. I was hooked from the moment I started handling the clay.
Since then I've been playing with stoneware and earthenware, while also experimenting with plaster cast and fulfilling my passion of creating art by hand, with hands as the subject..either literally or metaphorically!
Ever since I was tiny I've been intrigued by hands.
Hands tell stories.
The lines, the grazes the nails, the veins, the shapes - each uniquely different. I look forward to sharing my ceramics and plaster cast journey!

This is one of my first stoneware pieces, I scored and scraped it when it was quite dry (more than leather hard).  I realised when working on this piece that texture, especially scoring and scraping felt representative of ageing hands, and of life itself.  We are all marked by our experiences, and I feel that my pieces reflect this.