Meet the Maker - Lowri Davies

Wednesday, April 23, 2014
We have been a long term admirer of Lowri Davies work.  Illustrations of birds, landscapes, flora and flauna adorn her unique slip-cast china tableware.  We are absolutely delighted to have Lowri's beautiful pieces in our Made in Britain shop and recently caught up with her to ask her more about her work...

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work? 
I’m Lowri and as you may be able to gather from my name, I’m Welsh. A lot of my work is based on my own identity – working with images and narratives that emanate from my family and my cultural inheritance, though not obviously so. Having studied at Cardiff and Stoke-on-Trent, I now produce bone-china tableware in the main, using industrial manufacturing process on a small scale and by hand from my studio in Cardiff. The work is illustrated with my designs and drawings based on flora, fauna, taxidermy, museum collections, the domestic realm, nature and landscape. Each piece is fired five times since there are five processes involved in the production of the work: slip-casting, clear surface glazing, coloured surface glazing, transfer application, lustre. I also hand-model small figurines and dioramas – an aspect which is relatively unheard in the field of making in bone-china. 
Apart from creating things what else do you do? 
I am absolutely fascinated by art and applied art. Curating applied art exhibitions is a recent path I’ve been following. I have co-curated exhibitions for galleries including Oriel Davies & Fife Contemporary (Placement,); Llantarnam Grange (When I Woke) and am continually working with a number of individuals on the exhibition programme at Nantgarw China Works Museum. Along with this, I co-present work at the National Eisteddfod of Wales through a selling/exhibition venture called ‘…a chrefft’ (meaning ‘and craft’) with my friend Gwenno and my husband, Carwyn. 
When did you know you were an artist/maker? 
I feel very privileged in doing what I do. I always knew I wanted to do something within a creative field, but I still don’t know when that transition to becoming an ‘artist/maker’ happened. I suspect that the time after graduating and setting-up a studio in order to continue making set me out on the path to where I am now, though there hasn’t been a real conscious decision in knowing if I was an ‘artist/maker’, it’s just always been there. 

What do you love most about working in your chosen discipline? 
The ‘ceramics community’ – if there is such a thing – is a genuine and generous community of interest. I also appreciate and value the time that I am able to spend in my studio creating work.

Describe your studio or workspace?
I’ve been working at Fireworks Clay Studios in Riverside, Cardiff for over a decade now. The studio houses 21 members who all work in clay, apart from the lovely textile artist, Becky Adams. The studio backs onto the main railway line that travels though Cardiff, so it’s very much an urban environment. We all have our own personal spaces but we also share a communal kiln room, kitchen and glazing area. We’re happy to welcome visitors by appointment & we also host open studio events. 
If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be? 
I think it would have to be Eric Ravilious

How would you describe your creative process? 
I hope that what I make is true to who I am, and where I come from. 
What handmade possession do you most cherish? 
I was given a Wassail Bowl made by my friend Caitlin Jenkins to celebrate my wedding day last year. Caitlin’s a great friend and her family have been making pots in Ewenny, just outside Bridgend for 4 centuries. 
What do you when you are stuck in a creative rut? 
Travel to a certain landscape or visit a museum. 

Where would you like to be in ten years? 
Still making!

Thank you Lowri, your work is so inspiring and utterly beautiful.  You can find a small collection of Lowri's tableware in our Made in Britain shop & her cards in Paper Scissors Stone.  Do pop down and see them for yourself.

Made in Britain & Paper Scissors Stone
Quakers Friars
Cabot Circus
Bristol

Mon - Sat:  10am - 6pm
Sun:  11am - 5pm

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