Leyla Folwell

The time I spend making my work has become a cathartic and centring necessity.  I use the making process as a personal and spiritual journey.  There are moments when I am so absorbed and in tune with the clay that nothing else exists.   It demands my concentration and control that can only be achieved through relaxation.

I love clay for its purity, which is grounding.  Like fresh snow it provides a pure and natural canvas.  It is strong yet vulnerable, soft yet responsive.  I work with spontaneity and expression because to not be fully in control is freeing and mistakes are often discoveries.

Each piece of my work is a dissected section of a whole form.  Once I have the initial, more traditional vessel on the wheel, I work in to the clay and add slips, as the piece is moving.  Once the body is firm, I cut it in two with the wheel still in motion.  I am currently using underglaze colours and oxides to enhance the already layered and worn surface.  Once fired I continue to work back into the clay and usually fire several times.