About
THE ARTIST
Elaine’s passion for clay developed many years ago through studying for a Ceramics degree at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, London. It was there that she was fortunate enough to experience the wonderful tutoring of contemporary, now eminent, ceramists, Ewen Henderson, Janice Tchalenko, Glynis Barton, Gordon Baldwin, Ian Gregory, Ian Auld and the late, great Colin Pearson.
Whilst at Camberwell, Elaine developed a body of work through throwing, hand-building and slip-casting, all the while concentrating on the importance of it being punctuated with texture, colour and sculptural elements.
THE EDUCATOR
Elaine’s lengthy teaching career in Higher Education, Adult Education and Secondary schools led to her delivering creative courses in all aspects of art and ceramics soon after graduating . Through sharing her expertise and thinking processes, she has constantly fed her appetite for the journey of creating, thinking and making.
This year Elaine is running a number of specialist ceramic workshops from her garden studio in Wimborne Minster, Dorset. She offers tuition to both small group workshops and one-to-one classes between March and November. They range from one day, weekend and evening class experiences as well as bespoke workshops to suit. Please see the workshop details on this website or contact her by email for further details.
THE CERAMICIST
Now working in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, Elaine is fast becoming recognised as an established British maker. Her ceramic artwork is collected in the UK and overseas. She has developed her own hand-built techniques and designs in both functional and sculptural ceramic pieces. Elaine's work clearly demonstrates her love of colour, texture and form, mostly inspired by surfaces and patterns found in nature and the landscape. Her inspiration comes from observations made in typically English habitats; hedgerows, garden borders, meadows and more recently forests and woodlands.
Nature is a common influence in the lives of artists, and the same is true for Elaine and her deep connection to nature, trees in particular. Elaine constantly strives to make work that communicates a sense of balance and complexity, through texture and colour and form. Inspired by the surrounding lush woodland and forests of East Dorset, her work is mainly hand-built, functional, earthenware pieces in white stoneware clay, hand-painted using a palette of oxides, slips, and under-glaze colours.
More recently Elaine has developed a new body of work, refining through altered slabs of clay adding texture through slip, and peeled and torn clay. Each piece is individually decorated with hand painted accents and images developed through observations made in typically English habitats, some of which include forests, woodland, fruit groves, lately with fresh additions of Dorset's Heritage architecture .
All of Elaine's work is hand-painted and each individual piece is unique.
Commissions accepted.
Associate member of the Craft Potters Association
Associate member of Design Nation
Member of East Dorset Potters
Member of Dorset Visual Arts
