ARTISTS TALKING

Introduction

This selection focuses on ceramics.

It includes profiles of Amy Azelda Cooper, a graduate from Wolverhampton who showed at New Designers, Helen Felcey who completed an MA in Ceramics in Cardiff in 2001, Isla Chaney who took up the Crafts Council's Next Move scheme after graduation from Bath, and Kate Schuricht who talked about her progress in 2001 and whose career update is in Making a Living on this site.

Amy Azelda Cooper

Some of my most important professional contacts were made through the University of Wolverhampton, as the ceramics and sculpture course facilitated not only the degree show but also opportunities to take part in nationally-recognised showcases.

I exhibited at New Designers and Fresh Art in London. At New Designers I was selected to become a licentiate of the Society of Designer Craftsmen that led to a show at London's Mall Galleries.

Meeting new people in the industry has definitely led me into new directions and generated useful contacts. I will also be taking part in the Art in Clay show at Hatfield House in August 2003. The ceramics department at the University of Wolverhampton has a long-standing link with this exhibition.

At university I undertook a large community seating commission for Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital. Having done some work for the maternity ward as part of the university professional practice module, I approached the hospital to see if they would be interested in a larger piece.

They were enthusiastic, allocated me a small fee, and asked for proposals. I was invited to attend board meetings to discuss the siting of the piece outside the new entrance atrium. This was a great chance to see how the planning and architects work, as it seems to be a different world.

Ibstock Brick sponsored the commission, providing clay, working space, firing facilities, and transport for the finished piece to travel between shows. I will be maintaining this contact, with a view to undertaking future larger-scale works.

Since graduating, I have been busy promoting myself - not something that comes naturally to me but something that is essential to any artist. I am constantly trying to make new contacts by sending out CVs and slides and use the internet to look for opportunities and galleries on sites such as www.studiopottery.co.uk.

The most useful source of info for artists is a-n The Artists Information Company. I have applied to several things listed in a-n Magazine and it always cheers me up to know there is so much going on out there.

Relocation to Hove has been inspirational and enabled me to make new contacts, helped through finding studio space and having an exhibition at a local gallery. The new environment has fed my practice directly and subconsciously.

I am taking part in the Brighton festival open studio this year, exhibiting my lamps alongside a textile artist. It's a good opportunity to get feedback on my work. The other artists in the studio are also becoming a good sounding board and I keep in touch with my tutors and technicians.

After attending a short business start-up course I now have two mentors, one from the enterprise agency and one from the Princes Trust. I have been learning to juggle since I graduating, fitting time to make work in with paperwork, publicity and applying for funding. It's all much more time consuming than it should be, but a challenging and necessary part of being an artist.

Amy Azelda Cooper did a BA (Hons) art and design (ceramics and sculpture) at University of Wolverhampton, graduating in 2002.

For an update on Amy Azelda Cooper's career go to Artists' Profiles Index

Helen Felcey

I specialised in ceramics in the third year of my degree. It was a great course but by the end of the three years I still felt very much at the beginning; I knew I could make desirable, commercially viable objects but I wanted to develop the work further. My MA, made possible with an AHRB grant, turned out to be a really intense and fantastic year. I spent most of the time there asking questions and left the course with so much more confidence, a sense of purpose in my work, and with a much stronger working method – finding a mid-ground between functional design and artistic statement.

On the strength of my MA show, I have been invited to contribute to 'Ceramica' in North Devon later this year, and through contacts made at 'New Designers', I am currently exhibiting in 'Seize The Moment', a group show at Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton (until 25 May). This year I am also starting a temporary teaching post back with my old college at Manchester Metropolitan University. I have to remind myself that I can't do everything at once but the opportunities for younger artists are there – you just have to go out and get them.

Helen Felcey did a BA in 3D Design at Manchester Metropolitan University (1997-2000) and an MA in UWIC: Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2000-2001).

