Hello everyone, I have had a lot of new followers and subscribers so thought I would introduce myself, so apologies if you have read or heard all this before!
I’m Kathryn Stevens, a sculptor from Barrow in Furness. My work focuses on making sculptures for your home and garden inspired by the natural and industrial landscape of Cumbria. I have been playing with clay for over 30 years since enrolling on an evening class in the late 80s as a way to destress from my NHS job. Little did I know back then that those Tuesday evenings would later be the foundations of a much loved second career.
Having graduated 18 months ago from my MA Ceramics degree at UCLAN I am in the very early stages of my sculpting journey. I left the NHS in 2017 to allow me to focus on a number of personal plans, including establishing my new career. In 2019 I enrolled at UCLAN which enabled me to dedicate my time to explore and find my creative style of work. The type of work I did at pottery classes could not be more different to my pieces now. The degree allowed me time to experiment, try different techniques and incorporate feedback from my fellow students as well as the tutors.
On starting my studies I was unclear what my research would cover but I knew I wanted to create my own glaze recipe. To cut a long story short my research became clearer half way through the course, wanting to express my sense of belonging and my heritage through my sculptures.
The university kilns allowed me to work on a large scale which I enjoyed. There are many challenges working to scale including work slumping at the building and bisque firing stages, the heaviness of the work moving it around, the investment of time in making the work especially if things don’t go to plan and then having the space to store your work when completed.
I make my own clay recipe using local raw materials and industrial waste mixed into a rough textured raku clay, the grog provides strength and stability at all stages of the make which helps to address the issue of slumping. Going to the gym everyday to build up my strength helps to protect my body when moving the heavy work and is an important part of my creative practice as well as in life.
Since graduation I work from my home studio which has a nice sized kiln, 4.5CUF, however no where near the size of those at university. I am able to make quite sizeable pieces at home but anything bigger needs to be built in sections which is something I am currently exploring. Pieces can then be assembled on site at the installation stage.
Recent commissions have come from the local hospitality industry as well as private collectors plus I am exhibiting work at a couple of RHS events this year.
My building methods are evolving. I make my small pieces from solid construction before hollowing out. Whilst this works for me at this scale, my bigger pieces are made from coiling techniques which can be time consuming but I enjoy using wet clay.
Last summer I was lucky enough to attend CLAY Yorkshire where we used other making methods, namely pinched pots and slabs, which opened up ways to work with firmer clay. To my surprise I quite enjoyed the challenge to work differently and I’m currently experimenting with these methods.
At university I did actually learn to create my own glaze recipe using Cumbrian slate adapting a Greg Daly base recipe which is fired to 1240C. As I like texture my glaze choices have been influenced by Wendy Lawrence and Akiko Hirai which I alternately use depending on my clay body, as I have recently started to incorporate a coarse black stoneware clay body into my practice.
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