Helen is a maker – she likes to make as an antidote to long hours spent on the computer and answering the phone, where being ‘productive’ has nothing to show for it at the end of the day. She loves the ability instead to start with nothing but raw materials and then to have made ‘a thing’ – the beauty or monetary value is not important – the worth of a piece is in the care, time and imagination spent in its creation. Her ceramics practice continues to evolve – functional ware now ends up with a phantasmagorical twist – mugs with unicorns, and clocks with time eating dragons; as well as a separate strand of work including the addition of woven material to both ‘finish’ and embellish a ceramic piece. The combination of ‘mud’ with natural materials, particularly those that she can harvest from the garden, melds with the sustainability focus that she has from her day-job – firing the kiln whilst using solar power is an added bonus.
