Inspiration
Carol Wainwright's stoneware plates and bowls embody within their forms, colours, patterns and textures an extensive wealth of knowledge and experience, informed through rigorous research and an intuitive understanding of her craft.
Moreover, her natural impulse to extend and enrich her repertoire is moderated by a practical sense of what is achievable for the domestic environment. For instance, her thrown plates and bowls are often sensuously distorted in the round, being turned whilst still soft, characterising them with an individual quirkiness as they gently modulate the space they inhabit.
Taking these blank forms as a canvas for ideas she employs a wide range of glazing and brushwork techniques; extending their possibilities through the judicious placement of expressive strokes of coloured slips and glazes, alongside abstract marks and motifs with paper cut stencilling and wax resist.
The accidental or unexpected is positively welcomed as part of this formative process; sometimes as a potential to expand or push against, but also as part of an ongoing dialogue, initiated during the early routine of repetitive clay preparation and glaze mixing - "allowing time for the mind to wander and ideas to come".
CV
An almost parallel approach to her working methods can be found in her use of fabrics and their attendant qualities. The discipline is entirely complimentary, offering her a way to explore and extend her creative passion through wall hangings, screens and quilts.
In her recent screen series inspired by kites, Wainwright adknowledges the inherent lustrous translucency of ripstop nylon, and it's ability like stained glass to convey intense coloured light and forms through crisp multiple layers. Placed near a window where they can respond to changing light conditions throughout the day the results are both immediate and exhillarating.
As with her ceramics a workmanlike approach to her practice pays particular attention to detail, and hand stiching is a feature she regards as necessary meditative work in the pursuit of ideas in progress. As she remarks - "making something from seemingly nothing, whether it be lumps of clay or rolls of cloth, is tremendously satisfying and the end results will have almost always evolved far beyond their original conception".
Harrow School of art. Painting.
West Surrey College of Art. Ceramics.
Professional member of the Craft Potters Association. 1991
South West Arts Awards 1994 1996
Work is exhibited and available from specialist galleries in the UK.
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