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Meet the Maker: Frances Priest

What inspires you to work with ceramics?

I enjoy the immediacy of clay, the material's plastic qualities combine an unrivalled ability to hold marks and take on forms. I think the discipline of working within a process is interesting, where limitations create infinite possibilities, but I recognise that I also work with clay partly out of habit which is interesting and problematic in equal measure.

I am interested in the familiarity of ceramic objects, the chances are we all touch something made from clay on a daily basis, whether it be a favourite mug, tiles on a bathroom wall, a dinner plate or flower vase, I think that our reflexive reaction to clay and anything made from clay is to touch.

How do you feel when you see people handling your work? Do you ever worry they’ll break it?

Of course, and it is sad when things get broken, but it is an inevitable part of the life of  ceramic objects: some get broken, some get used daily, some get carefully packed away, some get passed on as gifts. I am interested in the multiple stories and meanings these objects can accumulate over lifetimes and so I think it is very important to acknowledge this by inviting people to experience the work very directly.

Are there any artists you particularly admire, and who inspire or influence your work?

All sorts of people doing all sorts of different things, not just artists. Here are a few I often return to or am thinking about at the moment, in no particular order: Claude Heath, Richard Wright, Jacqueline Ponclet, Robert Dawson, Herzog and De Meuron, Anni Albers, Felicity Aylieff, Ellen Gallagher, Owen Jones, Henry Welcome, James Hugonin, Michael Lin, Claire Barclay, Dawn Youll, Daniel Millar, James Putnam.

Tell us about the collection you’re presenting in Meet Your Maker.

I hope that people will want to take the time to explore the work further through one of the handing sessions and that these sessions will create opportunities to hold conversations, share ideas and tell stories about the personal associations the collection evokes.

What is your favourite piece of craft that you own?

At the moment I am gaining a great deal of pleasure from wearing a very beautiful brooch made by Karen Mcmillan. It is made from a large piece of yellow perspex inlaid with black dots that make up a random repeat pattern of petal or droplet shapes. It is slightly awkward to look at as the shapes appear to be jostling for position like insects or cells. The decorative motif is one that I have seen many different times in many different places and I have used it in my own work – this makes me think about the universality of decorative language. It is interesting to wear because I feel like I am exhibiting a drawing, a mobile artwork.