Shirley Vauvelle

Shirley has been making things for as long as she can remember. With a background in textiles and a degree in Surface Decoration from Leicester Polytechnic, her early fascination with ceramics began while visiting the ceramics department, which felt to her like an alchemist’s world. Years later, during a period of personal change, she joined an evening hand-building course and was immediately drawn to clay. What began as a source of calm and focus has since developed into an intuitive, largely self-taught practice.

Her work is rooted in hand building, using stoneware and porcelain combined with found and natural materials, often gathered from her garden. Clay becomes a language through which she explores her emotional connection to nature—its strength, vulnerability, and enduring presence. She works with thick slabs, carving, layering, and refining sculptural forms, while slips and glazes are applied like paint, sometimes concealing and sometimes revealing the surface beneath.

A strong component aspect runs through her work. Inserts and attachments introduce subtle shifts in mood and character, bringing a playful, evolving quality to each piece. Drawing is an essential part of her process, helping her notice the unusual and the overlooked. Inspired by weathered textures, primitive art, and ancient objects, Shirley seeks to create tactile, layered sculptures that resonate with the visceral, the earthly, and the natural.