Trace

Alice McCabe - Metafleur Sam Andrew Emi Fujisawa John Mackenzie Josephine Marchandise Sophie Thomas Louis Thompson Antje Lang Anna Simson Kiran Lee Vivienne Schadinsky Vicky Chown

TRACE Sarah Walton

Heather Gibson Pip Hall Maru Jota Roger Coll Meg Rodger Michelle Cade Mind Like Water Unit89 Sol Polo Tim Martin Will Hearle

Created for Trace, a collaborative exhibition by OmVed Gardens, Thrown and Metafleur for the Chelsea Fringe 2023 Featuring a collection of installation images of the exhibition itself. All installation views by photographer Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens

It feels fitting that for ‘Trace’, our fifth collaborative exhibition with OmVed Gardens’ and our fourth as a trio with Metafleur, we have created for this collaboration its first catalogue.

After the dates have passed and many beautifully created websites have disappeared with their fleeting domains, these exhibitions can often feel like a dream - perhaps apt for a location from which you emerge from an assuming lane onto Highgate High Street and wonder how you could possibly be back in North London.

This catalogue is a record of the artwork involved, some created especially for the site of OmVed Gardens, some inspired by the exhibition title to dive into a side of their work, all held together in these pages. This catalogue also serves as a record of the many different skills, ideas and knowledge of the event programme, curated by Sol Polo of OmVed Gardens, adding further to this openly resonating theme of Trace.

For each of our event contributors and artists, we have asked questions about beginnings, changes and highlights to learn more about what had led them to today as well as questions for us all to gain a little from their impressive mass of expertise. For each and every one, we have started with the same question - can you describe a usual day in your practice? I love the life that this brings to this static catalogue, the thought of what, as you’re reading this, each of the people this catalogue celebrates might be doing right now. The energy that has been brought together for these two and a half weeks in May at OmVed Gardens and then disperses, with the additional force that this exhibition will hopefully bring.

My days generally start slowly, setting up my laptop for the day at 10am - one of many reasons why gallery work has always felt like it was right for me. Emails are always the first port of call and a check-in with the spinning worlds around me of artists, makers, collectors, designers, stylists who might have a new update or enquiry that will suddenly change the course of the day.

TRACE A usual day will likely be computer-based and have been decided by the end of the year before, finalising a programme of exhibitions and events which set a intensifying amount of tasks as the dates draw closer - all in the same pattern of deadlines but each one completely different in the way each artist works, the artwork itself, the venues (whether physical or thinking about how to present something digitally) and the people (collectors, designers, visitors etc) I get to meet or speak to along the way. I like to break up my day with packing up any sold work in the afternoon, instantly slowing things down with a task that just can’t be rushed.

I have realised that despite working with objects, my work is very much about human connection.

I get to be part of an artist’s journey, trusted with the work they have put so much into, and part of a collector’s too, whether it’s the first or one hundredth purchase, the sometimes unexplainable, sometimes heavily discussed reason of why art, in its many forms, speaks to you.

This part of what I do is amplified in these collaborations, an echo of a unifying theme but said in many different voices in many different ways. In the same way that artists can all pick up the same brush, tool or wedge of clay and yet create something completely different, being able to work with OmVed Gardens and Metafleur with the starting point of a word that makes all of our eyes light up, the individual forces that have come together for this exhibition are all saying ‘let me show you what this means to me’.

Of course with this, these messages interweave with the synergy that brings us all together. So in this catalogue we have tried to order the collections and stories in a way that draws connections between the many ways of thinking, an invisible thread to follow along the way.

Claire Pearce Gallery Director, Thrown

Next page: OmVed Gardens by Will Hearle

For the exhibition Trace, Metafleur will be actively connecting and reflecting what is outside with what is inside. This connection functions both as direct seasonal link, bringing outside materials inside but also as flower arranging draws upon internal reflection whereby feelings and intuition are explored via the physicality of arranging.

Working solely with materials gathered from OmVed seems an appropriate and holistic way of working for this collaboration responding to the exhibition curation, artists’ worlds and works further binding exhibition and site.

THROWN At OmVed, the gardens are the basis for a creative exploration that blossoms beyond them: in the kitchen, in the studio, in the loom, in paper, in film, in clay, in a jar or in our plate.

Tracing the connections between these blooms, real and metaphorical, and creativity in a broad sense, has brought us to put together a varied programme to accompany Trace, and also honour the spirit of the Chelsea Fringe: encouraging links between gardens and art, literature, music, cookery, history, crafts, and ecology.

The mark of the artist and craftsman will forever put us in awe. The powerful force of the brush and tool to translate the world around us can break down walls of language, culture and even time.

In our thinking about Trace, the visual language of art is at centre stage. The featured collections have been selected to represent the range of meanings drawn from this single word, from the trail of an expressive line to the journey of a material to the way we explore our abilities to influence and impact, particularly in this case relating to the natural world - the uniting theme that keeps drawing us three as collaborators back together.

Alice McCabe / Metafleur Metafleur is a sustainable floral art and design studio founded by Alice McCabe and based in London, creating large-scale floral installations and living landscapes for events and films, alongside dried floral art for exhibitions.

In connection to the theme of the exhibition and in line with her sustainable practice, Alice will work solely with materials from the OmVed site and work deliberately to extend tracks and traces palpable through the garden and into the space.

Alice will also lead a creative workshop as part of the exhibition’s ‘Slow Sundays’ events.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

My days vary. If I have flowers work on, I will be up between 5-6am and headed to New Covent Garden Market or to a nursery to select cut flowers and plants. I will likely be with a driver and fellow florist, picking up and scrutinising materials and seeing if there is anything irresistible, which will then be added to the order. For recent work, I have been foraging with permission from community gardening groups; digging up plants that are not commercially available (aka weeding!) This has brought several unexpected challenges, including how best to safely pack a Luton van with stinging nettles, dandelions and brambles for fellow florists to unpack.

Dependent on the job we will work in the studio most of the day until about 6pm or install onsite responding to the event environment.

When did you start working with flowers?

The first job I had was working in a flower shop – Mr Buttercups – in Putney when I was 18, now twenty years ago. I worked there part-time whilst doing my foundation course at Chelsea College of Art and Design and my love of flowers, moving colour around and working in a physical way began.

At the heart of Metafleur is sustainability, what challenges does this bring?

I started Metafleur on witnessing waste from large-scale floristry events. The challenges are making sure displays are not used as a tool for greenwashing practices of some businesses and that sustainable methods of creation of largescale displays with both short and long term planning for material usage are committed to, even if this increases costs, labour and expertise required. This requires commitment, trust and flexibility of vision on behalf of the client too.

Each job is an invitation to keep learning and finding new ways of creating impactful displays more harmoniously aligned with nature.

With your work ranging from small single arrangements to large scale installations, how much does your process and thinking change between different scales of work?

My floristry work is driven by requests mostly, and I enjoy the time for experimentation at Omved and within my studio work creating hanging floral meshes with dried and foraged flowers at the overlap of my painting practice.

I like to work closely with the client regardless of scale and enjoy diving into all the details.

For large-scale installations most of my time will be spent working on logistics, budgets and afterlife of work. There is more flexibility built into the smaller designs, and I will likely create the flowers myself. For larger designs, I have the help of an incredible floral team of freelancers with varied backgrounds and skills across art and horticulture. A joy for me is however much you plan the project the materials will always surprise you.

As an artist yourself, how does your artistic practice and floral design overlap or contrast?

My floral design and artistic practice overlap in that I use the same skills for both – consideration of balance, colour, intuition and spontaneity alongside planning and control of materials. I have learnt from materials to go with what they are doing rather than try to force them and feel I adhere to this more in floristry, when a stem will just not budge, rather with painting where I can have a hunch but keep working over and over.

Deadlines and delicacy of materials certainly helps to adhere to intuition too!

Now our fourth collaboration for the Chelsea Fringe, can you see changes in your practice from the first in 2020?

This exhibition has always been an opportunity to create displays in harmony with exhibition content, celebrating the use of re-purposed, foraged and dried natural materials that might be imperfect.

This year I am excited to work solely with materials from OmVed and feel this brings the collaboration full circle; enables truly sustainable designs, working with selected materials that physically act as a trace between glasshouse exhibition and gardens. The best part is they can all go back out into the garden, into the beds and to be composted afterwards.

Sam Andrew

Each striation originates from hundreds of slabs meticulously layered. With thousands of lifts, pats and slaps the layers compress. A slice is taken from these layered loaves, which are then pressed into lined tableware. A technique known as Nerikomi. The waste of the process has been collected over years of production and now forms into Sam's most prominent pieces.

The tan and brown clays are the homogenous blend of black and white waste. Off-cuts from various batches have been inlaid and intricately joined together to create bellied forms from waste.

Sam Andrew is a Manchester-based ceramicist whose work is influenced by his background in Clinical Neuropsychology and time living in the Netherlands, Hungary and Tokyo. He was taught by his mother, who has now been potting for over 50 years, since a young age. As a starting point Sam's interest in psychology has preoccupied him with the visual effect of depth in contrasting coloured lines, and what it teaches about the way in which we perceive, with circular material reuse, and excessive patterning, being central to this expression.

Large Nerikomi Corners Pot Stoneware 33 x 31 cm

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

Each day I cycle to the studio, there's usually some clay recycling and kiln filling and unloading. However there's no other usual activity, as tasks differ from day to day. For example if a large order has come in I'll spend a day layering and blocking clay in preparation for making bowls and plates. A few days later I'll begin slicing and pressing the plates and bowls, and the following days honing the surface. It's quite physical and repetitive for the days, but may not be repeated for another 1 or 2 months.

My making process from starting with layering clay to finishing with a bowl or sculptural pot takes at least 5 weeks.

When did you first begin working with clay?

I can't remember I was so young, my mum taught me. She studied ceramics for 5 years in London, with notable tutors Emmanuel Cooper and Mo Jupp. I remember making a mud hut with a straw roof and a working ocarina for different school projects, as well as making a monster, a fantasy house and a beetle in classes with my mum and my school mates. I threw a set of plates for myself to take to University.

Large Red Moon Pot Stoneware, 30 x 36 cm

What’s been the biggest pivotal moment in your practice so far?

Things have been quite gradual compared to the beginning of my practice, where I changed career from Neuropsychology research to potter, and had been living in the Netherlands and Tokyo among other places in the years prior.

When did you first discover nerikomi? What is it that draws you to this technique?

I have an interest in lines, I used to doodle line patterns on worksheets at school at every opportunity (and still do). I began painting meticulous lines on pots on the wheel, and experimented further in an effort to use up different recycled clays and a blue clay in the studio. I tried many things, such as throwing with the clay together (neriage), marbling them and pinching or slabbing, and also layering the clay.

I created a set of press-moulded bowls out of this experimentation which is now the foundation of my work.

I like the optical effect lines give and what it teaches us about how our perception works.

They also enable you to trace the movement of the clay throughout the process, so with some study, the viewer is able to deduce the behaviour of clay and how the clay has be joined and reused to create further pieces.

Do you plan each piece in advance or do they develop intuitively?

I used to want to work intuitively, ultimately it can be less effort, and although there has been some success, I've learnt that this results in more failures than I'd like.

I remember my mother showing me her pieces of shrapnel. I didn't appreciate the significance of them until I'd accumulated all sorts of tiles of my own, that now lay around my studio and home, thousands of them.

Through progressive experimentation on a small scale, I've accumulated knowledge of colour, pattern arrangements, and forms that work together better. I've also used production to develop off-cut arrangements, including making off-cut plates for Tate Modern, and off-cups for Hato Store. These inform my plans for future work, but it's always a good idea to have an open mind when opening the kiln.

How does scale change your process or thinking about your work?

