I had set myself the brief of creating 100 vases as a new year’s resolution at the start of 2021. Not really knowing how to progress with my work due to the pandemic, it was intended to be a way for me to explore new ideas and reignite my experimentation that had been a cornerstone of my master’s work. But following a breast cancer diagnosis in February, the project morphed into a kind of therapy, and as I awaited surgery I threw myself into starting the vases as a way to focus on something positive. Using my mould system, I have pushed the casting process much further than I have before, and this ongoing project can be seen in full on my Instagram page. 

This body of work was the culmination of my final Master’s degree project. 

I had had to complete my degree during the first lockdown in Spring 2020.

Finding myself limited to the equipment I had in my home studio, I was forced to develop my own ways of working without university facilities. I had already begun to explore brick clay as a material, and building on this, I experimented with clay dug from my own parent’s garden. These pieces also built on my stacking mould system concept. The title - Forme Brut references beton brut, which literally means raw concrete, and is a reference to the Brutalist concrete formwork surfaces which directly inspired me. Here in this work, I had made my own textured wooden moulds and found ways to translate these surfaces directly into ceramic pieces; not only vessel forms but also decorative tile panels.

This work was the outcome of a live brief I submitted for Royal Doulton during my Master’s degree. Exploring form and texture, it is a stackable, informal dining set aimed at the young professional market. 

A versatile set of bone china multi-use pieces. 

Designed with fine dining in mind, each piece can be used either as a plinth or as a bowl or dish. The textured surface has been directly developed from the original cardboard maquette pieces and the transparent glaze gives a glossy iceberg like surface. 

This body of work was the final collection for my undergraduate degree. Mixed media wearables with the main focus being the central porcelain slip cast forms. Inspired by mid century textiles and homewares, I wanted to create a fun, vibrant collection that fed my love of oversized jewellery. 

This work was a huge voyage of discovery for me. Through learning about and understanding the basics of mould making and slip casting, I began to fall in love with ceramics. Made by directly taking moulds from pebbles found on the beach, I created small decorative vessels and spoons which emulate the granite seams found in the stones. I returned to the beach with the pebbles I’d used, and took some of the work with me to photograph in their spiritual home. 

I find beaches and the sea very therapeutic places, as do many people. I love the feeling of calm and solitude. I found I could recreate that feeling in my studio through the repetitive processes of ceramic slip casting and so these pebbles are my direct link to not just that feeling, but also to Llandanwg beach in Wales which is one of my most favourite places to be.