We carry with us the influence of every individual who has cared for us and been part of our lives.
This exhibition is dedicated to my mother. She was hugely influential. She was an artist who taught me to see and who introduced me to clay. Her work was organic and strong, just like her. She was influenced by the marine; her family history being linked to the sea by way of seafarers and galleons; buried treasure and pirates.
Clay to me is an organic living thing – we respond to our surroundings instinctually subliminally by touching it. This subconscious response is something that is said to exist in the mind but not immediately available to our consciousness. Stored knowledge and experiences that are not consciously recalled but can still influence our behaviour and reactions. Affecting thought, feelings, and responses, without entering actual awareness.
I evolved these vessel forms with the spirit of the sea as part of my ongoing engagement with landscape. Specific ideas are not immediately transcribed, but more like a writer – the works slowly develop into a character, gradually growing into maturity. Along the journey, enjoying the beauty of imperfection, the sadness of loss through reflection, the magnificence of our planet and the ravages of time passing. These characteristics are not overtly manifested in the work but become gentle reflections of experiences as the hand touches the clay.
Echoes of the past, present and future.
Simone Fraser, 2025
