Details
Stoneware
H. 14 x 15 cm
 
About Faith Mowbray
"I’m led by the material qualities of clay, starting with the patterns which form on the surface of my slip bucket. I’ve tried to find new ways to capture qualities of clay in its different states from liquid slip to dried out rubble. Those experiments are always the starting point for the things I make."

"For this exhibition, I experimented with processes that make the fired objects feel alive. Piping and twisting clay makes it writhe of its own accord and when you pinch it, it curls. In the high temperatures of the kiln, stalks wriggle further and petals and leaves and slightly unfurl."
 
"I’m always looking at 18th century porcelain and its qualities of lightness, frivolity, novelty and a thrill in technical innovation. I thought about that decorative tradition of idealised flowers which are almost fairytale-like and spring wildly from flat planes into three dimensions. The people who made them were experts in the way the human eye finds visual comfort in rhythm and pattern, then relishes its disruption."
 
Having always drawn and made things, Faith Mowbray started working in ceramics via membership studios. In 2021 she finished an HND in Ceramics at Morley College and now works from The Clay Garden Studio in Hammersmith, London.
 
 
Artist Q&A
What are your biggest influences?
F: The European porcelain collection in the V&A ceramics gallery
 
Is functionality important to your work?
F: No! I generally start from a simple functional shape like a jar or a candlestick, but really it's a pretext to make something decorative. Because they seem so fragile they're a bit unnerving to handle, but fired porcelain is always a little stronger than you think. 
 
What first drew you to your current process?
F: I've been experimenting with thick porcelain slip for a while, piping and pouring it and using plaster and paper moulds, trying to get something like lace or a net. This is a natural progression.