Contemporary Ceramics is excited to present New Members of the Craft Potters Association. As part of this group exhibition, we delve into the artists’ creative process and learn more about how they work. The exhibition runs from the 5th – 28th February 2026.
Shirley Vauvelle
On inspiration from nature
Contemporary Ceramics: Your work draws heavily from your garden and the nearby coast. How do specific natural forms or changing light conditions influence the shapes and textures of your sculptures?
Shirley Vauvelle: My work is informed by close observation of my garden and the nearby coast, where forms are shaped by weather, time and exposure. I am particularly drawn to weathered surfaces — marks made by erosion, salt, wind and shifting light — and I translate these qualities into clay through carving and surface treatment. I often incorporate gathered natural materials from my garden and nearby beaches into porcelain slip surfaces, allowing changing light to reveal texture and shadow and encouraging forms that feel quiet, irregular and worn, as if shaped slowly over time.
On Imaginary Worlds and Creatures
Contemporary Ceramics: You’ve created an entire world of Carrier Beasts, Flower Thinkers, Warriors, and Land Seekers. How do you decide the role or personality of a creature before shaping it in clay?
Shirley Vauvelle: I don’t decide the role or personality of a beast before making it. I begin with only a loose intention — perhaps that it will stand upright, carry weight, or have an elongated neck — and allow the form to develop through the act of building. The character emerges gradually as the shape takes hold, often influenced by balance, gesture and surface rather than narrative. It is only once the piece is complete that its role becomes clear to me, and I respond to what the form suggests rather than imposing a purpose from the outset.
On Interactivity and Viewer Engagement
Contemporary Ceramics: Many of your sculptures include movable components for interaction and play. How important is audience participation to the meaning or experience of your work?
Shirley Vauvelle: Audience interaction is an important part of how my work is experienced, but it is not essential to understanding it. Movable components invite curiosity and a sense of play, encouraging viewers to slow down, handle the work carefully and engage with it physically as well as visually. This interaction allows the sculptures to shift subtly in character, suggesting that they are not fixed or static, but responsive — much like the natural forms and imagined creatures that inform them.
On Growth and Development
Contemporary Ceramics: How has your practice changed over time? What has been a seminal and/or inspirational moment?
Shirley Vauvelle: My practice has shifted from mixed-media assemblage, using found objects and small earthenware components, to working more directly with raw clay. While the earlier work offered creative challenges, it became limiting over time and difficult to sustain my interest.
A pivotal change came when I began exploring the physicality of stoneware clay — its weight, resistance and potential for carving and construction. Although I still make assemblage pieces occasionally, working intuitively in three dimensions allows each sculpture to develop uniquely, shaped by the material and by my state of mind at the time of making.
