My work explores my personal relationship to place through different stages in life. For me, the prominent stages begin with the protective embrace of childhood leading to a growing desire to escape home in adolescence. Maturity brings hindsight and an understanding of how home shapes us as individuals, giving a newly defined appreciation of place.
I source clay from my locality. Muck, mud, dirt and stone, these are processed – a high labour activity that helps to embed a sense of place through materials. The relationships between materials and additions create a dialogue within the pieces, and develop a conceptual basis for this technical work. These additions change in the kiln giving a serendipitous reaction to represent the lack of control over the emotional relationship we have to our home-place.
