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About Me
Emma-Louise Grinsted,
Ceramic Artist & Printmaker
I’m a ceramic artist and printmaker that loves drawing, painting, textiles and generally being creative. I make a wide variety of ceramic objects; from intricate, elemental dragons and dragon skin vases, bowls and plates to thrown bottles, press-moulded cats and elephants and lots more. My prints are primarily lino-cuts and I often print the same image on both paper and my pots.
I’m inspired by so many things; from mythology, religious imagery, folk art and literature to the actual creative process itself. I’m quite obsessed with texture, pattern and colour.
Ceramics
I use a wide variety of processes in my ceramic practice. I throw on the wheel, press-mould, extrude, coil and slab build to create the shapes and finishes I have in my mind. Pieces which are going to be Raku fired are usually left relatively plain, while my other pieces are often wrapped with thin textured slabs of dragon skin or other impressed patterns. My textures and patterns are created using handmade roulettes which are impressed with symbolic patterning. These patterns are composed of ankhs, runes, I-Ching hexagrams, five-pointed-stars, suns, leaves and fish motifs which are incorporated within abstract designs inspired by things such as Islamic tiles and fabrics, Medieval calligraphy and Celtic decoration.
I work in a variety of clays and glazes. I have a range of personally developed barium, potash and nephiline syenite based glazes which are coloured with titanium oxide, cobalt carbonate and copper carbonate that I mainly use on my stoneware pieces. I also use various bought, (and inherited!), glazes and underglazes on my earthenware pieces. I raku fire both stoneware and earthenware work using glazes and oxides. I often finish my stoneware and earthenware pieces with an additional lustre firing to add definition and richness.
Print-Making
After completing a number of print-making workshops with the wonderful Heather Gibbons at Burngate Stone Carving Centre I remembered how much I love printing. I particularly love the dramatic, graphic quality of lino cutting and I am now working on images which work both on paper and on clay.
Qualifications & Courses Attended:
– BA (Hons) Workshop Ceramics from the University of Westminster (Harrow Campus)
– Arts Foundation (one year, full time)
– A-Level Art
– A-Level Art & Design
– A-Level Art History
– Studio Ceramics (one year, part time)
– David Leach Throwing Course (one week – see photos below)
– Ruthanne Tudbull Throwing Course (two day)
– Nic Collins Throwing Course (two day)
