Ceramics embedded in place and time
- Mandy's work is raw and emotive
- The physical environment is captured in her clay
- She is always seeking something new
Mandy Parslow has studied widely – from traditional skills and 3-D design, to the history of art and architecture. She set up her ceramic studio in the Glen of Aherlow, Co. Tipperary in 1999. Her early work focused on wood-fired, salt-glazed stoneware. Building on this foundation, her current practice is grounded in meticulous research and an understanding of the material. She completed a PhD entitled "Perspectives on place: a ceramic response", the work from which was exhibited at The People’s Museum Limerick. This approach requires a slowing down, close attention and living in the moment. Her response to place involves using wild clays alongside objects found in the landscape and utilises woven materials such as birch, beech and willow.
Interview
- When did you start to work with clay?
- I first encountered clay as a teenager in secondary school and was immediately hooked. The texture of it, the feel in your hands. The magic of this formless material becoming something through my efforts.
- Why are you drawn to the materials you use?
- Increasingly, I enjoy using materials that are to-hand. What is available and useable changes seasonally, and even on a daily basis. What was possible yesterday, may not be possible today. Each piece becomes a physical representation of a moment in time.
- So, you source your clay locally?
- For my current body of work, all the materials are sourced within a few kilometres of my studio. Clay and other ceramic materials are collected and tested to explore their potential. Found materials such as bone, roots, discarded tools and nests are incorporated into the work.
- How does traditional skill inform your work?
- It’s not something that I think about. Over the years you amass a bank of skills. Although my current work doesn’t use throwing, my skills are grounded in this traditional technique. The craft is embodied within me and it is a part of how I make.
Mandy Parslow is a master artisan: she began her career in 1994 and she started teaching in 2004
Where
Mandy Parslow
