About the artist

Katie Nelis is a Glaswegian Ceramicist with a BFA from Duncan of Jordanstone Collage of Art and Design. Her Fine Art background has established a practice that connects material with place, in the past her work has centred around making journeys that provide the genesis of exploring memory. Predominantly working with film, screen printing and clay, Katie's interest in process tells the story. Staining the clay different colours from the onset allows her to embed the colours within the clay before the firing and glazing. This technique conveys themes of layering and uncovering of memories and mirrors a similar process of erosion and deposition in the landscape.

 

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​​Hello! I'm Katie - I make handmade functional ceramics reminiscent of Scottish landscapes from my studio in Glasgow's East End. My energetic process of dripping and brushing glazes involves an element of unpredictability to create abstract landscape compositions. Often the raw clay surface breaks through between overlapping and pooling colours creating contrasts in texture. 

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My interest in memories written within the landscape - and how revisiting places affects the body - has led me to experiment with pit firing, plaster casting, clay staining and hand building in the land.​ These experiences form the foundation of my current studio practice, which focuses on functionality and quality of form. 

 

Through workshops, collaborations and teaching wheel classes I continue conversations around maker and material. ​I hope to tell a story through my process and dwell in the unknown; working in communion with others and seeking reciprocity between body and land.

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