Pottery & Design
Hi, I'm Emily
I am a Cornwall-based biomedical science graduate, healthcare worker, and mother. My creative work is primarily with ceramics and home design. I am deeply interested in the ways art, design, and architecture can impact both individual well-being and the broader social environment. My creative work is often influenced by environmental and social factors, with inspiration drawn from nature and the world around me.
No.1
No. 1 is my home. The project focused on transforming and extending a 1950s bungalow into an accessible and inclusive family home, designed to support my son’s independence. While the building was designed by Atelier: Helen Brooks architect, I completed the interior fixtures and design, ensuring that every detail aligned with our family’s needs.
Kitchen
The kitchen at No.1 had to work hard to be functional and accessible on a small footprint. Inspired by the simplicity of scandinavian design, the kitchen encorporates a mixture of birch-faced oiled ply and Fenix-faced ply.
Garden
The aim of this project was to create an accessible garden, in particular making access from the patio to the lawn. This involved creating a grassy ramp and ensuring safety by limiting other, more hazardous pathways through oak sleeper borders.
Storage
Storage at No.1 balances functionality and accessibility in the form of deep bench seating with drawers underneath. The drawers enhance accessibility, allowing easy visibility and organisation. Birch-faced ply cladding seamlessly ties the benches to the kitchen design.
Clay
I took up pottery around a year ago. I mainly hand build pieces however, I have recently started on the wheel and sculpting, both of which I find immersive and really enjoy. I am very tactile and thoroughly enjoy using my hands to build, shape, and sculpt the clay into a meaningful design. The ability to hold and run my hands over the finished piece gives me so much joy.
Wheel Trio
These three pots represent my first three attempts on a wheel. I wanted to keep the designs on them similar so that they would display well as a trio. Each bowl was made with 1lb of clay with slight differences in the form, especially around the rims.
Nature Imprints
In these two pieces I pressed leaves, flowers and seed pods found in nature into the wet clay to leave imprints of the natural materials. I then used underglazes to highlight the imprints and finished with a transparent glaze.
Cups and Handles
This was an exercise to develop the technique of pulling a handle and attaching it to a mug. I experimented with different ways of attaching the handles to the two mugs, as well as different clays and glazes.
Sculpting: A Shell
I created this shell in a recent sculpture class. The aim of this exercise was to sculpt an object as realistically as possible. I chose a scallop shell made out of studio white clay. I then finished the shell with oxides and underglazes to give a matt finish.
Honeycomb Imprints
This was another piece using imprinting however, this time with bubble wrap which left an intricate honeycomb pattern. Using underglazes I decorated the pot in reds, oranges and yellows to resemble the rich and golden colours of honeycomb.
Coil Pot
This coil pot was the first larger piece that I made when I started pottery. I used coils to build this plant pot and finished with oxides, white underglaze and a transparent glaze.
Sumi
These pieces were inspired by the flowing brush strokes in Japanese ink painting, or Sumi. Here, I brushed underglazes on in a sweeping motion and finished with a transparent glaze on top. I particularly like the textures created from the brushstrokes.
Maquettes: A Mini Vase
This mini vase was created as a maquette for a larger piece. I was heavily inspired by the geometric shapes and bold colours of Clarice Cliff's ceramic designs.
Worry Pebbles
These 'worry pebbles' can be used to relieve stress and anxiety through the repetitive movement of rubbing the thumb over the smooth, glazed part of the pebble. I then varied this to create 'sensory stones' with different textures.