Details
| First Name | Elaine |
| Last Name | Brett |
| Nickname | ebceramiques |
My Ceramics
| In the studio I like to do | Handbuilding, Sculpting |
| Pottery Wheel | Momentum |
| Clay body | Earthenware |
| Clay Brand | I make my own fibre clay incorporating wild clay |
| Kiln Type | Electric Kiln |
| Kiln Atmosphere | Oxidation Atmosphere |
| Temperature | 1040 single fire |
| Glaze | I single fire wood ash glaze over engobes. |
| You can buy my work from |
About Me
| Introduction | Hello, my name is Elaine Brett. I qualified with a BA in Fine Art Painting and an MA in Public Art before embarking on a career in teaching via Art Galleries and Museums in the North West of England.
In 2014 I sold up and permanently moved to rural France to renovate an old farmhouse, live more self-sufficiently and re-open my studio. |
| What I Love about Ceramics | Like many of us, my love of clay started as a child making those mud pies whilst playing on my parents allotment, so for me clay has always been associated with nature, freedom and food. |
| How I started with ceramics | I have had my little cromartie 40 for over twenty years, its been mothballed while I travelled, taught and raised a family. This is me circling back and settling down into my clay practice. |
| What inspires me | The vegetables I grow here, especially pumpkins…incredible forms, texures, colour…. the human body, elongated or rounded both are super interesting….. surface textures on vegetables are truly extraordinary…. nature and her skies ….especially here where I live in rural France where there is little light pollution, evening colours after a rain – Â those greys are breathtaking…..and the sunsets, just wow…. |
| What I'm working on at the moment | I make small batches of clay incorporating wild clay from my land and the local area adding paper pulp to create one-off sculptures and vessels. A range of hand-building techniques are used, coiling, slab work, carving before applying layers of coloured slip, ash glaze, copper wire and then finally firing to 1040c. I enjoy very much working in this limited way with a unique clay body. Â It gives a finished surface quality and a warmth that I cannot achieve with a commercial clay. |
| My Artist Statement | During my time as a teacher, I taught and practised the importance of resources, especially environmental ones as a means to expand imagination, creativity and to deepen respect for all life. These value are embedded in me and my intention is to demonstrate them in and through my work. Always, like Life a Work In Progress. |
| My CV | During my career as a Freelancer I delivered many Visual Art workshops often culminating  with exhibitions held in North West of England galleries.  (The turnpike, gallery Oldham, Salford city and the Whitworth to name a few). I was InSet artist for The Lowry, Salford from 2001-2004 (being the subject of a film for CBBC illustrating how to make a mixed media ‘Portrait of Anne’ painting) and had an exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery ‘links revisited, the chakra roses’ from 1st-31st March 2007. |
