Michelle Young-Hares

Michelle studied Ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1994. The course focused strongly on sculptural ceramics and encouraged a fine art approach to creativity. Students benefited from a wide range of visiting artists, and Michelle was fortunate to have Magdalene Odundo as an external assessor, who inspired a dynamic and fearless approach to the materiality of clay. It was the hands-on nature of the material, and the opportunity to learn a craft, that first drew Michelle to ceramics. Since then, she has continually sought to explore its boundaries, expanding her knowledge and skills through daily practice.

Michelle established her current studio in 2006 in rural Stirlingshire. Her sculpture explores themes of growth and fecundity, drawing inspiration from patterns, forms and textures found in the natural world. With a keen interest in botany, she uses macro photography to study the structures and growth patterns of plants, isolating the details that captivate her and reinterpreting them in new forms, often from a new perspective or different scale.

Working with white grogged stoneware clay, Michelle employs a range of techniques. Forms are thrown, altered, hand-built, textured, stretched or carved, then multi-fired in an electric kiln. Glaze is applied in layers, through washes, dipping and spraying to build depth of colour and surface richness.