Scale is technically challenging with my techniques. The more joins increase the chance of cracking, and my pieces have hundreds if not sometimes thousands of joins, which increase with scale. The recycled clays can tend to bloat more, and sometimes the different clays don't fit well together.

With my smaller pieces I like to use a single slab of clay, which bends right round into a plate, bowl or enclosing all the way into small hole at the top for a sculptural piece. However, this isn't currently possible with larger pieces. I instead use different and often combined techniques on the same piece including throwing, slabbing, press-moulding, pinching and coiling.

Nerikomi Bowl, Pink & Grey, Stoneware, 8 x 13 cm

Pinched Nerikomi Debris Pot, Stoneware, 10 x 12 cm

Preparing clay in the studio. Photo by the artist

Nerikomi Bowl, Red, Brown & Pink, Stoneware, 9 x 33 cm

Large Orange and Brown Triangles Nerikomi Pot Stoneware, 36 x 40 cm

Right image from left to right: Nerikomi Corners Pot, Stoneware, 13 x 17 cm Brown Recycled Clay Pot, Pistachio and Blue Inlay Above:

Stoneware, 17 x 15 cm

Recycled Tan Clay Vase with Pink and Monochrome Inlay Stoneware, 20.5 x 13.5 cm

Nerikomi Debris Pot with Red, Brown, Pink and Grey Inlays, Stoneware, 15 x 15 cm

Images © Emi Fujisawa

Emi Fujisawa

Emi Fujisawa is the textile artist and designer based in England. Her philosophy is based on the proverb from Confucius that says “ We can learn new things from the past”. Strongly inspired by time-honoured textiles, she has developed unique palettes via her expertise in natural dyeing with a key focus on using natural, sustainable and ethical materials.

For Trace, Emi will host a workshop teaching how to stitch a botanically inspired motif on a tea towel of vintage cloth, with yarn hand dyed with indigo by Emi.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

Today I have worked on two projects; dyeing a fabric from my client with Indigo, and setting up my loom for a new Indigo weave — for a coming exhibition at the Japanese Embassy. I always have my fluffy assistant Miyako with me in my studio (my beautiful cat). I made a new Indigo vat in the morning, and then I warped my loom while the Indigo vat was getting ready. My client would like a medium shade of Indigo blue, so I first dyed the fabric, and then I hung it in the garden to dry — then I went back to continue setting the loom up, and then back again to continue to dye the fabric, several times. By the afternoon I was done warping my loom. I then spent time gardening, while the fabric continued to dry out in my garden. I am growing both Indigo and Flax in a neighbouring garden, which needed watering before I had an evening course to hold.

When did you start working with textiles?

I completed my studies in textiles at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2010. It was important to me to learn hand weaving, since weaving is the process to make textiles and fabrics. During my time at Chelsea I realised that I always looked at textiles through the lens of fashion, which was what I studied in my first degree at the Bunka Fashion College in Japan.

My mother used to teach sewing classes, locally where we lived, so I have grown up surrounded by textiles and the techniques.

What first drew you to experiment with natural dyes?

My parents used to grow plants in their garden, and my extended family used to be rice and tea farmers, so I have always been close to nature. I think therefore I naturally chose working with the natural materials (plants), rather than using chemicals or synthetic Materials. My first experiment with natural dyes was after I had moved to London for my University studies. In London I connected with nature in a way I had lost while living in the busier Tokyo. London is so much greener, even in the most central parts - and the sky so much wider! I started to collect plants on my way back home from University, to dye yarn with every night. I wasn’t always very successful.., but it was a great experience that brought me onto my journey of natural dyeing.

How has your colour range developed with your expertise? Are there certain colours/ tones you have been searching for in your dyes?

I researched natural dyes based on the traditional colour palette in both Japan and England, to then developed my own colour palette that fitted my environment. I think that it is very important finding your way to make your own colour palette.

I was struggling to make green colours using natural dye as there aren’t really any plants that bring a nice green colour. So one day I thought that if I dye a yellow colour first, and then dye a blue colour — like using water colours — and it worked. This experience has brought me to make many different new colours.

I had another interesting experience when I visited a friend’s house once — where I saw a water jug in copper that had started to turn into that typical turquoise green/blue colour over time. This inspired me to research and experiment with turning copper thread, that I wanted to use in my weaving, into this turquoise blue/green colour. From then on I have not only used plants to make natural dyes, but also minerals and chalks.

For many years I dyed with Indigo, using powder and plants, but since I knew that Japanese Sukumo Indigo brings a much more beautiful colour, I decided I needed to learn this technique. Last year I trained in making Japanese Sukumo Indigo with master Aisyu Yano in Tokushima, in Japan. Now I am preparing to set up my own Japanese Sukumo Indigo Studio, here in England.

The fabrics used for your slow fashion collection have diverse origins, from your own hand-weaving to some found in antique/ vintage markets on textile research trips.

What has been your most impactful research trip so far?

When I still lived in Japan I read an article about embroidery work in Romania and Hungary; each village has their own embroidery style. From then on I was dreaming about visiting these villages one day. After I moved to London I received the opportunity to learn about the traditional lifestyle and textiles in Romania for a month, in an artresidency.

I learnt how textiles used to be very important in Romania in the past. Friends I made there gave me their heirloom textiles, passed on to them from their families. These textiles have so much meaning and values. They are still my treasure.

However, the value of textiles has decreased over time; or people have tried to keep the traditional skills of making these textiles, but with wrong directions - like using chemically dyed yarn or synthetic yarns. Through my experience in Romania and Hungary, I became even more interested in supporting their traditional textile traditions, to be passed on to the next generations.

I use traditional textiles in their imperfect conditions. There are so many textiles that were not taken care of very well, and which I use for my slow fashion garments. I honour the value of the traditional textiles, hand-woven fabrics and antique/vintage fabrics while I imagine the history and background of these fabrics — and bring them a new life as part of my garments.

John Mackenzie

John Mackenzie completed a degree in ceramics at Harrow University in 2001, where he developed a passion for wood fired ceramics and kiln building. John has since built a number of wood fired kilns and has been exploring the unique colours, surfaces and effects which can be only be achieved with this process.

John has recently built a new 140 cubic foot anagama (cave) kiln which is fired with offcuts of wood from local sawmills. The kiln is fired for around 50 hours and needs constant attention to build the temperate to above 1300 degrees centigrade, where the ash from the wood melts to form a glaze. He aims to explore and accentuate the protracted and extreme firing process by developing his own clays, glazes and slips which respond to the flame, ember, and ash.

John is fascinated with how the burning wood can imprint its energy onto the clay and looks to vary the atmosphere of the kiln to maximise the kilns potential. He includes locally found granite and feldspar to develop deep surface effects, texture, and colour.

Born and raised in Cornwall, John has always had a close affinity to the sea and rugged Cornish coastline of West Penwith. His work is a direct reflection of this, he aims to make functional vessels which communicate the elemental processes that they have been through.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

I tend to use a day to focus on a specific form or function. This could be making simple cylinder as the start of mugs or a type of bowl were I’m thinking about how it might fit in the hand or be held. Or I may work more loosely making a single form trying not to worry too much about the outcome. On days like these I tend to sit at the wheel most of the day. That said with wood firing there are so many different elements which need to be achieved to ensure things are successful. Chopping and stacking wood, mixing clay, cleaning the kiln, collecting shells and grinding pots that have come out of the kiln are all labour intensive and often can take days to get in order.

What first drew you to clay?

I’ll never forget the first thing I made in primary school, and I remember clay being something which I was absorbed in and loved. Beyond that I have always been fascinated by the physical world and how its functions. From studying ceramics at A level, I began to really understand clays potential to be formed and fired.

What’s been the biggest pivotal moment in your practice so far?

What is your favourite reaction that you can create in the kiln?

This year I became a Selected member of the Craft Potters Association. This means a lot to me and has given me a boost in confidence. After a period of time away from clay it has been great to get back to making, I have been evolving my work quickly with lots of experimentation and hard work and it’s great to have this recognised by an organisation like the CPA.

I really love a wood fired effect which is sometimes called ‘ember flashing’. This is where the raw clay sits in very hot embers and the heavy and prolonged reduction atmosphere that this creates imprints its surface. This can give a variety of colours from black, blues and purples through to peach and orange depending on how the pot was staked into the kiln. With wood firing I love how aesthetic decisions need to be consider from mixing the clay right through to how the pot is placed in the kiln. Every element is important and will influence the next.

What are you thinking about when you start making each piece? Do you make in series?

I try not to think too much, my studio is full of pictures and things I have found which might inform shapes or new direction for marks I would like to make. I have found that things happen more fluidly if I allow these to sit in the background as I begin making for the next firing.

With larger forms I may take a simple measurement from a sketch or photo then make a series which explore the simple ratio of belly to hight. I can then just allow the subtleties of these form to sink into me rather than try to emulate something. I’m very aware of the power of the subconscious so try to surround myself with thing I find interesting and inspirational.

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How important are locally found materials to your work?

I have developed a porcelain clay body which is designed to respond to the flame and embers of my kiln. A locally dug China Clay called Grolleg is the main ingredient of this clay. To this I have been adding ground local granite and feldspar which I collect from a variety of locations around West Penwith. I use shells collected from local beaches as an essential way of stacking work into the kiln they leave an imprint on the fired clay and glaze. I also use a local river mud as one of the few ways I make decorative glaze marks.

So local resources are essential to my work, and I love that deep connection to the landscape around me.

3/4 5/6 All hand blended porcelain from the 50 hour Anagama firing: 1. Charred Vase, base blackened by embers, h.18 cm 2. Ember Vase, ember flashing and ash glazed effects, h. 15.5 cm

3. Peach Blossom Vase, celadon and copper oxide underglaze, h. 15.5 cm 4. Peach Blossom Bottle, celadon glaze, copper oxide underglaze and natural ash, h. 13 cm 5. Ember Bottle, fired buried in embers, h. 11 cm 6. Soda Vase, ash and soda glaze, h. 25 cm

Large Jar St Agnes blended Stoneware with high iron slip. Natural flame and ember flashing from the 50 hour Anagama firing, h. 56 cm x dia. 50 cm

Kintsugi Jar St Agnes stoneware with Grolleg Slip, fired on its side at the front of the kiln with heavy ember and ash glazed effects from 50 hour Anagama firing, h. 34 cm

Celadon Glazed Bottle Hand blended porcelain with celadon glaze, ash and ember effects from the 50 hour Anagama firing, h. 27 cm

Large Platter Hand blended porcelain. 'Raw fired' with heavy ember, ash and soda glazed effect from the 50 hour Anagama firing, 31 x 33 cm Celadon Glazed Jar Hand blended porcelain with celadon glaze, ash and ember effects from the 50 hour Anagama firing, h. 26 cm Soda Bottle, Celadon glaze, fired on a bed of shells, soda and ember effects from the 50 hour Anagama firing, h. 11 cm

Josephine Marchandise by Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens

Josephine Marchandise Josephine Marchandise is the Head of the Creative and No Waste Kitchen at Omved Gardens. Growing up in a farming family, passionate about cooking, gardening and regenerative food growing, Josephine has later rediscovered preservation and fermentation while trying to slow down and commit to a low waste lifestyle.

For Trace, Josephine will focus on the theme of trace with a kitchen workshop teaching the basics of fermenting, techniques which allows us to expand the life of produce, as well as creating a three course plant-based tasting menu as part of her ‘Leave No Trace’ Dinner.

Cooking is not just being in the kitchen, is being outside, foraging, gardening, being part of the cycle and I guess I rediscovered it when I made a conscious decision to slow down, heal my body and the planet after working in a paced life industry which wasn't for me.

What was the biggest change that you have felt most in committing to a low waste lifestyle?

