Virginia Graham
Handmade ceramics
Drawing inspiration from historical ceramic wares, vintage textiles, paper ephemera and themes of collecting and commemoration, I create ceramics that collage together nostalgic form and imagery with just a little playful humour. Mixing styles, prints and colour to evoke memories, create connections and associations. The resulting pieces are somehow curious yet familiar, precious yet ordinary………
I work from my home studio in Aberdeenshire, having relocated to North East Scotland in the summer of 2024.
Since studying ceramics at The University of Wales Institute Cardiff in the late 1990’s I have made a career making, exhibiting and selling my ceramics with many pots finding their way into public and private collections across the world and featuring in books and magazines from CRAFTS to Vogue and Country Living.
I first worked with clay at school, at the age of 10, and never looked back. It was always what I wanted to do and thankfully I had amazing teachers who nurtured and encouraged me. After gaining a GCSE and A Level in ceramics I spent a Foundation year at Wimbledon School of Art before moving to Wales to study for my undergraduate degree.
I stayed in Cardiff after graduating and worked from a space at Fireworks Clay Studios, a cooperative studio complex for ceramic artists, which I helped to run for a number of years.
In 2014 I moved to Wiltshire and spent ten happy years potting in the shed at the bottom of my garden in the beautiful town of Corsham but in 2024 my husbands new job saw us moving 500 miles north. My current studio at home is surrounded by farmland, big skies and the hills of the Cairngorms National Park in the distance.
I hand build all my pieces using a combination of rolled slabs and slip cast components cast from my own plaster moulds. Using plaster and paper to create texture, followed by coloured slips and stencils to add base layers of decoration, the pieces are then biscuit fired and coated with a transparent glossy glaze. Finally, I apply transfer prints before putting them back in the kiln for a third time.
As well as selling through small shops and galleries I exhibit at craft fairs throughout the year. They are one of my favourite things to do. A chance to get out and meet customers, show off new work, catch up with fellow potters and crafts people and learn new skills. Look at my events page to see where I’ll be next.