The internet is swamped with images of art work, I follow lots of artists on social media and have several boards set up on Pinterest, sharing images and researching artists has never been easier, but this wealth of images can also be a source of tension and anxiety. Sometimes access to all this information can be overwhelming, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others or feel disappointed when you see work that looks really similar to a new idea you just had for your own work. I try to keep in mind that as an artist this is what we do, we are always looking, it’s what we do with all those images thats important and I think artist and author Austin Kleon puts this best

Kleon, A. (2012). Steal like an artist : 10 things nobody told you about being creative. New York: Workman Publishing Company.
Links to my Pinterest Boards specific to shapes and forms am particularly interested in. 

Some of my favourites in order of preference

  1. Barbara Hepworth - there is something both evocative and beautiful about her work, although much of it is inspired by the shapes and forms she has observed within the Cornish and Yorkshire landscapes, many of her  pieces contain deeply personal narratives, and reflect and explore her experiences as a mother, as an artist, as a sculptor and a woman. There is definitely a sense of the human form, of the body in her work and this appeals to me and speaks to me in a way that helps me to understand, contextualise and frame my own practice.
  2. Maria Bartusova - Similar to Hepworth her works are curved, rounded forms with a tactile nature and evocativeness that makes you want to touch them. Although her work is in plaster her ideas and how she expresses them are similar to those of my own work. I want people to be drawn to the sensual nature of the forms I make, to want to be able to reach out to them and touch them. 
  3. Eva Hilde - I love the purity of the simple colours and the undulating curves and shapes that occur in her work. I find the complexity and scale of her pieces quite remarkable. They have an inherent lightness and beauty to them and as no two parts of her sculptures are the same, there is something unique to see and discover at every angle when you encounter her work.
  4. ​Gordon Baldwin - I have a great deal of admiration for Gordon Baldwin, he was a fascinating man with a very open and forward thinking attitude for what ceramics could be. Although he made some functional pieces, form and aesthetics were always at the forefront of his approach to making. Many of his pieces are monochrome, combining soft curves with angular slabbed protrusions, like Hepworth he was interested in landscape and his interpretations of this manifested in an array of forms that have a presence and beauty that could be evocative of the body as well as the landscape.
  5. Juz Kitson - I love the array of materials and textures seen in Kitson's work, she skifully combines delicate porcelain structures, with fur, textiles and blown glass that create works that have a sense of the uncanny and surreal about them. There is a very physical and visceral nature to her work, with pieces that suggest organs and body parts combined with animal skins. Kitson is interested in the cyclical nature of life, the enduring cycle of birth and death in all living things, I feel that clay as a material is a perfect material to explore this narrative, we come from clay and return to clay.
  6. Lindsey Mendick - Mendick's work is humorous but contains more serious issues and at times reflects some deeply personal experiences, by sharing her stories through the medium of popular culture she uses clay in new and innovative ways alongside textiles, photography, print etc. presenting a lot of her work as whole room installations. Mendick uses these artworks as a vehicle to manage, combat and work through her own personal issues and in turn creates work that we can relate to on many levels. I admire her bravery, innovation, honesty and determination. Mendick is continuing to challenge the potential of clay as a fine art material and with successful shows at Strange Clay and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, as well as opening a community clay studio in Margate, she is enabling others to develop new narratives of what clay can be and do.
  7. Hans Coper - I just love the forms, the discipline, tenacity and dedication to the craft is everywhere in Copers work. Shapes that seem to defy gravity, that have a lightness and beauty that feel impossible to achieve reflect a maker who has created work that has stood the test of time.  
  8. Ewen Henderson
  9. Mitch Pilkington
  10. Eva Zethraeus
  11. Alberto Bustos
  12. Beverly Morrison
  13. Rebecca Appleby
  14. James Oughtibridge
  15. ​Karina Smagulova