MA SHOWS

Reflecting on home, place and habitat my practice focuses on the landscapes and environment where I live in SW France. My surroundings are both wild and tamed – farm, field and woodland.

Since moving here I have used photography to study and document the undulating formation of the land and the traces made by human intervention. Focusing deep into the landscape I am searching for line, form and detail created by the integration of human work and natural landforms. These studies, in turn, inform my mark making in clay and on paper.

I work with a variety of materials, methods and techniques connecting my practice directly with the environment. Originally, the pond in our garden was a clay pit where clay was taken to build our house, at a time when materials were locally sourced and prepared on site. It has become increasingly important to me to align with this ethic and I search for locally found materials to use within my practice.

I dig and prepare clay from the pond and experiment to gain a workable clay body, integrating porcelain and recycled stoneware clays I have collected over the years. The clays are randomly mixed, aiming to produce a subtle, earthy palette. I make ink and paper from foraged and recycled materials for works on paper, incorporating clay, pigments and natural fibres to aid strength and add colour and texture.