Place - a space which is meaningful; which we endow with value.
Inspired by moving home this work explores how the structures and spaces in which we live influence our thoughts and feelings. We view our home as ‘our place’ and yet a house alone does not create a sense of place. Rather, it is through familiarity, shared experiences and memories that a wider sense of belonging is formed. Influenced by the village environment in which I live, the work invites the viewer to step back and consider the spaces we inhabit - the built environment in contrast to the vastness of the rural landscape; boundaries as a way of defining our place in constructed spaces; and buildings that bear the marks of historical events. Much of the work references a fire which took place in the village in 1905 and, spreading quickly across the buildings thatched roofs, resulted in eleven families being temporarily homeless. The marks left by the fire are still visible on some of the stone buildings today.
The material and making processes are integral to the meaning of each of the elements of this body of work. Small, fragile porcelain houses are precariously piled on a large expanse of roof slate. Surface texture is created in some pieces by adding straw to the clay body and the effect of the flame on materials is explored using raku firing techniques and the use of a blow torch on raw clay and metal to create surface texture and colour.
See also the Artists Book " The Great Fire of Eydon".
This work was exhibited in a solo exhibition alongside "Where Am I?"