Reconnecting to food, to cycles, to my body, to my ancestors, to our mother earth and our current food system. I am creating time and space every day to be creative and imaginative with nature.

Can you talk us through a usual day in the kitchen?

Every day is very different and depends on the seasonality of the space and gardens. Usually I check the ferments first thing and tidy up the kitchen before I start cooking for an event or preserving whatever is in the garden and the wildflower meadow. If there's a short window with some wild edible, flowers, or unusual veg/ fruits I try to experiment and let my imagination get inspired by nature.

When did your interest in cooking begin?

It's always been part of my DNA, although I didn't ever have a hura moment where I told myself I want to cook full time. It's always been in me, like most of us I think. It's a synergy between all forms of life, it brings people, plant, planet together.

I come from a farming family, and spent some of my youth helping my mum and grandmas/pas gardening, cooking and preserving food.

Is there a particular plant/produce at Omved that you are most excited to see coming into the kitchen from the garden?

I'm genuinely excited by all forms of plants, each season brings new joy, new life, new cycles. Give me any plant, and I'll be exhilarating!

How does fermentation and preservation change your approach in the kitchen?

With fermentation you have no choice but to slow down. Bacteria and nature work their magic at their own pace. I love the endless web of creativity: an exploration and discovery of ancient forgotten flavours and new ones which only reveal their secretsa to those who dedicate the time required. There's also a deep interrelationship between plants, humans and the community of bacteria that are responsible for the fermentation process (and ultimately our health), and I think this process is a pretty good metaphor for life on earth, it is never a dead end, whatever breaks down gives hope to new forms.

Sophie Thomas & Louis Thompson MA RCA

‘Broken Ocean’ is a collaborative project by designer and creative campaigner Sophie Thomas and award-winning glass artist Louis Thompson MA RCA. The plastic fragments used in this series were collected by Sophie in 2014 from Kamilo beach, Hawaii. This remote beach (also known by the locals as Trash Beach) sees the results of the global plastic waste tragedy wash up onto its shore every day on every tide. The amount of plastic-to-sand ratio is shocking. Everywhere you look plastic is present, deep in the fabric of the beach and seemingly almost impossible to extract. Everything picked up had a story; a journey from Japan after the Tsunami or from the landfills of the USA. There are snatches of words on bottles bleached by the sun. Some plastic had been in the sea under the hot UV sun so long it turned to powder when touched.

Shard Vessel with Carton Blown glass with ocean debris H. approx 70 cm

Using these fragments along with images of micro-plastic swirling around the ocean gyres as inspiration the pair created work using waste glass to illustrate this chaos and intrusion into the natural environment. The creation of each vessel starts with picking a plastic ocean waste fragment to inform the shape. This is followed by a process of gathering and adding waste glass, shaping and blowing. Some of the waste shards are engraved and enamelled with illustrations of seas, nets and packaging details. The piece is completed by the addition of the original plastic piece.

Called “beautiful, yet horrifying” by Craft magazine the initial Broken Ocean installation was originally shown at the 2019 Collect Open where it won the prestigious Collect Open award.

Shard Vessel with Rope Blown glass with ocean debris, h 75 cm Photo credit: Ester Segarra

Shard Vessel with Hook Blown glass with ocean debris, h 75 cm Photo credit: Ester Segarra

Sophie Thomas an unusual mix of creative campaigner and design agitator. Having worked in the design sector for over 20 years, Sophie was Director of Circular Economy and before that, Co- Director of Design in the Action Research Centre at the RSA where she founded and ran The Great Recovery project for four years. She has been working in the fields of sustainable design, behaviour change and material process through her design agency, Thomas.Matthews since it begun in 1997 as a partnership with Kristine Matthews.

Alongside collecting plastic debris from the edges of the seas she has assisted global businesses and UK government organisations to define the role of designers within discussions around waste streams, resource efficiency and circular economies. She does a lot of campaigning work and over the last decades has founded a number of social enterprises with aims to advance the design industry’s capacity to respond to environmental challenges through knowledge sharing and investigation.

Louis Thompson has been working with glass for over 30 years. His portfolio is diverse, from creating large scale installations to creating smaller intimate groups of objects that invite closer inspection. He completed his Masters degree at the Royal College of Art in 2011 and has been invited to work and teach with glass artists both in the UK and abroad. Louis was the recipient of two prestigious awards in 2012, the Jerwood Makers Prize Commission and the Best Exhibit Prize at the British Glass Biennale.

His work has been exhibited extensively at galleries in the UK, Europe, Japan and the USA. He has been invited to create installations for various museums and international exhibitions and his work is held in museum collections in Belgium, Germany, Japan, USA and most recently the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Louis has completed a residencies at the prestigious Museum of Glass in Tacoma, USA, Glazenhuis Museum in Belgium and at the Soneva Art Glass in the Maldives.

Shard Vessel with Fitting Blown glass with ocean debris, h 50 cm Photo credit: Ester Segarra

The Seven Stages of Degradation Blown glass with ocean debris H. 32 cm x w. 80 cm x d. 11 cm

Antje Lang

Antje /on-tee—yuh/ Lang is a moonlightmusician and occasional wordsmith daylighting as a sustainability practitioner. She focuses on groovy tunes for feelings and systems change for climate justice.

For Trace, Antje will be performing as part of a special late opening.

Can you talk us through a usual day as a sustainability practitioner & emerging musician?

Music seeps into the edges of my day. One of my favourite things is when I'm biking to / from somewhere and a song lyric or a melody pops into my head. My voice memos are full of little snippets here and there. Right now, I'm releasing my first full-length album, and so my musical headspace is really focused on these songs and that practice, but I've recently taken up banjo and I'm looking forward to exploring what musicianship means to me as I tie the bow on these first twelve songs so to speak. *ESG encompasses a set of standards that measure an organisation’s impact on society through the E, S, and G

I work full-time in ESG (environmental, social, governance) in the built environment.* Right now that means my head is very in ESG data mode as we work to aggregate all our relevant data for the year and disclose it. But generally, my work focuses on how we integrate ESG into our operations, keeping up to speed on industry best practice, and really focusing on decarbonisation. That means a lot of talking to and collaborating with people inside/outside my organisation to set and meet ESG objectives.

But I'm also interested in a lot of things, so my day generally involves reading breaks on my other interests like anti-monopoly law in the US and civic purpose.

Images: Antje Lang by Lindsey Kusterman

pillars. ESG benchmarks organisational performance and, similar to financial accounting, provides clarity to investors, customers, and other stakeholders.

What is your earliest music memory?

My dad driving me to pre-school and listening to Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley, but my first concert memory was going to Britney Spears with my sister when I was four or five and crying because I found the whole thing so loud and overwhelming. Oh the late 90s!

Where do you take inspiration for your music and lyrics?

Historically, a sentence or a thought just kind of appears in my head and it then becomes a song.

I'm working to be more active in my songwriting though, where I'll give myself a prompt (a picture, a poem, a sentence from a podcast) and see what comes out. Mostly, though, the songs I feel most connected to are the ones where I'm trying to work through a question or a situation (even I wasn't aware of it when I first wrote the song). A lot of the new songs on this record followed on my dad's death, and grappling with a lot of existential dread that it brought up in me.

How does your passion for music relate or interact with your passion for systems change and climate justice?

Music never fails to make me feel something, to feel connected. I think we're all really just looking for ways to be connected. I think our disconnection with ourselves, each other, and the earth breeds or compounds a lot of the problems we've created for ourselves. I guess I basically don't think it's as hard as we think to be nice, compassionate, and self-aware people.

Writing and performing songs is my way to connect to that feeling, but also hopefully provide others with a something to consider.

What is the story behind "Notes to a Doctor" and how does the artwork relate to it?

Funny enough the story was that I said the album title in a regular sentence many years ago and my friend who was with me at the time said 'that would be a great album title' and I agreed! My dad was also a doctor, though, so even though the album title came to me before he died, it feels like a not-so-strange coincidence that the album really is full of notes to him. The artwork was done by my photographer friend Lindsey Kusterman out in LA. I just really like Lindsey's work and we worked to strike the balance between solemn and fun.

Anna Simson

Anna Simson came to ceramics through parttime classes and workshops over 20 years ago, formalising her passion with a Masters from Bath Spa University in 2018. Her love of nature comes from her childhood in Africa and the Mediterranean and her extensive travels in later life. She has a studio nestled in the heart of the creative Stroud Valleys where she lives with her husband, daughter and dogs.

Anna makes both functional and sculptural ceramics in stoneware and porcelain clays using a variety of techniques including throwing, hand building and pit firing. Getting hands dirty in the earth and a deep relationship with clay; its malleability and the visible marks are important to the textures and imprints she makes. Anna’s interpretations of Gaia’s flora and fauna are inspired by the little things in nature that ultimately affect us all and yet we often do not fully understand their impact; lichens, fungi, pangolins, creatures of the deep oceans.

Dormant Raw clay (accompanied by glass dome) 21.5 x 35 cm (with glass dome)

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

I work in one of 21 spaces with 25 artists and makers at Victoria Works Studios near Stroud in Gloucestershire. I balance my making with managing all the studios so my day often starts with checking things like fire alarms and that everything is running smoothly before I embark on creative thinking. I don’t often plan my work in advance as I prefer to respond to how I am feeling or what I am reading about at the time.

There is a subconscious response to the material and what is in my head.

When did you first starting working in clay?

I’ve been working with clay for well over 20 years, initially I learnt through part-time classes and completed a Masters at Bath Spa University in 2018.

From L-R: Fallow, Stoneware, 10.5 x 8.5 x 6 cm Awakening II, Stoneware, 13.5 x 9.5 x 8 cm Quiescent, Stoneware, 13 x 10 x 8.5 cm Anna in the studio by Oliver Perrott Photography

Somnolent, Stoneware, 16.5 x 12 x 9 cm

What’s been the most pivotal moment in your work so far?

Completing my MA was a pivotal moment. I didn’t realise initially the impact it had had and confess to a couple of years of confusion and disorientation after I finished. Looking back, I realise that the MA challenged and disrupted my way of thinking which has led me to make the work I’m doing now.

Tell us more about your ‘Elementals’ series, when did you begin this and how has it developed?

Covid lockdowns gave me the time and space to focus on Elementals, a body of work in response to the vulnerability in our ever-changing world.

Watching a programme about Pangolins I was horrified to discover that they are the most trafficked mammal in the World, for cruel and unnecessary reasons.

I wanted to make something that captured how I felt about these defenceless creatures. It is important that the scales are made individually with my fingerprint on each, symbolising the negative (and occasionally positive) effects of man. I now carry this symbolism through much of my work looking at micro environments and man’s impact on our planet.

There is a feeling of intimacy in these sculptures, are you able to work on a few at the same time? When do they start gaining their own identity?

Frequently I work on multiple pieces at once but with these pangolin-inspired forms, I tend to work on one piece at a time as they are very intense to make. I aim for a particular curled shape to start with but the form change as it develops its own character and evolves in my hands; sometimes awkward and unsettling and at others vulnerable and sensitive. Each “scale” is added individually and I need to take breaks often as my neck can become quite painful with the concentration and posture.

You leave some pieces unfired, able to return to raw clay with water, has this changed the way you think about making work?

Archaeologists find fired shards of pottery centuries after they were first made and I’ve always felt uncomfortable adding more of the same to future finds. Despite that, I believe, there’s a different confidence needed to leave your work raw and allow it to crumble and disappear over time. I have made a few pieces in raw clay, as for me it represents the fragility and vulnerability of the world in which we live.

Dormant is one example where man’s (my) fingerprints are visible on each scale and if given to water, the piece would return to earth once more. However, if cherished, kept safe and dry, Dormant could last forever. It feels an apt metaphor.

