Patricia Shone

I live and work on the Isle of Skye, in the North West of Scotland. My work is inspired and informed by a powerful combination of elemental forces – climate, landscape and history. I make mostly functional forms, bowls, jars, boxes, rather than direct representations of the landscape, because they are innately human vessels.

This work is made by texturing and stretching a solid piece of clay. Areas of the lump are treated with sodium silicate or with a hot air gun. Allowing the clay to open up naturally with this technique produces textures which remind me of the patterns of formation and erosion in the land.

I use various clay bodies and different firing methods - raku, wood firing and reduction saggar firing. Valentine’s ES40 hand building material is a favourite. A very forgiving clay which withstands the thermal shock of the raku process. It has a good groggy texture and gives beautiful soft black and greys from the reduction.

Patricia uses ES40 Hanbdbuilding