Isla Chaney

After university I exhibited at the 'New Designers' at the Business Design Centre in London. The response to my work was extremely positive. I had interest from several galleries, which has since resulted in exhibitions.

I have kept my overheads to a minimum by producing work from home. Contacts made with local artists have proved to be very useful. I have kept myself motivated and focused on my work and career by applying to appropriate competitions. I was selected for the 'Setting Out' exhibition at Contemporary Ceramics in London and also for the 'Ceramic Contemporaries 4' a national touring exhibition. I am also taking part in the Dorset Arts Week in association with South West Arts.

At the end of January this year I was accepted onto the Crafts Council's Next Move scheme, which means I have a studio space, access to specialist equipment and technical support. Based at the college of Art and Design in Plymouth, the project is part-funded and will run for two years. It offers me the opportunity to develop my business and creative practice, whilst showcasing good business practice to undergraduates. I am enjoying developing new work and intend to continue with my promotional activity. I feel that the opportunities and contacts gained through the scheme will prove to be very useful.

Isla Chaney graduated in 2001 from a BA (Hons) at Bath Spa University College.

Kate Schuricht

My pieces centre on the themes of collecting, storing and containment. The process of raku firing achieves a soft, smoky finish, with the glaze varying from honey and pale green through to white. The pieces include nesting boxes, stacking vessels and lidded oval containers.

I set up four years ago. On graduation day I travelled to Japan for a residency at the International Ceramic Workshop. My current work is very different, but that experience made me see the possibility of supporting myself in a ceramics studio. On my return I joined Cockpit Workshop in London where I am still based. Cockpit is excellent – I enjoy the interaction with people working in different materials and the open days there give me access to a buying audience.

The main impetus to my business growth is media coverage. I was featured in World of Interiors and Wallpaper at the beginning and so customers came to me – I've never had to cold call. But this doesn't mean I stop looking at what is happening around me.

[a-n] MAGAZINE is good for finding out about competitions and grants. I have received as a result a Crafts Council Setting Up award that provided financial support and created opportunities. Fairs are another major strand in my selling network – I've sold at the annual Chelsea Crafts Fair three times and also won prizes.

My work is handmade and unique and this is reflected in the prices and how I represent myself in my marketing literature. The biggest challenge I face is companies making cheaper imitations of my work – it happens, and you need to have a lot of energy to deal with this.

For me, the key is to have enthusiasm and passion for the work and maintain your originality. I've also found that I am much more organised than some of my clients, even the big ones! I work hard and initially had a part-time job, coming to the studio in the evenings. I still value that external work experience, and teaching is one area I'd like to explore more.

The writers

Libby Anson is an independent professional, creative and personal development consultant, who also works as a freelance lecturer and writer.

Abigail Branagan is a freelance consultant and marketing director of the Applied Arts Agency - a retail and gallery space in Clerkenwell, London. Originally trained in fine art, she has been working in the creative sector for eight years and has undertaken projects for a range of organisations, including Mazorca Projects, London.

Mark Gubb is an artist based in Nottingham working in a range of disciplines from painting to installation to video. His installation and film commission for Grizedale Arts references classic British horror and its cross pollination with American culture. A lecturer at the University of Derby, South East Derbyshire College and a regular contributor to a-n's publications, he is also co-director of artist-led initiative Loadstar.

Wendy Mason is a designer-maker in Yorkshire who also works as an arts consultant and trainer.

Graham Parker is an artist, critic, curator and lecturer involved in artist-led initiatives in Manchester. His work has been commissioned by Henry Moore Institute and Tate Gallery, Liverpool (Artranspennine), Manchester City Art Gallery, Compton Verney, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. He has shown extensively in the UK and internationally. He is Visual Arts Officer at Salford University and co-course leader of Tate Liverpool's University Network MA course module and artistic director (with Dave Beech) of floating ip project space Manchester.

Emma Safe is an artist and writer on the visual arts based in Birmingham.

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