Isobelle Hayes
BA (Hons) Product Design and Craft

A natural ceramicist driven by a need for change. The current climate crisis is causing irreparable damage and there is a need for immediate re-evaluation of materiality.

Returning back to the land I grew up on to re-explore my relationship with the natural world. Harnessing all that it has to offer me. Respecting each material and its surroundings. Working with the same techniques and processes used by our predecessors. Exclusively using materials found within the lands boundaries to create ceramic vessels that speak to my surroundings. Hand sourcing and processing a unique wild clay specific to my land, formed during the carboniferous era around 315 million years ago. Reflecting the materials natural origin in the vessels design, taking inspiration from rock forms found on and within the land to create a series of work that is deeply connected to the area. This has all been done with the desire to create an ethical, self-sufficient ceramics practice. 

This series of wild clay vessels have been sawdust fired onsite with heather and bracken collected from the local moorland.

Design Award Highly Commended