Sarah Cawthray

Influenced by abstract designs, I make hand-built forms and use found objects and household items to press into the clay. My favourite impressions come from seaweed, sand and driftwood to add textures and marks.  Shapes are brought to life with coloured slip and glaze. Inspired by nature, I find my ideas when I’m visiting places of interest near my home in the North York Moors and my garden. Each individual piece starts with a painting or drawing, before developing with a celebration of colour and mark making.

 It is important to me that each piece is not only looked at but also touched by the viewer; I use clay slip and incorporate natural elements to create rich pattern and texture heightening haptic response. 

My particular passion is the wave form which I create for the garden or outside space. Each wave is hand built using pizza clay, for its strength and durability outside. An individual wave is created by hand and formed into a rolling surf, before adding coloured slip.

 

This year I have been focusing  on fish sculptures, working with a local blacksmith to create two pieces for the garden.  “Party of Mackerel” is a shoal of porcelain fish on steel supports and “Leap” is a ceramic sculpture of a leaping fish on steel supports.