Meet Katherine April

Katherine April is an artist and writer; she is the Assistant Editor of Ceramic Review magazine and the Founder of Yorkshire Art Journal, which published articles on art in Yorkshire between 2014-16.

I’m a visual artist working with unfired clay, drawing and photography from my home studio in Ely, Cambridgeshire. My recent ceramic pieces explore fragility and imperfection in the human condition. I’m creating small and medium-sized sculptures in unfired clay, often in the form of arches and mounds that link the human body to architecture.

A current project, entitled Reaching, was sparked by examining and sketching an arched church window, and thinking about the connotations attached to this architectural form. I finish my pieces with all kinds of media including paint, glitter, graphite and oil pastels, leaving patches of bare clay visible, to encourage engagement with every material I’m using.

This work is influenced by my experiences of anxiety and my interest in mindfulness and the aesthetics of wabi sabi. I build each piece quickly and instinctively, then decorate slowly and with care. I aim to create pieces that have a certain presence and soulfulness to them, relating to our emotion and sense of self. People often see faces in the forms, or picture them as beings or monuments. Someone recently commented that they felt ‘almost protective’ towards them, which I liked.

Follow this work on Instagram: @reaching.ka

 

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