I came across Sarah Dunstan's wonderful ceramics when I was on holiday in Cornwall last year. They were in a gallery that was, unfortunately, closing down ... a sad reflection of our current economic woes. However, the pieces shown here are for sale through the Glass House Gallery which is in Penzance. She is based in the Gaolyard Studios in St Ives, Cornwall and her personal statement reads:
I collect images, such as the shape of the railing in a hidden doorway in St.Ives or writing on an antique glass bottle. I use my sketchbook to draw and paint these impressions but also as a scrapbook. Feathers, fabric and packaging are glued in next to photos. These photos are fragmented memories of places I've visited, a close up detail of a Greek sign perhaps, or advertising on a French café wall.
I decorate a rolled out sheet of clay by using various techniques including painting and printing with coloured slips. The pieces are then put together using paper templates to create the final form - similar to the patterns that my mother used as a dressmaker when I was a child. I am fascinated by collections of objects: from the very small and personal –scent bottles, the mundane – sardine tins, to large architectural forms such as Gaudi buildings.
I think her work appeals to me because it reflects domesticity and decoration in a very elegant form.
I decorate a rolled out sheet of clay by using various techniques including painting and printing with coloured slips. The pieces are then put together using paper templates to create the final form - similar to the patterns that my mother used as a dressmaker when I was a child. I am fascinated by collections of objects: from the very small and personal –scent bottles, the mundane – sardine tins, to large architectural forms such as Gaudi buildings.
I think her work appeals to me because it reflects domesticity and decoration in a very elegant form.
