Harriet Ferris MSDC

Ceramics

About Harriet
With an eye on detail and an understanding of three dimensional form, Harriet is forever exploring the unique properties of clay.
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Biography Back to top

It has been over 25 years since Harriet left her jewellery studio in Soho London to move to live by the sea in Whitstable. After graduating from Central St Martins in the late 80’s with a degree in Jewellery Design, she worked in the contemporary jewellery gallery Jess James in London, before going on to join an artist studio in Beak Street to launch her solo career.

During that time Harriet designed and made her own jewellery collections as well as working with a variety of leading designers and companies from Danny Hall to Stüssy, Tom McEwan to De Beers, either working on collections or designing for specific clients. Her speciality was in wax carving which was then cast in precious metals, her sculpting skills even stretched to making the tiny masters of dolls and animals for the toy company Polly Pocket.

Many years later, having moved to Whitstable and raised a family, Harriet was given an evening course in ceramics as a present and that was it, she was hooked! From the beginning it was all about touch, the handling of the material and being able to manipulate and explore form so freely captivated her.

With a lifetime of wonderful experiences, there are many influences that Harriet can draw from but her most immediate springboard is her local environment. Whether it’s the marine structures of sea forts, coastal landscapes, or a simple stone picked up from the beach, Harriet plays with scale and form to produce distinctive functional and sculptural pieces.

Her work is hand built using a combination of slab, pinched and coiled clay. With an eye on detail and an understanding of three dimensional form, Harriet is forever exploring the unique properties of clay. Her experience of sculpting in wax translates quite effortlessly into this wonderfully versatile material by slowly piecing together, adding or taking away, forever altering until the form appears.

Investigating new techniques to test her sculpting skills and with a growing confidence Harriet has recently been exploring the human form, focusing on the human head and its ability to tell a story with the slightest of gestures.

Resumé Back to top

Shows 2023

  • Margate Ceramics Market - Turner Contemporary - Margate - Kent - March 2023

  • Wandering - Group Multi Media Show - Whitstable Museum Gallery - Kent - 26th June - 2nd July 2023

  • Kent Potters Association - Open Exhibition - The Horsebridge Arts Centre - Whitstable - Kent - 5th - 17th July 2023

  • Joint Show - Fstone Art Gallery - Folkestone - Kent - 13th - 26th July 2023

  • Wonder - Oxmarket Contemporary - Chichester - West Sussex - 29th August - 10th September 2023


Shows 2022

  • The Winter Group Show - Linden Hall Studio - Deal - January

  • Give Me Love - The Lido Stores - Margate - February

  • Open Call - Ryebank Gallery - Rye - June

  • Kent Potters Association - Open Exhibition - The Beaney - Canterbury - July

  • Positive Vibes - One New Street Gallery - September

  • End of Year Show - Fstone Art Gallery - Folkestone - October

  • Craft Potters Association - Oxford Ceramics Fair - October

  • ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2022 - Mall Galleries - London November

  • Surface Tension - Group Ceramic Show - Whitstable Museum - November

  • Earthed - Fish Slab Gallery - Whitstable - December

  • Designers and Makers Market - Turner Contemporary - Margate - December


Member of Craft Potters Association

Member of Kent Potters Association

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