THE ART OF MAKING 2023

CLANCY DAWSON

Clancy Sinding Dawson’s creative education began in fashion design and then tailoring, although illustration has always been at the core of all her creations. This has culminated in her recent adoption of quilt-making as a principal medium. Disturbed by the environmental impact of the fashion industry and inspired by the slow, repair-focused nature of Savile Row, she now produces work using only deadstock, ecological or second-hand materials from old clothes and bedding. The materials in her stock inspire motifs in her work, but her quilts are also autobiographical. Here she has been influenced by the stylised decorative qualities of Pierre Bonnard’s intimate domestic scenes, the window as a metaphor for hope and the door, representing the fear and excitement of transitioning into the unknown.

https://clancydawson.bigcartel.com/

LAURA DRAYSON

The unpredictable nature and untamed beauty of the historical Cornish coastline is a constant source of inspiration for Laura. Her designs are informed by the textures, colours, shapes and landscape found there and the connections they evoke.

Tin mine ruins and footpaths clinging to the clifftops, patterns and marks made by the history of industry, weathered surfaces and personal journeys all provide unending inspiration.

Laura works mainly in silver and semi-precious gemstones. Gemstones allow her to introduce colour into her work using a palette that echoes her coastal inspiration. Designs develop in the making process, allowing the natural characteristics of the gemstone shapes and the forms of the loose ground on the footpaths to interact with techniques of making. Each stage made by hand, nothing is identical, no two pieces are exactly the same.

https://www.lauradrayson.com

RACHEL DUCKHOUSE

Rachel Duckhouse was artist in residence at Anchor Studio, Newlyn in October 2021 and December 2022. Since then, she’s continued to develop the sketchbook drawings made there into pen and ink drawings in her studio in Glasgow, and etchings at Glasgow Print Studio.

She spent her time between Anchor studio and walking sections of the coastal path and has now walked from the Hayle Estuary to Lizard Point over the course of the two month-long residencies. These walks have become extremely influential on her current practice, as ways to observe, experience and imagine the dynamic flow of landscape, seascape and social history in these very particular places, layered with memories from elsewhere and fictional influences.

The series of etchings presented here are made with copper plates, with lines hand-drawn with an etching needle onto a hard ground. Some of them also have pen and ink drawing on top.

https://www.rachelduckhouse.co.uk

THOMAS DUGGAN

Thomas Duggan’s quiet yet complex and visually arresting practice is one of research, investigating and reinterpreting nature’s forms and materials while reinventing boundaries between material and method.

Forward-looking and future-assembling, Thomas’ work seeks to find new ways of ‘languaging’ and ‘presencing’, to give voice to the more-than-human world. Thomas’ practice is informed by a theoretical interest in bridging and hybridity between the human hand and the self-organising powers of nonhuman processes creating works that are both ancient and contemporary.

https://thomasdugganstudio.com

MATTHEW FOSTER

Matt joined the Leach Pottery in 2015 as the second Seasalt Bursary Apprentice, giving him the opportunity to learn and work alongside a talented and diverse production team where he is now the Studio Production Manager, allowing him to continue to develop his personal work in a diverse and exciting environment.

His main interest is in form, surface and gesture of making, always focused on the pot’s suitability to its function and aiming for his interpretation of the Mingei Philosophy. He is influenced by potters such as Shoji Hamada, Bill Marshall, Warren Mackenzie, John Reeve, and the potters in the studio, and is currently looking at peasant stonewares of the Korean Yi dynasty, Gongxian pottery, Tang dynasty Chinese pottery, and porcelain pots from the Chinese Sung period.

https://www.leachpottery.com/matthew-foster

TOM HEYWOOD

A unique furniture maker and sculptor, Tom had a passion for design and craft from an early age. Having gained valuable experience working in carpentry, he found himself with a desire to branch out and form his own identity. His work represents a passion for the natural world with inspiration taken from his surrounding and using a combination of traditional and modern woodworking techniques to create unique pieces, most of which are sculptural with a form of functionality.

https://www.tomheywoodbespoke.com

ROSANNA MARTIN

Rosanna Martin graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2013 and now lives and works in Cornwall. Her practice is rooted in ceramics and crosses into textiles, fine art and vernacular architecture. She has founded two projects in Cornwall in recent years, Brickworks and Brickfield; both focused on enabling community making.

Rosanna Martin’s recent work draws on her knowledge of the Cornish clay industry, and in particular its relationship to the built environment through brick-making. She addresses questions of use, waste and recycling, incorporating materials and processes that have been discarded or lost over time. She uses iron-rich clays and other locally dug materials to create frames onto which she weaves yarn that has been hand-dyed using clay and gorse petals.

https://rosannamartin.com

KATE MERRY

Kate is a mix-media sculptor, painter and illustrator based in Cornwall. She mixes the ordinary with the historical to create humorous and unexpected pieces. Inspired by Cornish folk law and influenced by pop-culture Kate’s work is both functional and sculptural, humorous and eclectic. Based in Falmouth Kate also founded contemporary Morris Dancing group ‘The Wad’ and is also a DJ.

https://www.katemerryart.com

RITUAL STUDIO

Ritual Studio was born out of a need for transformation. In the throes of lock-down 2020 with just a candle, her grandmother’s old penknife and some wax, Aquila carved her first few models with her children running around or sitting on her lap. Going back to memories of her childhood in Varanasi, India, she recalled the rights of passage, the marking of festivals with effigies, song, thick scented smoke and with a background of ritual making, the ancient art of lost wax casting became the perfect medium to channel this evocation. Inspired by the mysteries of tarot and astrology and the changing cycles of our bodies, these talismans are formed.

https://ritualstudio.bigcartel.com