Zoe Preece works from Fireworks Clay Studios in Cardiff, UK. She studied Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2000), completed a Masters in Ceramics also at Cardiff School of Art and Design (2010), and a PGCE (FE/HE) at Cardiff University (2013). She works as associate lecturer at Cardiff School of Art and Design, and ceramic tutor for UWC Atlantic College. Zoe has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She was recently selected for AWARD, British Ceramic Biennial (2019), was awarded the Gold Medal for Craft and Design, the CASW Purchase Prize and the Josef Herman Award The People’s Choice at Y Lle Celf at the National Eisteddfod of Wales (2018) and was a juror prize winner in the international exhibition Materials: Hard and Soft, Denver, US (2017). Her work is in public collections in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff and the Museum of Craft and Design, Denver, US.

 

 “My current practise takes the domestic realm as the site of its enquiry. I make intimate but nameless still lives that speak of the ordinary and the human. Through focused attention on everyday domestic objects and ordinary scenes, my work endeavours to engage with the intangible, disquieting and emotive aspects of life through material processes and form.

Ceramic forms are carved from plaster on the lathe or by hand, before being moulded and cast in a fine white porcelain; the heat of the kiln chamber is used to seek out moments of fluidity. I also work in collaboration with Fablab Cardiff making use of their 3D scanning and CNC milling technologies to produce milled walnut tableaux that function as components for furniture pieces.”

On behalf of The National Eisteddfod of Wales 2018, Pete Telfer from Culture Colony visited my studio to film me talking about the work Material Presence. Material Presence was selected for the Craft and Design category within the Visual Arts exhibition at The National Eisteddfod of Wales 2018, and went on to be selected winner of three awards: the Craft and Design Gold Medal Award, the CASW Purchase Prize Award and the Josef Herman People’s Choice Award. In this film I talk about the materials, processes and ideas that underpin the work Material Presence, including the work done in collaboration with FabLab Cardiff.