Heidi Parsons
I am a ceramic print artist making decorative objects that celebrate everyday encounters and commemorate moments in time. I aim to capture the ephemeral and fleeting and I use print and photography as a vehicle to create these narratives in my ceramic objects. The print and glaze are manipulated and overlaid in the making process to create rich surfaces that are integrated into the forms. I am isolating and embedding views, elevating the everyday, creating stories and spaces in my objects.
As my current practice is a response to place I start with visits to an area, documenting detail and landscape to build up a library of material to use to describe my own experience. I then incorporate this unique visual language into a ceramic screen print which becomes ‘framed’ in an object. The references to form come from both the source material which I have collected and a continued interest in architectural details and enframements, such as ornamental cartouches.
My method of screen printing directly onto wet clay gives a unique life to the print, as the image continues to change and stretch as the object is formed. The screen printed surface stretches and cracks to reveal the clay body beneath it, fragmenting the image and creating a highly intricate printed surface. I also print into clay with textiles which can be seen in the piece Stretch. Once the pieces are fired I then enhance areas of the images with layers of glazes applied and the rubbed back to sit into the clay surfaces.
Born 1974, London
Education
2007 MA Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art
2001 BA (Hons) Three Dimensional Design, Bath Spa
University College
2004 Certificate in Education, Croydon College
1996 Foundation Studies in Art and Design, Richmond
Upon Thames College
Awards
2007 Setting Out Travel Bursary
Residencies
2001/2 Ceramicist in Residence, Cranleigh Arts Centre,
Surrey, England
2007 Network 2007 Symposium, Guldagergaard, International Ceramic Research Centre, Denmark
2009 British Ceramics Biennial, Artists Into Industry
Residency, Stoke-On-Trent
Selected Exhibitions
2011 Alumni Show, Bath Spa University College
Focus, Contemporary Applied Arts, London
“Portrait in the Making”, Pitzhanger Manor, London
Talking in Clay, Hereford Courtyard
2010 Inspired by Morris, William Morris Gallery, London
Hothouse, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Green Christmas, Smiths Row, Bury St Edmunds
2009 BCB Showcase, Wedgwood Museum, Stoke on Trent
‘Cameos: Reminders’ Roslyn Works, Stoke-On Trent
‘CLAY’ Handmade Interiors, Cheshire Street, London
Open Ceramics, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Gallery, Birmingham
Amsterdam Network Show, Meneer de Witt Gallery, Amsterdam
2008 Whirled Art Open Studios, 259-260 Hardess Street, London
Falalalalaaa’ Heard Design Gallery, London, SW4
Handwerk’, Tent London, Truman Brewery, London
‘Through the Lens’ Royal West of England Academy Open Photography Exhibition
Network Europe 2007/2008, Danmarks Keramikmuseum, Middlefart, Denmark,
‘Setting Out 2008’ Contemporary Ceramics, 2008, London, touring to Brewery Arts, Cirencester,
‘Inspire’ Crafts Council Showcase at the Cookbook Café, Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London
2007 ‘Network Europe 2007’, International Ceramic Research Centre, Guldagergaard, Denmark,
RCA Recent Graduates Show, The Atrium, Bank of America, Canada Square, London
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea with Edgar Modern International Gallery
‘Surfacing 2007’, Group show focusing on the manipulation of surface and imagery.
‘FreeHand’, London Design Festival, Mint, London
‘Organic’ Summer Group Exhibition, Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford
‘In Site, One London Wall, Moorgate, London
‘Ceramic Art London’, Royal College of Art, London
‘New Designers’, Business Design Centre
Press & Publications
2011 Ceramics Handbook, by Louisa Taylor
2009 Ceramic Review, British Ceramics Biennial review by Alun Graves
2009 Ceramic Review, ‘Endless Possibilities’ review Artists Into Industry Forum, Wedgwood Museum
2008 500 Plates and Chargers, Innovative Expressions of Function & Style, Lark Books, 2008
2007 ‘We are amused’ Evening Standard, Homes and Property
‘Designs on Your Future’ Metro Newspaper, Metro Home
Time Out, Graduate Feature Elle Decoration, Italian Edition, Grazia Casa, Italian Edition