Ceramic artefacts make up a substantial proportion of museum collections, and therefore form the basis of much of our understanding of ancient human life. Through my practice I consider clay’s ability to record and preserve, and how the objects I make could one day be a record of my own existence.

My current body of work, ‘Archive’, is presented in the form of a ‘museum’ of my working practice, and the traces that I leave behind in the studio.

My practice revolves around the over-arching idea of humans and clay being closely intertwined, with an innate relationship that can be traced back thousands of years. The fact that ancient civilisations from all corners of the world independently discovered clay and its practical uses fascinates me. It fascinates me how making with clay seems to be human instinct.

The work is a gathering of hand-built vessels, clay test tiles, tools, and combustible materials for the firing process. My approach is largely informed by observation of ancient ceramics in museums, and prehistoric diagrams I have found in books. I work both methodically and intuitively, making decisions as I go. This sometimes results in unexpected outcomes, but this is what I find most rewarding.

The vessels that I create are built through traditional methods such as coiling and pinching; this allows me to achieve organic forms, where I find a greater connection to ancient pottery. Through these slow and purposeful approaches to making, I aim to reconnect to our ancestral roots and to the Earth, as a form of resistance to the fast, digital, consumerist world we must navigate today.

I use burnishing as a way to achieve a sleek, contemporary feel to the pots, while maintaining a strong tie to ancient making methods, especially with the use of terra sigillata. I enjoy the burnishing process as I feel grounded and connected to the clay, as I spend hours handling and meticulously polishing it. Due to the nature of building by hand, there will always be imperfections that arise. This is important to me; I want there to be clear human elements to the work. Details such as fingerprints burned in smoke, slightly undulating surfaces, imperfections in the burnishing, and other unexpected finishes all hold information about the process undertaken to make the work.

Ceramicist Jennifer Lucy Allan states that “fired clay is one of the most effective keepers of stories we have”. She talks about how history can be preserved in clay; information about ancient ways of life can be stored in a maker’s name, a fingerprint, or textures on a ceramic object. I became intrigued by this idea of the maker being long forgotten, but a piece of them living on in the clay. Inspired by my research into clay’s ability to record and preserve, I wanted viewers of my work to get an insight into my process and interests as a maker.

Through a series of ancient-inspired hand-built vessels, a wall of test tiles, a selection of raw materials and some tools from my studio, ‘Archive’ aims to record and give viewers a glimpse into my working methods, my learning curve and my identity as a maker. My intention is for viewers to form their own narrative from the work, and to reflect on their own relationship with the Earth and ancient ways of living.