FREYA SOPHIE
Ceramicist based in Sheffield.
As an adult, I found myself working every odd job imaginable across retail and hospitality, until eventually ending up running pot painting parties for children. The job didn't last due to managerial changes - but it was this role which first exposed me to how to operate kilns and glaze pots, and which kindled my interest in making my own.
I soon after found myself at The Art House Sheffield, where I attended their year long ceramics course and began volunteering in exchange for Open Studio access. The tutors were wonderful, as was the medium of clay. I was hooked, and over time began working at The Art House while I continued to develop my skills in the Open Studio.
Although the pandemic disrupted this and I found myself again having to return to the world of retail temporarily, I never wanted to give up on creativity. I wrote poetry, published, and completed an MA under the pen name of Freya Bantiff, returning to pottery as soon as I could.
Since returning, I've discovered that there are a strange amount of similarities between pottery and poetry. Both strive to take something raw and exposed - the bare earth, or an emotion, and make it into something meaningful. Something we can look at from a fresh angle, interact with, even touch. Something that allows us to connect to other people. We apply pressure, we shape it, we hope other people will understand it. My love for the written word and my love for clay go hand in hand as I move forward now to develop my ceramic practice - aiming to take some little piece of this earth and give it back, changed and beautiful.
PROCESS
Nature, including all its most exquisite and ugly aspects, is central to my making process. The shapes and textures of leaves and corals carve their way into my forms. Animals of all descriptions emerge from the clay and insist on being sculpted. Fantasy creeps in around the edges, whether through mythic figures or creatures, blurring what it means to celebrate this world - the real, the imagined, or both, intertwined.
The Pottery Process
Primarily, I identify as a handbuilder. Carved pieces often start out as pinch pots, or rolled slabs draped over formers, before being moulded into interesting shapes, then cut into at the leather-hard stage with grooves, dots, lines and circles. Often, a pale slip is applied at this stage, before selected glazes and oxides are added for the second firing. The handmade process seems particularly apt for these natural pieces - no two are exactly the same, and this is what I wish to celebrate.
My sculptures start out in much the same way, though I often prioritise expression and movement of the animal first, removing internal clay to create a hollow form only once these core elements are established. I choose subjects which speak to me, but scale is something that I am still experimenting with - I love the satisfaction of a large piece yet the talisman-like nature of a miniature appeals too.
Going forward, I plan to expand my carving range into a greater variety of corals and plants, playing with colours and mark-making. Fungi especially speak to me, due to the range of fascinating shapes, gills and pores they display, inspiring such specific designs. The sculpture range, especially the endangered creatures miniatures, and sculptures of fantasy creatures, will keep being developed, due to my desire to raise awareness on the one hand, and also to keep making creatures with their own whacky, individual personalities. Work on my wheel throwing skills continues, with the aim of creating smooth canvases for illustrations and sculptural elements to decorate, but handbuilding will always remain my main practice.