This series of ceramic paintings explore a somatic response to new surroundings, translated into clay.

These paintings were made during residency at Villa Lena, Italy, in June of 2024. A departure from the usual structures of my practice, I experimented with a heavily grogged black clay, as a backdrop to thickly applied layers of coloured clay slip. They explore a softer palette, combined with heavy texture. Sodium silicate was added, to change the viscosity of the clay, resulting in a thick glossy application and crackles over the surface.

While there are hints at Nerikomi pattern making, a technique affiliated with my practice, these paintings are a tactile and expressive outpouring of feeling. They hold the experience of my time in Italy; the landscape, colours and movement of my experience are embodied within the paintings themselves.