Surreal Forms and Lasting Impressions
- Stephanie creates white glaze pieces with a textured, sandy effect
- Her pieces were showcased in the Mediterranean themed restaurant, Oursin, in Paris
- She is inspired by artists Joan Miró and Edward James
Stephanie Phillips’ creative journey began long before she worked with clay. “I was raised in Sydney, and a lot of who I am is shaped by my grandmothers. One took me on bush walks and taught me the flora and fauna of the Central Coast, and the other crafted delicate flowers, painted oil works and encouraged me to create new things,” she says. Stephanie studied glass, worked as a set designer on films such as The Matrix Reloaded and Moulin Rouge, and was a visual merchandiser for furniture and interiors boutiques. “This fuelled my desire to work with my hands and sharpened my eye for texture, colour and scale,” Stephanie explains. After completing ceramics courses, this instinct emerged in her sculptural, surrealist clay forms. Eventually, Stephanie’s pieces caught the attention of fashion designer Jacquemus, who selected several pieces for the limestone niches in his Mediterranean-inspired Parisian restaurant, Oursin.
Interview
- How has your previous practice influenced your ceramics?
- I worked in visual merchandising, which required really good spatial awareness, balance and scale. This has played a great background role in what I do now, because I can look at something and know if it seems a bit off or not. I have a trained visual eye for these issues.
- Where do you find inspiration?
- I enjoy surrealist architecture. I like to find strange things from the past and wonder how it got made and why. Edward James’ surrealist garden in the middle of the jungle inspired me. It taught me that when I make something, it does not need to look like an animal or a vase to be one, and it can have hints of those things in them.
- What is a signature characteristic of your works?
- Some of my white glaze pieces have a very textured sandy effect to them. I created that completely by accident when I bought the wrong mesh size of silica. I was at a studio at Marrickville when someone told me that I cannot use it as it will not work. I tried it anyway, and it has become my signature today.
- What does well-made mean to you?
- Something well-made can last a lifetime and be passed down through generations. It does not have to be perfect, nor does it need to be in a museum, it just has to resonate with people who will love it and cherish it.
Stephanie Phillips is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2007 and she started teaching in 2021
Where
Stephanie Phillips