Detail of ‘Awakening II’ Photography by Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens

Kiran Lee

Kiran Lee is a naturalist with a passion for understanding nature. He has previously volunteered at the Natural History Museum, London Zoo and London Wildlife Trust. Kiran is currently a PhD student with the Seychelles Warbler Project using genomics (entire DNA sequences of individuals) to understand the ecology and evolution of island-endemic Seychelles warblers, which had nearly gone extinct in the 1960s. Key influences are his mother, a keen gardener and grandmother, both botanist and biology teacher. He also aims to improve diversity and accessibility in science and in natural spaces. His research can be found on GitHub. For Trace, Kiran will lead a talk about the ecology of urban gardens.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your research?

I am behind a computer (trying) to perform analyses, writing up research, attending meetings, talks and conferences. During fieldwork, I am catching birds.

When did your interest in the natural world begin?

I feel as if I have always been interested in the natural world, but this could be from exposure at a young age. My mother says I memorised all the animals in the picture book from 15 months old.

I think exposure is so important.

How long have you been working at OmVed? Have there been any surprise discoveries in studying the garden there?

After being at OmVed nearly a year, I learn every day I am in the garden. One surprise was the diversity of life found in a pond dip survey, given how new the pond is.

Improving diversity and accessibility in science and in natural spaces is something you’re very passionate about, are there any particular changes that you think would make a big impact?

Recognise and change power dynamics.

Represent diverse backgrounds, as role models, to give perspectives and to contribute to policy decisions.

Portrait: Kiran Lee by Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens Next page: Sibling warblers compete for food from mother by Kiran Lee

Vivienne Schadinsky

Vivienne Schadinsky is an artist and art educator best known for her evanescent Japanese ink and natural pigment paintings, capturing edible and non-edible plants and flowers that are scarce or soon distinct, due to climate change.

Her profession as an artist spans over ten years, a period that has offered her the opportunity to adapt a multi-faceted practice that encompasses environmental art and pushes the boundaries of ecological art.

Observation of nature is the overarching theme in Vivienne’s work : from the study of the small changes within the 72 Japanese micro seasons*, to work developed from her very extensive research on the consequences of climate change — as well as the pollution of air and water. Her work is a reflection on the loss of biodiversity, plants’ ability to cope and thrive in extreme weather, food security**, future foods, clean air and water. She also investigates the plant’s life cycle through installations and photographic documentations — with a particular focus on its journey into seed production. Vivienne is especially drawn to, and battles with, the intangible space between abstraction and representation, often reflected in nature itself.

Vivienne’s art projects raise questions. They underline the important role art has in visualising the impact climate change and loss of biodiversity have on our environment. To correctly convey these issues she receives information and advice directly from figures in the scientific community; such as a member of Kew Gardens’ Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst, the Head of Tree Collections at Kew Gardens, a Natural History Museum Collections’ curator and a professor specialised in international legumes breeding programmes to support future food security. Vivienne’s quest is to evoke an emotional and visceral response that encourages collective thought and conversation, to show her audience plants in unexpected ways to challenge their perception. This quest is in parallel minded to support wellbeing by evoking emotions of serenity and the appreciation of beauty.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Vivienne spent much time in nature throughout her childhood.

After studying and working in interior design, theatre design and woodworking, Vivienne eventually left the design world to follow her vocation to stimulate thought and emotions with art.

Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in London, Switzerland and Norway.

Her artworks are held in private collections throughout the UK, Europe and the US.

* Japan celebrates 72 different micro-seasons : there are 24 major divisions; of which each is split into three, starting early in February (Spring). Each micro-season lasts for around five days.

Vanilla Planifolia Orchid 8 Japanese ink and Japanese natural pigments, framed 94 x 73 cm

** Based on the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is defined when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Vanilla Planifolia Orchid

Chickpeas 1

Japanese ink, framed

Japanese ink, framed

55 x 45 cm

55 x 45 cm

Coffea Arabica 22

Mentha Cervina 1

Japanese ink, framed

Japanese ink, framed

55 x 45 cm

55 x 45 cm

MAGIC HOUR An ongoing project about endangered and extinct plants and fungi in our food chain and vanishing flora.

Ink paintings of unexpected interpretations of food plants, to challenge perception.

MAGIC HOUR gives an insight to the rapid extinction of plants in our food and medicine chains. Encouraging a dialogue and raising awareness of the important questions about the impact of climate change on our environment, and emphasising the role of art in visualising the effects of biodiversity loss.

Vanilla Planifolia Orchid 2 Japanese ink, framed 28 x 33 cm Macadamia Nuts 1 Japanese ink, framed 45 x 36 cm Chamomile 1 Japanese ink, framed 45 x 36 cm

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

I like working in complete silence and minimal disruption to fully capture the energy and beauty of the natural world that I try to convey in my artwork. Working in daylight is essential to my creative process. The changing seasons play a significant role in how my time in the studio is structured. During the light-filled days of spring and summer, I paint and practice all my art forms for long hours, sometimes starting at 6am.

But I do need to paint also during the darker month. Painting is like my energetic remedy and my life flows more freely when I create.

The seasonal variation in my routine allows me to evolve as an artist by adapting my creative process to the rhythms of nature and the changing seasons. This process feels enriching and I can capture the essence of the natural world that I am so passionate about.

When did your passion for nature begin?

The art materials I work with are really important to me. They have been carefully sourced over a long time. I believe that using natural and highquality materials is essential in creating art that reflects the true essence of the world around us.

From the Japanese brushes, inks and organic pigments to the different paper – I prioritise materials that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

I choose which inks I will be using for the day.

Deciding whether I will work in monochrome, using the black Japanese (sumi - e) ink or whether I will also use the colour pigments. Then I take the paper out depending which make and what size is appropriate for the work. And finally I prepare my brushes and line them up. I have my ink and water bowls, pallets and a special water spoon ready to create all the gradients.

This setting up plays already an important part of the process. Everything it is like a ritual. The ink and pigment grinding on the ink stone – the suzuri – and the water is always arranged and mixed in the exactly the same way. And then I start painting.

Before this stage I have researched all the information needed and can be completely in flow with the subject I studied beforehand. The painting process is concentrated and intense with complete focus – at the same time it is also calm and meditative. n the winter months, I shift my attention more towards planning, networking, organising, developing new ideas, and cataloging my work.

Growing up in Basel, Switzerland, I was fortunate to have regular access to some amazing natural landscapes. They had a profound impact on me and became an intrinsic part of my being.

My family also instilled in me a deep appreciation for the natural world, meaning I have always been surrounded with foraging, gardening, and slow cooking. This has nourished my connection with nature and the seasons.

As I spent more time in nature, I found a sense of peace there. This peacefulness and inspiration spoke to my soul and resonated with my artistic side. I was fascinated by the mountains, rivers, lakes and the play of light and shadow in the forests, and also the balance of the ecosystems.

I remember once spotting an Edelweiss flower in the mountains which we were not allowed to touch or pick as it was already endangered.

There I felt the significance of species loss and my deep connection with the natural environment.

As my passion for art developed, I began to translate the tranquility I found in nature into my art. My work became a visual expression of my reverence for nature and a celebration of its wonders and beauty.

SCULPTURES Made out of unused MAGIC HOUR paintings and covered in plaster, finished with Gesso.

Presented on a small plinth filled with earth.

Resembling ancient Greek and Roman sculptures that are striking for the dominance of pure white marble. But looks can be deceiving, because these figures of gods and heroes were once richly clothed in vivid colours! Polychromy forgotten, faded.

A view to how maybe these familiar fruits might be remembered one day only for their shape as their colours have faded.

Avocado B Re-used paintings, plaster, gesso on re-used picture frame plinth 13 x 11 x 10 cm Cavendish Banana C Re-used paintings, plaster, gesso on re-used picture frame plinth 26 x 11 x 10 cm Tomato San Marzano A Re-used paintings, plaster, gesso on re-used picture frame plinth 22 x 11 x 10 cm

Has nature always been a starting point for your art?

Choosing plants as my medium was not so much a conscious decision, but rather something I was drawn to. When I started focusing on fine art full time over 10 years ago, I experimented with various subjects and techniques, and whilst others also appreciated my landscapes and portraits, I was always fascinated by plants, especially the close up or even a more immersive and abstract take on them. I found myself constantly observing them and bringing them into my studio to take photos, to sketch and to press them. From there, the environmental art naturally evolved.

The research you are advised by is fascinating, does your artwork come intuitively from it or do you find you need time to process?

I have different scientific advisors – for example for my project MAGIC HOUR I am advised by a plant ecologist from The Millenium Seedbank in Wakehurst, Kew Gardens. Their work focuses on finding solution for sustainable ways to use seeds and how they can develop plant diversity and the conservation of threatened plant species.

Having this specialist from this field is important to my work. We are in the Anthropocene age, global climate and environmental changes are a result of human activity, which causes the rapid extinction of plant diversity. This threatens the wild plants that we use for food and medicine.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, conducts research and documents plant and fungal diversity through international projects. As an artist I focus on only one aspect of their work. To do their incredible wealth of knowledge and action justice, I spend a lot of time learning how to translate scientific knowledge into my visual world.

It takes a long time for me to digest the information, to make sense of it, and finding ways how this knowledge can be relevant in communicating it through my art.

There are many endangered food plants that are very familiar to us. The Cavendish banana – the banana that is most commonly known to us, in all our supermarkets – is tangible because I can still eat it and therefore have a sensory connection to it. This feeling is really the reason why I started the sculptures. By creating three-dimensional pieces I can further connect with my subject matter on another level. The tactile nature of it allows me to deepen my understanding of the endangered foods. This sensorial information helps me to understand better what is around us. I can therefore pay more attention to the details through this experience. We see with our eyes, the hands can touch and create something visual – and that visual can evoke a feeling in our soul.

My work is an attempt to capture the imaginative realm that is beyond our verbal communication.

Once I have absorbed all the information and I take the ideas to my studio the work is very intuitive. It is a meditative flow – connecting to the energy and emotion reflecting what I learnt from my research.

1/2 3/4 5/6 All Japanese ink, 57 x 46 cm, framed: 1. Grapes, with Japanese natural pigments 2. Cacao 7 3. Cacao 6 4. Cucumber Carosello Tondo Di Manduria 2 5. Potato 2 6. Opium Poppy 11, with Japanese natural pigments

Do you create many paintings of each plant?

Do you find yourself returning to particular ones?

My process usually involves doing many paintings of a plant in order to truly understand it. The mind becomes more refined and sensitive trough the repetition. I am fascinated by the philosophy of sumi-e, a Japanese black ink painting style. It captures something alive by reducing everything that is unnecessary. The aim is to evoke emotions that can be felt by everyone and communicate the true essence of nature.

Observation of nature is the overarching theme of all my work. I have been studying the small changes that occur within the 72 Japanese micro seasons for some years now. Therefore I automatically return to certain plants that I find particularly inspiring, for example during my favourite time of year in spring when all the fruit trees blossom or to observe them when they are at another point in their life cycle.

Can you tell us more about your Magic Hour series? How long has this project been ongoing and has your approach to it changed as its developed?

The realisation of plant extinction had originally led me to launch my first environment art project related to plants SUNRISE - SUNSET – which focuses on endangered flowers. This eventually lead to MAGIC HOUR which explores the extinction of food plants.

MAGIC HOUR not only highlights the importance of food plants but also explores the cultural significance of food in our lives and the ways in which it binds us to our history, traditions and heritage.

As I continue to work on my projects, I am learning more of the connections between them.

For example, my focus on the extinction of food plants in MAGIC HOUR led me to launch my future food project CIBUS, which explores ways to ensure food security and sustainability in the face of climate change. This in return led to SEGES, a project that examines food plants that thrive in extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, droughts, fires, storms and floods, and was inspired by the unprecedented heat we experienced last summer.

