An exploration of form and fragility
- Sue's creative process involves coiling, pinching and slab building
- She is intrigued by the structural parallels between the human body and the natural world
- Her glazes are inspired by fractures and flows found in nature
Sue Gunn felt an immediate connection to clay from the moment she touched it. "I fell in love with the sense of discovery, the endless possibilities, and the tactility and responsiveness of the material," she says. When she retired from her career in fashion, Sue joined a beginners pottery course. "I knew then that I had found the medium I wanted to explore," she says. In 2020, during Covid, she graduated from Morley College in London, with an HND in ceramics. Sue is mindful of how she uses natural resources and is inspired by the environment. She developed glazes that feature fractured and bubbled surfaces to evoke the textures and imagery of dried, crumbled earth, lava flows and forest fires.
Interview
- How does your creative process unfold?
- The sculptures I create are composed of delicate ribbons of paper porcelain or terracotta, which I roll and manipulate into hollow, ridged tubes. These are assembled into intricate, tangled forms that evoke the complex, fragile systems found in both the body and nature. The surface of each piece is carved, smoothed and refined to highlight its unique profile.
- What are your sources of inspiration?
- My delicate sculptures echo the structures of veins, arteries, roots and bones. This interplay between biology and nature inspires my exploration of form, fragility and resilience.
- Was there a turning point in your career?
- Being selected as a member of Grove Vale Ceramics Gallery was a turning point in my career. This opportunity helped my work reach a much wider audience, and marked the moment I began to be recognised as a serious maker.
- What challenges do you face?
- As raw material, energy and overhead costs rise, running a small studio becomes more and more challenging. Clients today choose what to spend their money on carefully. Each handmade piece is not just a product, it embodies time, skill and attention, which is what keeps this craft alive.
Sue Gunn is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2018
Where
Sue Gunn
