In a couple of days we will be welcoming ceramicist and friend Rebecca Wilson for a short research and development residency at Studio Faire.
Rebecca predominantly draws inspiration from the confectionary industry, aiming to ‘glamorise the simple pleasures in life’.
As well as being a ceramicist, she is also the mother of two fabulous young girls and has multiple day-jobs. Smartly realising that the very best birthday present her husband could give her was the gift of time, he presented her with a ‘voucher’ for her residency in France. Becca was delighted and jumped on the offer!
Read more about this from her point of view on her blog: www.rebeccawilsonceramics.com
Here’s an excerpt…
‘…the gift of solitude, time, and space, is just what the doctor ordered…I shall soak up the sunshine in the vast and lush gardens surrounding the artist’s space at Studio Faire, and soak up the character of the building that is just dripping with vintage charm. I will wander to the market and be inspired by the colours of the fruit stalls piled high, and I shall gorge on the visual feast of foreign food packaging in the local supermarkets. I’ll take a stroll to the local patisserie (which is conveniently right across the road) for inspiration, and to fill my belly with indulgent treats that I will not share with sticky fingered toddlers! I’m packing my sketchbooks, and a pile of found materials that I will add to when I get there. I’ll spend the weekend collaging, sticking, drawing and painting, gathering inspiration, and I’m looking forwards to coming home with a tonne of fresh ideas ready to hit the bench in preparation for upcoming summer shows.’
I love Rebecca’s pastel jewellery ‘sweet treats’, but may favourite object has to be ‘Who’s A Pretty Boy Then?’ (pictured) a pastel porcelain parrot.
More about Rebecca’s inspiration…
‘The full spectrum of sweet treats from fruit chews and lollies, to cakes and pastries piled with cream and icing, are distilled down to their simplest forms and matched with a sickly sweet colour palette. Pastel tones derived from the sticky opacity of fruity chews, marshmallows and foams are achieved through a combination of softly coloured porcelain and carefully matched gemstones. A wealth of form and pattern is found in the factory produced pressed and cast candies, and similarly in the plastic casings that cocoon them. Nuggets of cast porcelain and oversized gemstones are wrapped up in silver bezel settings and arranged in a collaged pick ‘n’ mix of pleasurable extravagance. The formality of precious materials is removed to create wearables that drip with the desire of momentary self-indulgence and look good enough to eat.’
We can’t wait to see her and find out what inspires her at Studio Faire!