Although I cannot give my full attention to all projects simultaneously, each work I create influences the next, and I do not want to miss any of these connections. The projects are all revisited in regular intervals and with each return I have gained more knowledge and have therefore a slightly different approach.

Vicky Chown

Vicky Chown was born and raised in London. She had a calling to study nature from a young age and didn't let city living get in the way. She began foraging and growing food and medicine as a teenager in any green space she could find - local parks, wastelands, window boxes and back gardens.

Her passion for herbs led her to work for Neal’s Yard Remedies for 7 years where she developed her knowledge of herbal remedies and natural skin care. This led to studying to become a medical herbalist BSc at Westminster university and teaching foraging and herbal remedy making. She now focuses on the growing and foraging side of plant work. Running organic permaculture gardens where she now grows many of the plants that are used for Handmade Apothecary, as well as food for the Queen's Wood Cafe and Omved Gardens.

For Trace, Vicky will be hosting a tour of OmVed’s permaculture garden, discuss pesticide free growing and composting techniques.

Can you talk us through a usual day in the garden?

The day always starts with a walk around. I observe and inspect everything! Often staring at beds or sit thinking of what will go where, what will be harvested/planted/moved/weeded. The garden is constantly evolving and each season is different so garden activities do change a lot throughout the year.

When did you start working with plants?

My first ever plant was Stachys byzentina AKA Lamb's Ear that I bought from a car boot sale with my mum when I was about 8. It had these beautiful, tactile, fluffy leaves and the plant spread and took over the whole garden. From that moment I was hooked! From then I started to grow tomatoes and basil in pots and finally got my first allotment at 19.

As a medical herbalist, what is your favourite unusual use of common herbs to introduce people to?

I love to promote all the most robust and abundant herbs that pop up with ease. Things like nettle, plantain and yarrow which are essentially weeds that can be used for a plethora of health benefits. I love to change people's perspective on what a 'weed' is. Once you realise how delicious and nutritious nettles are, and how abundantly they give, you'll see them differently.

Vicky Chown by Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens

How long have you been at OmVed Gardens?

Have your thoughts and approach to the garden changed over this time?

I have been head urban holistic grower (HUG) at Omved since 2019. The garden itself has changed a lot in that time with new beds up, two beautiful wildlife ponds and many more exciting things popping up along the way including a new seed saving hub and greenhouse. I think the ethics of the space have stayed the same, though our practice is constantly evolving. We try new things all the time, new varieties. new methods. For instance this year we made biochar from our coppiced hazel which we added to our beds to enrich and hold onto nutrients in the soil.

With thoughts on trace and impact, are there certain plants you wish that more people grew?

Weeds for sure! Edible weeds like nettle and dandelion are not only delicious and nutritious but they are excellent food sources and habitat for all kinds of wildlife. But it doesn't really matter what you grow, even a pot of basil or one bush tomato plant will have some impact. If every person in the UK grew just one tomato and one basil plant, that would equate to around 250 million portions of food. That’s a lot of air miles and plastic packaging saved!

Oca (Oxalis tuberosa) grown at OmVed Gardens Photography by Will Hearle

Sarah Walton

"From an early age I walked, drew and painted landscape, those of the South Downs and Lake District making a special impact. I saw their thinness of soil as a beauty of spareness and it is that quality I've tried to bring to these pieces. I also saw tarns encircled by hills, in low light conditions, glistening silver."

Based near Lewes, East Sussex, Sarah Walton is an artist working in ceramic, oak, lead and cast iron.

Between 1975 and 2019, Sarah produced salt glaze stoneware. She initially concentrated on thrown tableware, gaining recognition for its restrained authority, but in 1985, began developing large hand-built and press-moulded forms for outdoors, notably birdbaths. She is particularly known for her series of birdbaths reminiscent of square boulders, set on timber bases. In those years she also experimented with making sizeable abstract sculpture, using her salt kiln to produce it. She also tried working with cast iron and lead.

Birdbath by Sarah Walton.

Photography by Will Hearle for OmVed Gardens

In 2019 she went right down in scale and started to make small sculptures inspired by landscape .

These are fired in electric kilns .

She acknowledges a debt to mediaeval pots, the arts of Mesopotamia and South-East Asia, to Neolithic Art, to Western Painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, poetry, wit, philosophy and religion, and to innumerable people down the years, especially Weislaw Pilawski, Irene Milburn and Jean Spacek.

Sarah’s ceramics are represented in 15 UK museum collections and numerous private ones.

Unique Lobed Birdbath Salt-glazed ceramic on oak base 65 x 62 cm

Tall Octagonal Birdbath Cast iron on concrete slab 57 x 45 cm

Low Octagonal Birdbath Cast iron on concrete slab 27 x 53 cm

Bottom:

Top and right:

Quarried Hillside, Cumbria

Bostal Bottom, Sussex Downland

Ceramic

Ceramic

14 x 24 x 13.5 cm

14 x 23 x 22 cm

Heather Gibson

Heather Gibson’s ceramics explore the threshold between art and the everyday object.

Drawing inspiration from ancient pottery traditions as well as the monumental ceramics of abstract expressionists, such as Voulkos and Tiffoche, Heather’s approach to making is both spontaneous and alive. Often beginning by striking, carving and faceting a block or a thick slab of clay, found objects such as old tools, driftwood and broken pottery are used to create unique surface histories. Through a process of digging the final form is gradually uncovered.

Vessels are hollowed-out - kurinuki style. A careful alchemy of slips, oxides and glazes are applied, often poured across the surface.

Kurinuki Tea Bowl 1 Red stoneware & tin glaze 9 x 10 cm

Through this method she invites risk into her work, encouraging the true nature of clay and its ability to give something back - something beyond our control.

By exploring clay as a canvas for trace, memory, and mark making, Heather hopes to capture a history in the object, reminiscent of the cycle of time and the natural ageing process.

Heather Gibson is a ceramic artist living in North London. Her artworks span large scale ceramic wall pieces, sculpturally carved vessels and tableware. Having originally trained in Photography at Nottingham Trent University, she now works predominantly in clay.

Kurinuki Tea Bowls Red stoneware & tin glaze Each approx. 10 x 10 cm

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

What’s been the biggest pivotal moment in your practice so far?

My studio sits on the top floor of an old sweet factory in North London and houses a vibrant community of potters and ceramic artists. I usually start the day with a good cup of coffee and a quick catch up followed by the most physically demanding task of the day, be it wedging clay or rolling out thick slabs for carving and hand building.

This year, I began pursuing ceramics full time. I have always split my time between different jobs, so focusing completely opened lots of new possibilities for me. I recently took part in my first Potfest and later in the year I will be attending the Royal College of Art to undertake a masters in Ceramics and Glass. I am feeling confident in the direction my work is going and am very excited to see where a year of in-depth study will take me.

Once the raw materials are prepared, I select my tools. I have a wide variety of found objects in my toolkit. From fragments of broken pottery and driftwood to combs and wires, I use each unique tool to etch and carve, carefully constructing each vessel. I tend to work in series, each piece informing the next, allowing for discoveries to be made along the way. All my ceramics are entirely hand built, then slipped and fired to 1000°C, before being layered with glaze and fired again to stoneware in an electric kiln.

What first drew you to clay?

I originally trained as a Photographer, although I always felt there was something more I was seeking creatively. I first discovered clay whilst working as a studio assistant for a ceramic artist and was immediately drawn to the physical nature of the material. Getting back in touch with working with my hands brought back the fearless, primal nature of creating that I’d been missing. I love that the possibilities with clay feel endless. Photography still very much informs my practice. Using my camera I explore peripheral areas of the city, capturing transitional spaces in the urban landscape. My photographs act as sketches, which I then explore through the tactility of clay.

Is functionality important to your forms?

Exploring functionality in my forms is important to me because it reflects the accessibility that ceramics represents. The shapes I create echo early forms of pottery which were created to serve a utilitarian purpose. By exploring recognisable forms, I hope to uncover our relationships with these objects and how we can explore deeper meanings of the past, place, culture and people.

Your mark making is so intuitive, what are you thinking about as you work? Do you listen to music?

Like many ceramicists, I am especially inspired

by Japanese and Korean pottery traditions such as ‘kurinuki’ and ‘buncheong’. There is a semiperformative element to this style of working which fascinates me. I love the act of pouring, brushing or splashing slip and glaze. I enjoy listening to a variety of music to help me find a rhythm in my movements. I try to be unselfconscious. My method unfolds organically, responding to circumstances and evolving with them.

You obviously have a strong relationship from your process with your materials, can you tell us more about the red clay you use?

While working on this collection, I chose to work with a distinctive red sculptural clay body, rich in iron and ideal for carving and capturing impressions. My process starts by getting a feel for the unique characteristics of the clay, building a foundation for the raw form to develop. To add dimension to the sculptural surfaces created, I then layer contrasting white slips and glazes that allow the raw earthy surface underneath to still be seen. I continue to be fascinated by this clays ability to give something back, something beyond control.

Moon Vessel No. 3 Red stoneware & tin glaze 21 x 18 cm

Moon Vessel No. 1

Moon Vessel No. 2

Red stoneware, textured slip & tin glaze

Red stoneware, textured slip & tin glaze

29 x 25 cm

23 x 19 cm

Slate Stepping Stone

Pip Hall “I enjoy carving poetry and prose in stone. I like the opportunity to experiment with the way words can influence the form and layout of the lettering.”

Pip Hall is a renowned letter carver based on the edge of Cumbria in the Yorkshire Dales. Her work includes letter-carving, illustration and printmaking. Her main interest is in exploring the illustrative and decorative aspects of lettering, and this has been the chief activity in her workshop for the past thirty years.

Pip is known by many for the much loved Stanza Stones, in which she carved the words of poet Simon Armitage into the rugged and varied geology of the North York Moors.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

A typical day is rare these days, and the idea of a workshop is currently a dream. But here are some recent activities that have been shaping my lettercarving life. The last two days I spent carving a bench on my knees (some yoga stretches now beckon!). My workshop was the beautiful Stone Garden created by Ronnie Duncan in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire. The previous day I was in a rowing boat on Lake Windermere with National Trust clients and sound engineer discussing Wordsworth for a podcast about a recent carving project I'd been involved with there. These are not typical days! The nature of my work is that I must travel to my rock if it can't be transported to my easel, so my workshop has been variously up on the Yorkshire Moors; in the woods on the banks of Ullswater, in a beck, a boathouse, in city centres and private gardens.

But in between these exciting excursions with my tools, I can be found in the back yard of the Old School in Dentdale, carving commissions for memorials, for house signs and poetry. I often make trips to the quarries to choose stone, or meet a client here or on site to discuss a project.

Mornings are good time for the most creative part of the process: drawing and designing, so afternoons generally are taken up with carving, but this is not regular, with deadlines often intervening.

What first drew you to stone carving?

The arrival of the computer in the design studio I was working in (in the early 1990s) crucially made me realise that the thing I loved most about being a typographer was the hands-on, tactile aspect of making artwork. When the computer replaced this part of my work, I had to find a different way to earn my living by making the things I designed.

A visit to the workshop of (the late) lettercarver Caroline Webb (who had also studied typography at Reading University when I was there) provided the lightbulb moment I sought at that time. I watched her carve the most beautiful, flowing and lively hand-drawn lettering in stone and was hooked. She showed me how to hold a chisel, suggested I approach my local monumental mason for some stone scraps from his skip - and I was off.

Where do you find the prose that you carve?

Reading and radio provide me with most of my inspiration.

How do you source your stone? What are you looking for in the stone you choose to work with?

