Philosophy
“What does it mean for a painter to use one artist’s style or another? You have to paint like someone else…. But you make a mess of everything. And it’s when you make a mess of everything that you are yourself.”
Picasso’s quote immediately struck a chord with me as a student at Loughborough College of Art & Design when I was eagerly searching for that elusive way forward. Adopting my newfound philosophy, I let myself bond with the clay, relax with it, experiment, and take the pressure off for that bitter-sweet approval either from peers or tutors. I learnt to stop trying too hard.
The more I made, both at college and the years after, I realised this quote also applies to the challenges in life, and is not just limited to creative struggles. It’s how we assemble everything that happens, and make sense of what we have, which builds the intrinsic creative essence.
Fissures and crevices in the clay feature with adventurous joins inventively coaxed into robust features. Some forms are soft, some are bold and rugged. I want each pot to convey its own spirit and character.….to have a pulse and a heartbeat. I want the marks to reflect the journey of exploration and learning in each pot, just as a wrinkle or dimple depicts expression and character in a human face - an intrinsic part of each individual character.
“When you look at the ceramics of Rachel Wood, you immediately become conscious of how sensual ceramics can be.
Wood’s vessels radiate a great power, calmness and timeless serenity, even though the surface design itself shows an enormous liveliness. The eye is immediately captivated by a great wealth of nuances, and a subtlety which borders almost on the archaic.
Her vessels combine delicacy and power. This is not a contradiction, but the expression of a special quality.”
