What appeals to you about ceramics?
I always loved the physicality of ceramics, the fact you could get in with your hands and start making. My dad is a plasterer by trade so one of my first memories is watching him in the garden using a cement barrel and putting my handprint in the cement. That really affected me.
What inspires your work?
My work explores concepts of fragility and instability, inspired by organic structures, shells, fossils. I like to explore the theme of making the ordinary extraordinary, and the idea of preserving the present and creating remains for the future.
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How is your work linked to your surroundings?
I have always explored what makes Ireland unique, and what is in Ireland today. I use mundane objects like used teabags, which I perceive as housing a memory, since they have borne witness to so many conversations. Tea is something that is innate to Ireland but also something everyone can relate to.
How do you create sculptures out of teabags?
After immersing dried teabags in liquid clay, I begin to build the forms up by hand. After firing, they look almost like a rock. Using coldworking machines I cut through this rock-like surface to expose the beautiful, very delicate structure within – almost like the process of mining for fossils and gemstones.