Stone usually comes from quarries. But sometimes people will bring me pieces they would like carving and these are usually fine for carving - if they are not granite or too crumbly.

Occasionally my stone requirements are very specific. For example, on a recent Wordsworth poetry commission for the National Trust at Windermere, I had to find stones that would fit in with particular features of the shoreline. The client and I were looking for pieces not only large enough to carry the words, but that were naturally shaped, thicker than flagstones and a similar grey to the slate remnants on the shingle beach for which they were destined - and with smooth enough surfaces for carving. The stone needed to be sound too: I had to abandon the first set of stones we brought to the site when cracks were discovered! The search resumed, and eventually, exploring at a Lorton farm, I found the ideal pieces, all interesting shapes in themselves, and strong enough to stand the test of time. I love this part of my work - the echoes of gathering pebbles on beaches as a child.

Can you tell us about the two pieces you have created for Trace?

Slate Basin: Ancient and contemporary influences shape this piece. I have been inspired by the basin as a form in which to carve words ever since seeing the shallow stone bowls at New Grange. These neolithic basins rest in the dimly lit passageway, the gloom adding to their mystery: for what ritualistic offerings were they intended? In this hallowed space their purpose seemed to me something other than for the preparing or serving of bodily sustenance. I was in awe of the fact that they were shaped by hand with tools made of stone - the same tools were used for inscribing the perimeter stone slabs with their distinctive triple spirals, which also captivated me.

The basin form echoes such a beautiful idea expressed in Irish author Claire Keegan's short story Walk the Blue Fields. Here, a character is talking about the art of conversation: 'She said self-knowledge lay at the far side of speech. The purpose of conversation was to find out what, to some extent, you already knew. She believed that in every conversation an invisible bowl existed. Talk was the art of placing decent words into the bowl and taking others out. In a loving conversation, you discovered yourself in the kindest possible way, and at the end, the bowl was once again empty.' The bowl becomes a container for words, offered as nourishment and enlightenment for the soul.

The words I have carved are from Andrew Marvell's poem Thoughts in a Garden, which is embodied in Omved's holistic and regenerating ideas. The lettering spirals around a green slate basin, which will sit among the wild flowers of Omved restorative garden.

Slate Stepping Stone: this green slate piece was the last piece to come out of the Elterwater Quarry in the Langdales, before it closed a few years ago: it was my favourite place for finding unusual pieces of slate, and not least because of the very friendly and helpful staff there. The slate has been sitting in my garden ever since, waiting for the right words to arrive.

There is much to fire the imagination in this swirling metamorphic rock, formed millions of years ago from volcanic ash. These two words of the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus everything flows - seem apt here: a succinct description of a universal, elemental process and very much part of the holistic ideas embraced at Omved.

Slate Stepping Stone In progress

Slate Basin

Portrait photography by Paulina Sidorowicz

Maru Jota Maru Jota is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and performing artist from Argentina. Her music is a vibrant fusion of latin rhythms, reggae, pop, and jazz. With an emotional and powerful voice, she creates memorable melodies full of soul and passion. She is currently creating her second album and performing various concerts across Europe with her own songs and covers.

For Trace, Maru will be performing as part of a special late opening.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your practice?

Every day is different except for my morning routine: I wake up and write 3 pages of thoughts, dreams I had, ideas, to do's, basically whatever comes to mind. It's like cleaning my brain first thing in the morning and allowing it to take a fresher start. I've been doing this for 5 years now and it's helped me create songs. After this I like to meditate and then do some yoga. After lunch normally I'll rehearse the songs with my loop pedal. I like to take at least 3 hours for this and normally do it 3 times a week. I like to leave a day in the week where I have nothing on my agenda other than to sit and try to write a song. Currently I'm working on my second album so I've been recording music videos, going to the studio to record vocals, meeting with my producer, planning the release of the songs (I've released 4 singles of the second album already).

Where do you find your inspiration?

For lyrics, I'm inspired by the things that happen to me in my life, a lot comes from my travels, my loved ones and also it comes out of the need to express my feelings. My inspiration for music comes from The Beatles, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Spanish speaking artists such as Natalia Lafourcade, Jorge Drexler and El Kanka.

I love mixing those 2 worlds and different styles.

You play different instruments and have varied influences, was it difficult to find your own sound?

I started by playing the piano when I was 8, then the guitar, at school learned bass clarinet and sang in the choir so I was surrounded by music.

Finding my own sound came from playing a lot of covers first, and making them my own. I would only choose songs I loved to sing. Countless hours of rehearsing, playing with bands, playing solo helped me find my sound. Also I had really good music teachers who would encourage me to go write my own songs since I was in school. I found myself using elements from the songs I played before for my own. I've been part of more than 10 cover bands back home and enjoyed playing different styles so when I started to write my own I found that I liked to mix those up and felt natural.

What is the story behind the artwork of your latest album, Literal?

What is your earliest music memory?

I was 5 years old and my kindergarten teacher had given the boys of the class a song to learn. I loved the song so I learned it anyway. When we got back to school they asked who wanted to sing it and I raised my arm, as no boys wanted to sing it they gave the part to me anyway. Next thing I remember is singing on stage in front of 200 people and loving it.

This artwork is meant to be a mashup of the individual songs that make part of this album. I released each one of the songs with its own art cover and then I wanted one that would unite it all, showing my passion for nature, the sunset and the sea, those places where you can just relax and let go of everything that worries me.

The guitar is in the front cause it comes with me everywhere I go and has been my companion since I was 13 years old.

Artwork by Lucrecia Tomaselli

Roger Coll

“I like to think that we all have our artistic language, or at least we try to find it. In my case every single sculpture I make is part of my own language that I´m developing. Each sculpture is like a word that helps to define it.”

After studying Architecture, Sculpture and Ceramics and having spent several years working in an architecture studio in Barcelona, Roger Coll established his first ceramic studio and workshop in Barcelona in 2009. In 2014 he moved to Vic where he now lives and works. He strives to make people appreciate ceramic objects and sculptures and believes that working in ceramics is a captivating form of art with the potential to unleash creativity.

Roger’s work has been exhibited internationally in solo and group shows since 2010 including New York, Berlin, Milan, Stockholm and London.

His sculpture was published in the book ‘New Wave Clay: Ceramic Design, Art and Architecture’ (2018) by Tom Morris, a 296-page survey of 60 international ceramicists, examining ‘a new breed of ceramicist: not traditional artisans, but designers who choose clay as their means of creative expression.’

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

Every day is a little different, but it would be something like this. I usually set my alarm for 5:55, eat breakfast and/or have coffee, and head to the studio. It is only a 7 minute walk from home. If I don't have to take kids to school, I don't leave the studio until 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. with the exception of my coffee break.

I have changed my routine slightly in the last few months. I used to have a lot of pieces in different stages at the same time and go from one to another and do all kinds of tasks in one day, but now I try to work in groups, which means I can spend weeks just building new pieces. Then as the sculptures dry and I begin to bisque fire them, I can focus on sanding, which is the most demanding and time-consuming part of the process. When some of them are ready to glaze, I can prepare them for their second firing at a higher temperature and have them ready to be photographed.

This means the routine in the studio is never exactly the same and I can go from a fully occupied space when I'm building and everything is in the middle to an empty studio when all the works have been collected for shipping.

What first drew you to ceramics as a medium?

What are your biggest influences?

I think it is because I come from a family of farmers (both my grandfathers). I used to spend a lot of time during my childhood on a farm playing with earth, stones, branches, mixing everything with water, building tents etc. and I developed an early interest in materials and building things with them. It was not after some years when I had already started at university that I felt the need to go back to that feeling and decided to start going to ceramic classes on Saturday mornings.

I have always been fascinated by sculpture. As a child I remember buying all the books I could find by Richard Deacon. The use of materials, understanding how each one behaves differently, the shape, the scale, the finishes. A whole series of abstract concepts that convey a specific type of emotion that has me trapped.

What’s been the biggest pivotal moment in your practice so far?

I wouldn't be able to define just one important moment in my practice, it is rather a set or sum of decisions that you make based on getting where you want to go, and which coincide with a moment of change or rupture. I am not impulsive in making decisions, but I am guided by feelings.

Sometimes it's positive and sometimes an unnecessary waste of time.

One of those important moments could be the first time I participated in Ceramic Art London, because it forced me to focus exclusively on my sculptures and break with the type of pieces I had made until then that did not fulfil me . I had had the feeling that it was something I needed to do a long time ago and it was hard for me to try and apply to it.

In the same way that it was difficult as important for me to leave my job years ago at the technical architecture studio and break with that whole world, to go away for a while and start from scratch making my ceramics.

Or right now, that I am interested in including and working with new materials in my practice and making a change of scale in some pieces.

My collection of objects that I collected on site visits when I worked in the studio, things apparently not directly related to the practice of sculpture such as the world of cooking or gardening. Understanding how things grow, how the raw material is treated to transform it into a dish, seems fascinating to me and I try to learn about it all the time.

How do you decide when a form works? What are you looking for in a final piece?

I never start a piece knowing how it will look. I like making decisions as the form grows. If everything was planned from the beginning it would be too boring or I could hand the job to somebody else and this is not the way I work. It is difficult to explain when a piece is finished, I just know it. I hate describing it like this but it’s true that in a way it has to transmit something to me. Sometimes is the form, or the scale, the empty spaces in it, the gesture…

What does it mean to you when seeing your work in different contexts outside of the studio? Especially with being exhibited and collected more and more internationally.

The feeling is a bit like that of being a parent and seeing how your children relate to an environment in which you no longer have any type of control over them, and you see them more mature, with their own personality and you feel an inexplicable kind of pride. It is an inevitable part of life, you take care of them and help them grow, but you know that sooner or later they will leave.

BLUETC2302 Stoneware Approx 35 x 30 x 25 cm

PINKTC2301 Stoneware Approx 30 x 30 x 25 cm

BLUETC2301 Stoneware Approx 40 x 35 x 30 cm

GREENTC2301 Stoneware Approx 65 x 25 x 2 5 cm

WHITETC2301 Stoneware Approx 55 x 55 x 45 cm

BLUECOTC2301 Stoneware Approx 65 x 45 x 40 cm

Wind Drawing Saturday 1st April 2023 Shipping Forecast - 57* 43' 14" N / 007* 10' 9” W Malin, Hebrides, Bailey. Cyclonic becoming North West 4 to 6, occasional rain. Good. Occasionally poor water in Bailey.

Ink on paper, lime washed box framed 83 x 83 cm (framed)

Meg Rodger

“I live and work on the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland - a speck amidst a chain of islands on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.”

“To dwell in such a place, where the forces and cycles of nature are extreme, is both inspiring and humbling. Nature here is dictator, rhythm setter and provider despite our technological advancements.”

“I work creatively with natural phenomena, taking my inspiration from the complexity, strength and beauty of the oceans and wild lands.”

“Appreciating the knowledge, skills and culture of the people who dwell in these places is part of this process. However, my work is from the perspective that humans are not central but merely part of these naturally occurring systems and cycles that are complex, integrated and vast.”

“Each of my wind drawings are unique.. The large scale wind drawings are generated using a large tripod situated in a windy spot somewhere on the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.

The smaller circular Storm Barrel drawings may have travelled a bit as this equipment is more hardy, transportable and can be left out for long periods of time, even throughout a full storm.”

“Each drawing is named after the Shipping Forecast for the day on which it was made.”

Wind Drawing Sunday 26th March 2023 Shipping Forecast - 57* 43' 14" N / 007* 10' 9” N Rockhall, Malin, Hebrides. Variable 2 to 4 then northerly 5 to 7 later. Wintry Showers. Good occasionally poor.

