Pamela Pudan

Ceramicist

©Pamela Pudan

Celebrating beauty in difference

Pamela’s ceramic sculptures are a form of portraiture
She often uses the nerikomi technique to mimic organic and unusual patterns
Her aesthetic concerns are reflected in W.H. Auden’s Hymn to Saint Cecilia

Pamela Pudan was drawn to creating objects of quiet utility and grace when she first plunged her hands into clay in Sydney in Australia. It was upon returning to her native England, at the Royal College of Art in London, that her practice truly deepened. Ceramics became a vessel for memory and emotion as she explored the textured weight of growing up in a family touched by disability. "Through my works, I started unearthing the questions I carry through life with me,” Pamela says. She creates pieces that twist into curious, organic forms, defiant in their beauty. From her studio in Devon, an old bakehouse in a former psychiatric hospital, Pamela’s artworks that survive the kiln, boldly bear her history.

Interview

©Pamela Pudan

©Pamela Pudan

How do you find working with clay as your medium?: Clay is cold and clammy – it is flesh-like but also yielding. As it is not sentient, I cannot say it has its own personality, but it does, in an inert way. It pushes back and has its own requirements. Some people talk about conquering clay, but I find I have to collaborate with it.
Is your practice influenced by your studies?: In my dissertation, I chose to investigate my experience of living with a family in which disability was present. I was interested in exploring anomaly and difference, and how this can have its own beauty and claim its own space. I started to make works that were more challenging and less pretty.
What technique distinguishes your work?: I work a lot with nerikomi, a Japanese technique that uses ceramic stain to create different coloured porcelain. The clay is sliced and recombined to form exact or organic patterns. I adapt nerikomi to work sculpturally – I am curious to see how far I can push its boundaries.
Where do you find inspiration?: One poem that inspires me is Hymn to Saint Cecilia by W.H. Auden. It includes verses such as, “O wear your tribulation like a rose,” and “I shall never be Different. Love me.” They connect deeply with my main interest of exploring the beauty in difference and the viability that comes from it.

Pamela Pudan is a rising star: she began her career in 2023