After 10 years of ceramic practice, I am currently part way through a Ceramics MA, and so my practice is changing and developing. I feel a little vulnerable show these images as they are in no way finished ideas, but do show some of my early exploration during a ‘Spode Heritage’ brief. During this project I began to recognise and enjoy the story telling within my new work. Used to working with unglazed porcelain with a focus on colour, texture and form, becoming drawn to transfer ware and imagery was a surprise to me that I continue to explore. A more recent project gave me the opportunity to explore my past use of colour and texture in a very different way, wonderful colour through glaze exploration and floral pattern, again, my enjoyment of the floral pattern coming as something of a surprise to me. I am excited about the possibilities of where these new found material interest lead, and how they will help me in the telling of stories, and I am determined to remain open to new ideas, skills and storytelling possibilities.

I love how open Paula is to learning and developing new work. I first came across her work in 2014 in a powerful exhibition called Torn: Grief in the Making and knew we would have so much in common. Since then our paths have crossed a few times through being in the same groups but we both felt slight outsiders in the commercial / retail craft products world. Like me, Paula is clear that she isn’t interested in repetitive making purely for selling and is focussing on narrative. She contacted me a few months ago to interview me for her MA research and that conversation led to this podcast.

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Paula Briggs

Paula and her recent work

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Support the podcast

My Making Meaning podcast of conversations with creatives is coming to the end of 2021 series. I want to make the new 2022 series of Making Meaning even better. If you have enjoyed these episodes, please consider making a donation to my crowdfunder campaign before it closes on Monday 13th December at midday GMT.

So many of you have loved listening to Making Meaning over the last 6 months. It’s been a wonderful project for me too. I planned and recorded most of it while we were still in lockdown as a way of connecting with others and now being able to share these rich and inspiring conversations is a joy.

The podcast has really resonated with you, enabling you to learn more about your own making or creative work and to understand how artists think and work. It’s made connections across creative work and within and outside of my own textiles discipline. I’ve been able to share stories from museum work and other kinds of creative practice as well as craft and they are all so relevant and inspiring to hear. 

I’ve been doing this out of my own pocket for the last year but really need to make it financially viable for 2022. I have to pay hosting fees, editing and marketing costs and then there’s my own time.. and I would love to be able to pay my guests something too as they have so generously given their time. There are a range of rewards including episode and whole series sponsorship.

Maker Membership

My Maker Membership is now open for all makers wanting to explore their motivations and to build meaning and research into their practice and be part of a supportive creative community. We meet once a month and I share resources, tips and research to help you develop your own work. Find out more here.