Ink on paper, lime washed box framed 83 x 83 cm (framed)

Wind Drawing Friday 7th April 2023 Shipping Forecast - 57* 43' 14" N / 007* 10' 9” W Malin, Hebrides. Variable 4 at first in Malin and Hebrides. Otherwise south or southeast 5 to 7 occasionally gale 8 later. Rain in Malin, occasional showers in Hebrides later. Good at times poor.

Ink on paper, lime washed box framed 83 x 83 cm (framed)

Can you describe to us a usual day in your practice?

“I lead a multi-faceted life on the Isle of Berneray, this is quite common for islanders as you often need several jobs across the seasons to make life work here. As well as being an artist, I am also a crofter and breed Hebridean sheep part of the North Atlantic sheep breed. My day starts with checking my flock, lambing in the spring or feeding in the winter. This is important to my practice as it brings me out in all weathers battling the elements or observing the changes in the environment, birdlife and flora as the seasons change.”

How long have you lived on the isle of Berneray? What drew you there?

I have lived on Berneray for around 25 years. My husband's family are from the island and we moved up, started a family and built our careers.

I hadn’t anticipated that it would be forever but here we are a few years down the line.

How did your wind drawing process develop?

Did you have to develop the equipment to do this?

The wind drawings originated from my defeated attempts to work outdoors. Living on a small island on the edge of the Atlantic we are continually buffeted by extreme weather cycles throughout the year not just in winter. I realised that I needed to work with these cycles to become the vehicle through which I could give them expression. To make visible the elemental qualities of living on the this edge.

The equipment is quite simple but that is the beauty of it. Living on an island you need to be able to fix things. We have a shed full of bits and pieces for up-cycling and repairing so I just worked away until I found combinations that worked. Although simple they do need adjusting and calibrating to get aesthetic results but every single drawing is different which is part of the charm.

Are there any parts or results from working with the elements that have surprised you?

Where did your relationship with art begin?

I studied my Fine Art degree as a mature student after working in contemporary art on the mainland then community development here in the islands. The rest of my siblings had all studied art and I was the last one to succumb to the pull of creativity. I haven’t looked back and certainly living in the Hebrides your are almost overwhelmed by source material as it is such a

Every time I lift the lid on my Storm Barrel it is a surprise as I have not idea how the drawing will turn out which is part of the charm but also frustration sometimes. The wind creates such beautiful marks. I have tried to emulate them but it is impossible. My hand is too conscious, it lacks freedom.

Has your artwork changed your relationship with the natural world?

I am my happiest when I am outdoors even in difficult weather it makes you very present. The wind drawings are a good reason to be in that place.

Storm Barrel Monday 10th April 2023 Shipping Forecast - 57* 43’14”N/7*10’9”W Hebrides, Bailey. Cyclonic West 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later. Rough, occasionally moderate in each Hebrides. Showers. Good, occasionally poor.

Ink on paper Circular mount and lime wash box framed.

57.5 x 57.5 cm (framed)

Storm Barrel Friday 10th March 2023

Storm Barrel Sunday 9th April 2023

Shipping Forecast - 57* 43’14”N/7*10’9”W

Shipping Forecast - 57* 43’14”N/7*10’9”W

Hebrides, Bailey. Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally 9 in

Hebrides, Bailey. South-east 5 or 6 increasing 7 or

north. Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough

gale 8 becoming cyclonic 5 to 7 later. Rain at times.

later. Wintery showers. Good, occasionally poor.

Moderate or good. Occasionally poor.

Ink on paper

Ink on paper

Circular mount and lime wash box framed.

Circular mount and lime wash box framed.

57.5 x 57.5 cm (framed)

57.5 x 57.7 cm (framed)

Michelle Cade / Mind Like Water

Recently featured in The Guardian, Time Out & Mail On Sunday, Michelle (AKA Mind Like Water) has delivered workshops & performances at events such as Balance Festival, Wanderlust, Mind Body Spirit & All About Love Festival. She uses a blend of techniques embracing sound, scent, lighting and natural beauty as part of her holistic approach. Fascinated by the connection between sound, movement and nature, Michelle explores how music has played a vital part in rituals, raising consciousness and inducing altered states of reality for thousands of years.

For Trace, Michelle will be performing as part of a special late opening.

Can you talk us through a usual day in your practice?

Most days I work from the Seven Sisters Sanctuary, a wellbeing studio I share with a friend and breathwork facilitator in North London. My days vary quite a bit from 1:1 sessions offering sound and massage therapies, to group sound events at the studio or online.

Some days are for planning, admin and event creation and others are for music creation and recording. I spend time preparing and setting up the studio for events by cleansing the space and the instruments. Testing the technical side of things, checking microphones and levels, playing and singing with the instruments in meditation. I also spend a fair amount of time watering the plants and lighting all the candles.

Other days I’m delivering sessions in corporate settings or private events. I really enjoy the variety and the different aspects of my work.

Michelle Cade. Photography by Brenna Duncan

When did your start working with sound?

I started learning music production 22 years ago which led to producing music for contemporary dance as well as electronic music and yoga and meditation apps. I began working with sound in a therapeutic way in 2018.

How does your work as a sound therapist, musician, artist & DJ overlap or contrast?

There is plenty of overlap and music in all its forms can be therapeutic and healing in different ways. When I am working with sound in a healing capacity, my intention is to create a nourishing & nurturing sonic space that encourages self exploration, self connection and inspires insights. And for the sound to enable states that help the receiver to restore balance and harmony to their physical & emotional bodies. I also work specifically to suit the clients needs in a 1:1 setting.

When I am Djing or performing, my intention is to take people on an emotive journey, to entertain and inspire self expression through movement.

What is the connection between sound, movement and nature that you focus on?

I am fascinated with the phenomenon of Cymatics, which is the study of visible sound.

Cymatics give us a way to see what sound looks like and also what is potentially happening in our bodies when we listen to coherent harmonious sounds versus dissonant chaotic sounds.

We are made up of roughly 70% water so it's no wonder sound can affect our inner and outer being so profoundly. We are vibrational beings after all.

Certain frequencies create shapes in matter e.g. water or sand, that resemble those found in nature such as snowflakes, shells, plants and flowers, cells, tree trunks, tortoise shells, cheetahs and leopards, ancient art….even planetary orbits show similar patterns.

It's mysteriously fascinating and I believe that bringing more exposure to this field of study will help to educate and encourage others to use sound and their voice as a tool for healing. I am currently experimenting with my own DIY Cymatics set up using water.

Your techniques blend senses, are there certain things that you look out for in a new site, like OmVed, before a performance?

The energy, ambience and atmosphere of a space can really impact the kind of experience someone has when they listen to music or attend a sound meditation. I believe the aesthetics, lighting, temperature and scent go a long way to enhance the experience. As a plant and nature lover, Omved ticked all my boxes as somewhere I would be honoured to share my work.

Unit89

“The instinctive emotional response to the process of growth, repetition, duality, a constant push and pull between the opposites of order and chaos, planned and spontaneous, perfect and imperfect are ideas that drive my creativity.

Having a background in architecture, the appreciation of surrounding environment is the starting point of every piece. Their design is defined by a set of guiding principles and a process of response, carefully curating a conversation with the space that surrounds them.

It is about how the pieces answer to their environment as well as the material they are created from rather than how they look on their own and it is designing with voids and shadows as much as with material elements.”

“What started my exploration in clay was its honesty, tactility and vulnerability. Through working with it I began to start wondering about what creates an emotional human connection and what is it that makes us human. We are all based on algorithmic DNA, the same in principle, yet everyone is unique with the addition of unpredictable and spontaneous events that shape us to who we are.”

“This innate clash of algorithmic and chaotic that we feel instinctively within us, the ever-present duality is my constant curiosity. I also strive to preserve in my pieces that sense of vulnerability and human connection through leaving in it my marks, gestures and fingerprints.”

“My work is made entirely by hand in unglazed porcelain with delicate metal details. I develop additive processes of accumulation of gestures, materials and elements and then create a series of pieces through the same process, but with each being completely unique, though different material response and slight variation of gestures. Putting those pieces together creates a conversation between them emphasizing simultaneously their similarities in their differences and differences in their similarities.”

Ula Saniawa of Unit89 is an award-winning ceramic artist based in London.

Trace Elements (Wall Installation) Porcelain A large installation (h. 110 cm x w. 244 cm) made of 4 individual installations (h. 110 cm x w. 61 cm)

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

Every day in the studio is a little different, but they all start about 9am with a coffee. What follows is a combination of making, assembly, design, research and experimentation and every day consists of different proportions of those aspects.

Some days are spent repetitively making tens or hundreds of individual elements and some would be assembling them into compositions, making slight changes, stepping back and evaluating, repeating every few minutes until the composition feels right.

When making, I usually also get ideas for new pieces, elements or techniques, so I might sometimes take a small break during the day if I can to test and play around to see if that would be a path worth looking into.

Team lunch is another ritual thing in the studio which we have with my assistants. Afterwards we review and continue with our tasks. My assistants finish about 6pm, however I am a natural night owl and feel most inspired working late evening, so that’s when a lot of ideas get developed, most days I finish about midnight.

When did you first start working in clay?

My first encounter with clay was during my last year of the architecture degree when, looking for other, more tangible creative outlet than just working in front of the computer screen and encouraged to take up something that I would enjoy failing at to combat my debilitating perfectionism, I have signed up for an evening pottery course. Working with clay has taught me about myself more than I could have ever imagined. It opened my eyes to seeing beauty in imperfection, calmed my mind through repetitive processes and taught me courage to take risks, experiment and accept failure because you can’t fully control what comes out of the kiln and all of this experience permeated my entire life.

What’s been the most pivotal moment in your work so far?

I feel that my practice is constantly moving to new, unexplored places and the pivotal moments come a couple of times a year, however the first one was a completion of my first large scale hanging installation piece in Roka Aldwych restaurant in 2019. It was the first project, where I could merge my architecture and ceramic background and the one that propelled me into a new, large-scale direction.

What inspired your new Elements series?

It is an evolution and progression of the elements I have previously worked with as well as an exploration of convergence of different forms and scales, creating opportunity for a new composition dynamic.

The elements continue to explore the duality of forces ruling the natural world - the mathematical patterns with chance and chaos.

Your process involves both structured repetition and expressive intuition, what are you thinking about as you work? Do you listen to music?

Yes, that’s true and I’m glad it comes across because it is the expression of how my mind works. Yes, I do usually listen to music or a podcast or if I’m late in the studio, I listen to a netfix show that I already know well, because in a way it transports me into another place. My mind can run a million miles per hour, so sometimes it helps to listen to something to quiet it down and then in this space, I’m able to analyse my ideas or think of new ones. During the repetitive making process I can get into a state of flow, which feels very meditative and brings a lot of reflection, however when creating a composition, I am completely focused on the interactions between elements and am constantly assessing whether the elements I am about to introduce is a right fit, scale, shape, orientation…it is hundreds of little decisions an hour and it is utterly consuming.

How do you decide when a piece works?

What are you looking for in a final composition?

Equilibrium, a feeling of balance…it is hard to describe what needs to be done to arrive there, it is just a trust in the process and careful observation of what emerges then responding to it. When a piece is complete it feels as if it becomes its own individual entity and is repelling any further intervention. It is tranquil.

Many views of Trace Elements (Hanging Kinetic Sculpture) Porcelain and wire H. 150 cm (from top of wire to lowest element)

Sol Polo

Sol Polo is a curator, writer and project manager at OmVed Gardens. Her projects are inspired by the interconnectedness of the world, by how it manifests through nature’s web and how creativity can be a powerful tool to bring positive ecological and social change. Having explored the relations between different creative disciplines in the past, she is now dedicated to highlighting their intricate connections with our wild origins and the need to foster a more conscious and respectful relationship with our environment.

