Katie A. Scarlett Howard

Ceramics

Katie Scarlett's work is based on the female form, questioning stereotypes, energy, beauty, sensuality and celebrating being a woman. The sculptures are made from hollow slabs of porcelain, grogged white, raku, terracotta and white St.Thomas earthenware clay. They are bisque fired to 1000 degrees and finished with various oxides and glaze stains - whatever she feels suits each individual character. The women are of varying scale and shape. She hopes they portray a sense of power and communicate with each other on different levels, whether deep in a conversation or sitting quietly by themselves, peaceful in a moment of thought. She enjoys the tactile experience of working in clay, making the figure large, but counterbalancing them with small details, such as the hands, feet, face and hair.

More recently, she has become more experimental with the surface of the clay, imprinting sections of fabric or 'skin like' textures onto parts of the body. She is inspired by the work of other contemporary ceramic artists and painters such as Beryl Cook, Jenny Saville and Paula Rego. For the year ahead she hopes to further develop the female forms looking more closely into posture, shape and finish to enhance the personality of each figure she makes