Frances Priest

Ceramicist

©Shannon Tofts

For the love of colour and pattern

Frances discovered ceramics at art college
Travel opened her eyes to a world of decoration
She 'draws' patterns on clay with a scapel

Frances Priest grew up in a family where making was a part of everyday life. She loved drawing, and recalls her “strange habit” of colouring in patterns on graph paper. So it was perhaps inevitable that she would build a career in craftsmanship influenced by her fascination with pattern and passion for drawing. Initially, however, her work was minimalist and monochrome, exploring relationships between line and form. But that all changed when a period of international travel opened her eyes to a world of colourful decoration and ornament. She now creates intricately patterned ceramic vessels in her Edinburgh studio, as well as taking on site-specific commissions, such as working on a Scottish island to create decorative ceramics exploring plant habitats.

Interview

©David Anderson Courtesy CraftScotland

©Shannon Tofts

Where did your interest in pattern come from?: As a young girl my dad bought me a book called The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones. I have very strong memories of looking over the pages, tracing the patterns with my fingers and knowing which were my favourite pages, so that book has stayed with me for a very long time.
What do you love about ceramics?: Clay is amazing because it can give you the opportunity to create three-dimensional forms, but it can also be a really fabulous canvas to build up layers of drawings. The palate of glazes that you can use offers great opportunities to marry drawing on to surface.
How did travel inspire your work?: In 2006 I went to Japan for a group exhibition, and shortly after I undertook a residency at a school in Thailand. I encountered cultures where pattern, ornament and decoration were primary, and those experiences combined to shift the type of work I wanted to make.
What’s the best part of your creative process?: My favourite stage is when I have made the form and I can pull my scalpel out and actually start to make a drawing. You’ve got this very pristine surface and then you start to scratch away into that surface and that’s incredibly therapeutic.

Frances Priest is an expert artisan she began her career in 2000