Amy Cooper (GB)
statement
Through my porcelain work I examine scale, detail and energy, creating organic forms for subtle illumination.
My pieces are largely inspired by natural spaces and objects. I am intrigued by the endless variations in nature and the idea of an ongoing evolutional process of adaptation. I am a coast dweller by choice and gather visual information from the precious things the sea offers up to us; the minutia we don’t usually see to the raw geology of an ocean ravaged cliff-face.
My pieces are slipcast and individually manipulated when they are still soft. Textured glazes, slips and diamond polishing create some unexpected and enticing surfaces. The work is fired in either an electric or gas kiln to create various colours of translucency in the finished pieces.
bio
Amy Cooper grew up in idyllic Cornwall, spending much of her youth in the countryside and on the beach. After travelling and a series of menial jobs she attended Falmouth School of Art for their foundation course, with a view to furthering her painting skills. She quickly grew disillusioned with aspects of the fine art world and realised that painting wasn't the direction she wanted to take. Ceramics reared it's head as part of the course and Amy quickly became hooked on the infinite properties of clay and the myriad techniques that go with it.
After graduating from Falmouth, Amy went on to the University of Wolverhampton and studied for a B.A. in art and design (ceramics and sculpture) where she channelled her passion for clay into two main (and completely contrasting!) bodies of work - delicate porcelain lamps and large scale brick sculpture. Graduating with a first class honours degree in the summer of 2002, her career was kick-started by a hugely successful degree show and she has gone from strength to strength ever since showing regularly at craft design shows and major ceramics events, as well as supplying a host of galleries both at home and internationally.