Adele Howitt

Adele is a designer and maker of ceramics whose practice spans architectural ceramics and public realm art for both interior and exterior spaces. Her work engages with cultural identity, creative participation, and placemaking, contributing to large-scale projects that celebrate shared heritage. In 2009, she established her studio, returning to the making and exhibition of contemporary ceramics alongside her public practice.

She was first drawn to the transformative nature of clay while studying ceramics and glass at Chelsea School of Art (UAL). For Adele, clay acts as both a direct conduit to the imagination and a sculptural medium. Her work is inspired by the living landscape, abstraction, pollen grains, and natural pattern, alongside research into the history and identity of place in both urban and rural environments. Scientific pattern also informs her forms.

The South Yorkshire Potteries are a key influence. Adele’s ceramics often appear ‘taken over’ by impressions of wildflowers, particularly in post-industrial landscapes where she finds ragweed and catkins. Her work evokes a sense of magical realism, referencing 18th-century potteries while drawing on clay as one of the earth’s most sustainable materials.

Her methods include throwing, hand-building, press moulding, and extruded elements. She applies a restrained palette of soft, matt glazes to red, black, or white clay bodies, enhancing form and capturing light.