June 2026
w/c 1 June 2026
Listening to the work
Continuing on from last week, I have been trying to maintain the momentum of making in the studio while preparations continue in the background for Ceramic Wales at Bodrhyddan Hall, near Rhyl, next weekend (13–14 June). This will be the first time I have shown my ceramic work at a dedicated ceramics fair and, while I am very aware that the work is not yet where I ultimately want it to be, I am looking forward to seeing how people respond to it. The opportunity to talk with visitors and receive feedback feels like an important part of the journey, particularly at this stage in the development of my practice.
Looking around the studio this week, I realised that every piece I have made over the past few months has played a part in guiding me towards the work I hope to be exhibiting in September. Some pieces have been more successful than others, but all have contributed something to the process of understanding how I want to communicate Memories of Place through form, surface and material.
I have continued developing my vessel forms, searching for ways to subtly incorporate references to contour and landscape. These visual cues may never be consciously recognised by the viewer, but that feels less important than it once did. What matters is that they are embedded within the work — informing the form, guiding the rhythm and carrying traces of the landscape from which they emerged.
Returning to my sketchbook this week, I began developing a series of marks inspired by those that appeared on the surface of several vessels after their final firing. What interests me is that these marks are no longer functioning simply as decoration or texture. Through slight shifts in direction and repetition across the surface, they begin to create movement, rhythm and flow. Increasingly, I am seeing them as a visual language connected to landscape — one capable of carrying memory and embodying an emotional response to place.
As Ceramic Wales approaches, I find myself reflecting on the balance between making and refining. Over recent months I have focused on producing enough work to explore ideas, forms and processes. Looking ahead to the final degree show, however, I am becoming increasingly aware that the next stage may require something different: less exploration, perhaps and more resolution. The challenge now is not simply to make more work, but to identify the strongest ideas and develop them with greater clarity and confidence.
There is still a long way to go before September, but I feel as though the work is beginning to reveal what it wants to become. My task now is to listen carefully enough to follow it.
