Art House 7
Address: 21 Bath Street
Open: 7/8 and 14/15 September
Fiona Thompson
Handbuilt non functional ceramic vessels with rich layered surfaces: recent pieces explore our complex relationship with animals.
Over the years Fiona’s practice has included exhibiting, teaching, community arts, national and international residencies, collaborative projects and writing for publication. In 2012 she establishedCyan Clayworks with Chris Donnelly. She has work in various permanent collections including in Taiwan, USA, Canada and UK.
Her pieces are created in response to broad themes including nostalgia, memory, photographic ‘seeing’, museum display and commemoration. Recent work ‘The Altered Animal’ explores our complex relationship with the domestic farm animal. The non functional vessels are handbuilt then painted and printed with coloured slips. They are then glazed; at this stage she may include underglaze pencil or crayon, and oxides. Decals are applied (made from my drawings and photographs), also metal lustres on some. Fiona makes work in series, often exploring variations within one form; usually a very familiar and everyday vessel.
Biography:
Foundation Course, Art & design: York College of Arts & Technology1990-91
BA (Hons) Degree in Ceramics: Edinburgh College of Art 1991-94
M.Phil (research degree): University of Sunderland (ceramics and tourism 2006-2010
2022 ‘Spring: Blossom – 40 years in the making’ Leeds Craft Centre, group showcase
‘The story beneath the surface’ Union Gallery, Edinburgh, 2-person show
‘An Ode to Summer’, Tatha Gallery, Dundee, group show
2024 ‘50 years in the Making’ The Clay Studio. Philadelphia, group show2024 ‘Ultra Modern’ Fox Yard studio, Suffolk, group show
Contact: fiona@chrisdonnellyceramics.co
Instagram: @fionathompsonceramics
Chris Donnelly
I design and make functional ceramic tableware. Most of my work is thrown on the potter’s wheel, but I also make ceramic sculptures using digital means.
His intention is to bridge the rich industrial ceramic heritage in the UK with surfaces and formal considerations developed through the British and American Studio Pottery movements. His focus is to create objects to enhance contemporary cooking, eating and drinking experiences. How a vessel works on a practical level is important; he pays a lot of attention to details such as feet, handles, and weight. For him, pots should not only be practical but beautiful objects in their own right.
Biography:
1995-1999 BFA in Ceramics, Alberta University of the Arts (formerly Alberta College of Art and Design) Calgary Alberta, Canada
1999-2000 Ceramics, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada
2022 North, Visual Arts Scotland Members Exhibition, Inverness Creative Academy, Inverness, Scotland
2021 Flow, Members Winter Exhibition, Visual Arts Scotland, Online2020 9 Create, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact: chris@chrisdonnellyceramics.co.uk
Instagram: @chris_donnelly_ceramics
Also showing with Jude Nixon
