The Weight of Uncertainty
Part Two
On January 4th a third national lockdown was announced and I returned to my previous project The Weight of Uncertainty.
This new work in progress is Part 2.
Once again I am using 1 oz of clay as the weight for each thrown vessel and I am making one for every day of this lockdown.
The accumulating vessels represent the passing days and the weight of uncertainty felt within them. So far I have only used dark clay.
Projects and Process
The Shop Floor Project
Work in progress for a special collection.
To launch in April 2022.
Creating a collection of Tea cups and Saucers for Fortnum and Mason
At the end of 2022 I spent time working with Fortnum and Mason to create a special collection for their 2023 Spring event called Fortnum and Makers.
The first floor of the Piccadilly store hosts a range of work by independent designers and makers that will be there from February 2023 for a few months.
The process started with sketches and ideas for shapes and colours. I made a lot of saucers to try and get the size just right in relation to the cup. The cup needed to be big enough for tea but not so big that I couldn’t create from it a feeling of something to treasure, a special piece that wasn’t just a mug.
In the end we decided to only use a deep cobalt blue on the body of the cup and in the centre of the saucers. This in combination with matte black handles to counter balance the gloss of the blue and some gold detail where the handle meets the cup. Each one is different.
These images show something of the order of making from sketches, wheel thrown and unfired cups and saucers, painted and biscuit fired and finally glazed and finished. There are four different designs. All the pieces will have had three firings before they are ready to be packed up and delivered.
The Shop Floor Project
'Spring Tides, Hidden Treasures'
It is an honour to be commissioned to make new work for TSFP.
I'm so grateful for their continued support and interest in my work and to be invited to join their eclectic group of designers, makers and traditional manufacturers.
My contribution to the exhibition launches in the Spring alongside works by a curated group of artists. I have been creating domed dishes and lidded pots that incorporate found objects and recent finds from the Thames foreshore.
The Merchant's Table
'Past and Present Plates'
October 2020
This collection is part of an ongoing collaboration with Susanna at TMT. I have been lucky enough to be supported and exhibited by Susanna who is inspirational in her artistic scope and tireless support of British makers and artists.
This new collection of commissioned plates has evolved from conversations with Susanna about our shared interest in found objects, memory and historical reference, a love of collecting and my particular obsession with searching for ‘treasure’ on the Thames foreshore.
The ceramic fragments that I have embedded in these plate rims were mostly found in Suffolk and London. These are the broken bowls, cups, and plates from centuries past reimagined for a 20th Century table.