A post type for Watermark Artists.
Claire has been producing unique handcrafted pottery in the North Yorkshire village of Roecliffe for several years now. With a particular specialism in abstract bird sculpture, she creates birds of all shapes and sizes and in a variety of finishes. All of Claire’s sculptures are uniquely crafted and fired by hand in her home kiln. Claire has exhibited her bespoke pieces at several leading galleries, and with wide-ranging acclaim, she now sells directly to customers in all parts of the UK .
Adrian Parnell studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the Slade from 1970-1988. He is an associate member of the Penwith Society. Adrian’s paintings are in the Tate Gallery’s collection at Kettles Yard, Cambridge.
Adrian, now based in North Devon, continues to explore landscape and still life through his paintings.
Elissa Palser is Wales-based ceramicist who creates a range of ceramic little birds. Alice Palser, Elissa’s Mother, first made a bluetit as a present for her Grandmother in the early seventies. Over the years, as she pursued a career as an artist, she found these little birds to be extremely popular. Since 2002 Elissa Palser has concentrated on making birds for galleries. Each bird is individually made and decorated by hand.
Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (1908-1998) pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 50s. Working with Chris Prater (1924-1996), master printer at Kelpra Studio, London. Pasmore created many iconic and pioneering artists’ screenprints. He developed a language of colour and form that suggest flow and movement.
Shirley has always made things since childhood, sewing dolls clothes or making things from found natural forms such as sea shells. She has been a designer, educator, craft maker, gallery owner and for almost fifteen years maker/artist showing work in galleries around the UK. She feels painting and ceramics overlap in the way she treats the surfaces, with a search for depth and a sense of herself. Her practise has tended to produce playful component pieces combined with found materials, assemblages inspired by creatures, birds and plants. It is now developing into larger scale semi abstract hand built sculptural ceramic forms and paintings.
Shirley’s art education background and initial design career was in textile/surface decoration, studying at Chester college for a foundation course and Leicester Polytechnic for a BA Hon’s, graduating in 1987. Self taught in ceramics, she works from a light filled studio in her home, which has been featured in publications including the The Observer Magazine and is situated near the east coast english seaside town of Filey. She also has a separate smaller painting studio which does not stop her producing larger scale works. An important part of her surroundings is the coast and her garden which is continuously being developed and evolving, full of many interesting plants selected for form, texture rather than prettiness, many of which are used within her work.
The work has evolved over a long period of time, in the background of her more commercial work. After the experience of lockdown, with more time to experiment and freedom to think about ideas, this has led to hand built sculptures and assemblages in stoneware and porcelain clay, with found materials. With the luxury of more time to appreciate peace and nature, allowing thinking space to the stages of development, it is very much reflected in how the pieces have evolved.
The work is now moving forward with more personal expression, still taking inspiration from her surroundings focusing on balance of shapes, pushing materials further and her own emotion reactions to them. Exploring surfaces, playing with found materials, different clays and paint all with the emphasis on looking at the different relationships of form, texture and colour. Also thinking about the wider context of nature on our planet, the strength and fragility of nature.
Mhairi McGregor RSW was born in Paisley in 1971. She studied under and was greatly influenced by James Robertson and Barbara Rae at Glasgow School of Art, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 1993.
Throughout her career, McGregor has travelled extensively, spending time painting and exhibiting painted throughout Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA, as well as finding constant inspiration in her native Scotland, where she is currently based. She has lived and worked for various lengths of time in Italy, France, Spain, the USA, Canada and, favourite of all, Australia.
Mhairi’s paintings are included in many prestigious public and private collections such as, The Royal Scottish Academy, Fleming Holdings and Aberdeen University as well as private collections in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Germany and Portugal.
Emily Kidson is known for her use of wood and laminate with precious metals. Sensitive use of colour is central to her work and is the backdrop to a minimal, modern aesthetic with areas of intricate detail. Industrial cities and canal sides are particular influences, from tapered chimneys and pottery kilns to barge and water towers.
Emily has come back to making after a career as an art librarian. Her use of laminate started when she discovered it as samples in the Materials Collection at Central Saint Martins library in 2013.
Laminate is paper and resin formed under extremely high pressure. Emily uses the brand Formica which you may be used to seeing on table tops and kitchens. It can have quite a mid-century modern feel and the colour doesn’t fade. The wood Emily uses is walnut, the silver is sterling (925) and larger pieces are hallmarked at the London Assay Office. Emily also uses resin, paint and Keum Boo in some pieces to add extra areas of colour and detail.
Based in London with a studio at Cockpit Arts, Emily regularly exhibits at many prestigious events both nationally and overseas, including Goldsmith’s Fair and MAD in the USA.
