We hosted four artists in residence in the first year of Modern Clay, funded by Arts Council England. For two months two artists at a time has access to the studio, materials budgets, and access to technical help. Residencies were awarded to Emily Hawes, Sophie Huckfield, Suzi Osborn and Laurie Ramsell.
Emily worked to expand the role of slipcast ceramics within her work, broadly exploring entanglements between nature, culture and bodies. While on the residency she experimented with the cultivation of local plant-life making responses to the location of Modern Clay through a playful series of ‘Digbeth Ikebana’.
While at Modern Clay Sophie undertook experimentation info forms made by extruded ceramics. She also hosted workshops for Ikon Youth Project.
Focusing on areas of the ceramic in the urban built environment Suzi made a series of tiles which resonate with the post-decorative arts. This was expanded further by making casts from architectural details around the Digbeth area.
Laurie researched methods of clay 3D printing technology and unconventional means of making humans. His work often explores ancient beliefs that humans can be made using recipes and from materials such as marble and clay, through a process known as ‘spontaneous generation’ or material evolution.
Following these residencies and Modern Clay’s organisational change to becoming a not-for-profit co-operative in 2019, Suzi and Laurie joined Modern Clay as co-op members.
