PRACTICE
Material practice
My work moves between clay, natural colour and experimental material processes.
I am interested in materials not only for what they can become, but for what they reveal through process — traces of fire, plants, minerals, time and hands.
CLAY
Clay
Clay is both material and record. I work with handbuilding, form, surface and ceramic sound, often allowing the marks of making and firing to remain visible in the finished object.
I am particularly drawn to processes where control is shared with the material — smoke, ash, flame, texture and atmosphere become part of the work.
handbuilding · ceramic sound · surface · firing
FIRE & PROCESS
Fire changes the work
Pit firing, barrel firing and other alternative processes introduce uncertainty. Fire leaves marks that cannot be fully designed in advance — and that is part of the reason I return to it.
NATURAL COLOUR
Natural colour
Plants offer another material language. I work with natural dyes, eco print and botanical colour, moving between traditional processes, observation and experimentation.
Colour is never only a result: fibre, mordant, plant, water, temperature and season all become part of the process.
natural dyes · eco print · fibres · botanical colour
PIGMENTS
Pigments
I explore plant, mineral and earth-based pigments as a bridge between colour, drawing and material research.
Samples, recipes and tests become a working archive: a way to understand not only the colour itself, but where it came from and how it behaves.
MATERIAL RESEARCH
Starting with the material
Much of the work begins with a question rather than an object.
Local clay, ash, plants, minerals and other found or cultivated materials are tested, documented and compared. One experiment often becomes the beginning of the next.
local clay
ashes & minerals
dye plants
pigment tests
material archives
CREATIVE PRACTICES
Creative practices
Not every project begins with clay or colour.
Some begin with a plant, a drawing, a found material, a seasonal observation or a shared idea.
Crafty Place also holds space for drawing, applied arts, botanical compositions, nature-based making and collaborative practices led by invited artists and makers.
These practices are connected by the same approach: learning through materials, observation and making.
drawing
applied arts
Art Journal
nature-based making
botanical compositions
guest practices
CURRENT EXPLORATIONS
Local and field clay
Dye plants and a developing dye garden
Plant and earth pigments
Alternative ceramic firing
Ceramic sound and handmade instruments
Natural-colour and botanical practices
Art Journal and creative programmes for children
Digital tools for material practice
PRACTICE IN MOTION
These strands often overlap. A plant may become colour or pigment; clay may move from vessel to instrument; an experiment may become a workshop, a reference or a digital tool.