2025 – Taking part in Potfest South West – Shaftesbury

I am inspired by the spirit I see in people: the determination and the sensitivity. How the angles of head and shoulders say so much at a glimpse.

I’m drawn to character and expression and love to work with clay to show life coming out of a solid fired clay.

Each piece I make has its own thing going on. I think of them all as aspects of me and of everyone I’ve ever got to know.

I’ve been working with clay the past eight years. For over twenty years I’ve been designing with textiles. From designing clothing, I know how the cloth fits the body and how draping material creates silhouette. That is why it is natural for me to work with human figures. There is an instinct that knows when to exaggerate and when to minimize.

Working with local dug clay is very exciting to me. I use my hands and simple wooden tools to push and shape the clay.

I believe that clay is a great healer. Feeling the squelch of clay slipping through the fingers requires no skill, but the real thrill is in developing techniques that transform the muck into objects we can relate to.

I’m continually impressed by the lack of waste in creating ceramic art. What fails in the process can be recycled back into rougher forms of clay. Every fingertip and mark made by the hand gives each piece of work a raw energy and imprint that will last forever.

MILES.CERAMICS