In dialogue with Thrown and Metafleur, Sol has curated the TRACE programme of events.

Sol will also be hosting an event as part of the programme, giving a tour of OmVed Gardens through the lens of artists, philosophers, botanists, economists and designers.

rDid your focus on links between ecology and different creative forms lead you to OmVed or develop through your work there?

It led me to OmVed and my work there has been an opportunity to develop it. I've always been interested in the interconnections of different disciplines, but my interest in ecology started when I moved to London to do my MA in Curating at Goldsmiths, in 2015. London is a very green city compared to my hometown, Barcelona, and living here made me become much more aware of the weather, the climate, the landscape and to reflect on my position within that, and my responsibility towards that. I was also looking to find more of a focus for my practice as a curator, and also a bit of purpose. I realised tackling climate and ecology was the most relevant aspect of our times and something that will need our voices and our work in every front: from curating, to designing, to cooking, to living, etc.

Can you talk us through your usual day as a curator and project manager at OmVed Gardens?

Depends on the season, but roughly it starts with replying to emails on project proposals, current and developing projects, and then it is followed by some research to give shape to such projects, together with drafting project plans and presentations to discuss with the team. All of these often involve meeting with artists and contributors which is always exciting.

Sol Polo by Will Hearle at OmVed Gardens Image on next page: Nasturtiums by Will Hearle at OmVed Gardens

Your projects come in many forms, from exhibition to essays to courses, what’s been one of your highlights?

I find it hard to choose, as it is the variety of approaches, what I enjoy the most, in curating and in life. I love putting small but meaningful events on, where you can feel a sense of community and communion in the air, like a conversation with author Alice Vincent I curated and chaired recently at the gardens around her latest book "Why Women Grow" or the OmVed Tour I will be giving, exploring the gardens through the lens of artists, philosophers, botanists, economists and designers. I also deeply enjoy meeting artists and creators and writing about their work. Curating the "Saving Seed" Display and Pavilion for Chelsea Flower Show last year was also a highlight, super challenging but also very satisfying to see come to life.

The events programme that you’ve curated for Trace includes so many different skills and expertise, how do you find the people that you bring together with your projects?

I have a pool of people and projects I follow but I am always very open to discovering new projects, so I always try to involve the rest of the team when a project starts to take shape, and ask them for recommendations. I also receive lots of proposals that I love to consider whenever they seem to fit.

You also teach curation, what is the main piece of advice you give students?

I think the most important advice is to be open.

Open to discover stuff, open to be critical, open to change formats, to innovate, to make things differently, and open to the variety of skills that the profession requires. And perhaps also to have fun: curating is often regarded as or expected to be very serious and academic but I see it more as an opportunity to engage with people from all walks of life, so I think it should be more about connecting and less about giving lessons.

Tim Martin

Tim Martin is a London-based ceramicist. With degrees in Architecture and Design Studies from Sydney University and the University of New South Wales, Australia, Tim also gained a diploma of ceramics from City Lit, London, in 2019.

Tim’s work draws on his architectural background and a love of 20th Century minimalist modernist artists such as Arp, Miró, Brâncusi, Ellsworth Kelly, inspiring a reductive approach to his making.

His work distills landscapes, figures and natural objects to their simplest forms. They aim to push an emotional response - a memory, a human pose, an exotic garden, a hint of something familiar, yet enigmatic, ambiguous.

The sculptures suggest a layered and graphic aesthetic, often playing off each other as assemblages.

Movement Abstract 3 Danish modelleringmasse clay Sculpture Size: 32 cm x 18.5 cm x 7 cm Plinth Size: 19 cm x 19 cm x 9 cm

In 2019, on completing his ceramics diploma, Tim was shortlisted for the New Designers Designer of the Year award as well as selected for Fresh at the British Ceramics Biennial.

Tim has subsequently shown in solo and group exhibitions and awarded three international residencies: the International Ceramics Studio at Kecskemét, Hungary, March - June 2020, the Guldagergaard Residency at the International Ceramic Research Center, Denmark also in 2020 and the JCI International Research Residency at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, China in 2021.

His collection for Trace has been created while on a second residency at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center.

Movement Abstract 1 Danish modelleringmasse clay Sculpture Size: 33 cm x 34 cm x 8 cm Plinth Size: 21 cm x 44 cm x 9.5 cm

Movement Abstract 2 Danish modelleringmasse clay Sculpture Size: 27 cm x 39 cm x 9 cm Plinth Size: 10 cm x 49 cm x 10 cm

Can you talk us through a usual day in your studio?

A ceramic studio usually has several pieces on the go with a number of different processes to look after during each day - I do loads of building, and on other days glazing and firing at different temperatures. There’s always a toggle between drying things, keeping things wet, covering things, and exposing others… claybased areas and clean areas for non-dust work.

Lots of cleaning! So each day is pretty varied.

What are your main sources of inspiration?

Everything around me that gives me a visual buzz: fashion, forms in design, photography, sculpture and building details, natural formations… little details in the smallest and largest of things around us.

Conceptually, I’ve loved minimalist artists since I was just a little boy - particularly the more ‘organic’ artists - Arp, Miro, Brancusi, Noguchi, as well as Elsworth Kelly and other American mid-century modernists.

What first drew you to clay?

Architecture is a material-based trade, whether you’re designing concepts or project managing jobs - buildings and interiors are hugely about putting different materials together, as well as aesthetics and form-based decisions: texture, strength and durability, colour, spatial arrangement, etc. So, for me, the segue into building with ceramics was intuitive and natural.

Particularly hand building. Clay is earth and minerals and water and air - all base materials and elements - it was easy for me to feel an instant connection. But the biggest connection with doing what I do was the fact that I’m making art - my own interpretation of the world through an artistic lens - and clay is really in service to that.

What’s been the biggest pivotal moment in your practice so far?

Big picture answer is… getting work out in the world and discussing it. I really want me as an artist to be part of the larger art conversation.

The other pivotal moments have been being part of long-term ceramic residencies overseas: this allowed me to be utterly focused in getting my practice to grow conceptually.

How does thinking about exhibiting in the garden change your approach to your work?

It makes sense that any work you place in a context like a garden should respond to being there. Maybe its form is reflecting the natural things around it, or colours and textures play off those of the plants. Height is also important stacking or building upon plinths to integrate or make a feature, a goal to walk towards.

Your clay, glazes and the blocks you site your work on are always so beautifully considered, at what point do these material decisions come into your process?

They are considered along the way - I rarely work out the glaze type or colour beforehand, some clays don’t want to be glazed in any case. I love placing work on plinths and blocks because suddenly they become part of the work itself. I have many lying around to try out, and the pairing becomes obvious after swapping a few around. Then the work feels finished.

Branch Pearlescent glazes on white stoneware

Figure on Plinth Pearlescent glazes on white stoneware

Sculpture Size: 25 cm x 21 cm x 5 cm

Sculpture Size: 25 cm x 25 cm x 5 cm

Plinth Size: 16 cm x 9.5 cm x 9.5 cm

Plinth Size: 15 cm x 15 cm x 6.5 cm

Will Hearle

Will Hearle is a photographer, producer and director who works across several fields from music photography to commercial film production. He is a member of Forest Studio, a boutique creative studio based in east London, as well as OmVed’s in-house photographer.

For Trace, Will will capture the exhibition in photo and video as well as host a workshop with a focus on capturing 'art in space', inviting attendees to capture the beautiful artwork from the exhibition and how it dialogues with the nature that surrounds it.

Can you talk us through a usual day as OmVed's in-house photographer?

Usually I would be working closely with other members of the team, whether its Vicky in the garden, Jo in the kitchen or someone else.

Together we work to highlight any interesting practices - from permaculture or preserving that we do at Omved. For me, its about telling the story clearly, succinctly and aesthetically.

When did you first become interested in photography?

About 4 Years ago, I took up photography as a way to deal with anxiety. If I ever felt aimless or an urge that I should be doing something I would grab my camera and go for a walk. I was drawn to the ways in which nature would quietly emerge in the urban sphere. Photography makes you notice the little instants of interest going on around you at all times.

Will Hearle / OmVed Gardens

What is the most important element a great picture needs in your opinion?

For me it's all about depth, I love working to create layers in an image to make it appear 3D. And of course light, good lighting makes an image.

What is the picture you are most proud of from your OmVed collection?

That's a tough one, the light in the glasshouse can lend itself to some stunning images. But it has to be the work I did for WTLF magazine photographing root vegetables. The team were all so talented and together we made something I am very proud of.

You make lovely films as well as photography, how does your work as photographer and filmmaker at OmVed relate to the work you do outside of the gardens?

It relates in so many ways, I am always inspired

by Omved as an ever changing garden - the transient landscape and vivid florals are full of ideas. On top of that the team are constantly bring amazing art, podcasts, books, news stories to the table - its a vibrant place to work.

Bostal Bottom, Sussex Downland Ceramic 14 x 23 x 22 cm

TRACE Tracing a new relationship with the land

Both as a noun and as a verb, the word trace deeply resonates with OmVed. As a noun, trace indicates the existence or passing of something, and our gardens are full of traces: traces of the existence of our non-human kin for whom OmVed is their habitat, traces of the passing of time and the seasons, and also traces of the activities we carry at the gardens. Trace can also refer to a very small quantity, especially one too small to be accurately measured. All living beings leave traces, but we feel human beings are currently leaving too much of a trace, and more of a permanent and dangerous mark on the planet.

Thankfully, a way out of this can be found in the definitions of trace as a verb. To trace is to find or to discover by investigation, something to which we are indebted with our growing, preserving, saving seed, supporting biodiversity and fostering creativity activities. To trace is also to copy by drawing over something with a piece of transparent paper, and this is something we like to do metaphorically, by drawing inspiration from nature’s wise ways, colours, forms and cycles to find more balance and harmony in our everyday lives and environment.

Sol Polo Curator and Project Manager, OmVed Gardens

Metafleur is a sustainable floral art and design studio founded by Alice McCabe and based in London, creating large-scale floral installations and living landscapes for events and films, alongside dried floral art for exhibitions.

Metafleur is owned and managed by Alice McCabe a multi-media artist who creates floral installations, paintings and performances often with foraged and found materials of an ephemeral nature. Alice has worked with flowers for over twenty years, having trained and worked in floristry shops and studied with the Royal Horticultural Society alongside pursuing her career as an artist. She studied Fine Art Painting at the University of Brighton and completed an MA in Arts Education and Curation from the Zurich University of the Arts in 2014. She set up Alice McCabe Flowers combining her art and floristry practices in 2016 and Metafleur in 2020 focussing on large-scale installations committing to sustainably led design practices and actively rethinking what the future of flowers, living plant and dried material installation. Metafleur aims to bring floristry and regenerative and eco-design practices together.

www.metafleur.com

OmVed Gardens is a greenscape, exhibition and education space in north London regenerating our relationship with the land, with food and with our human and more than human kin demonstrating the impact a regenerative approach can have in an urban context, but also on our health, society and planet as a whole.

Established in London in 2018, Thrown is an online and pop-up gallery specialising in craft.

The gallery prides itself on engaging and accessible curation that showcases exceptional art and design in all its forms, aiming to draw links and question boundaries between process, form and function.

Working with artists, architects, chefs, musicians, horticulturalists or local schools, OmVed Gardens nurtures discussion, reflection and collaboration around the topics of food, creativity and ecological transformation through a varied programme taking place both online and in person at the gardens. OmVed has successfully initiated a number of projects to activate communities around growing, seed saving, composting, preserving and creating with nature, and regularly shares insights into a collective journey to rediscover ourselves within nature.

Through a programme of exhibitions, Thrown represents internationally acclaimed names alongside emerging talent, providing a muchneeded platform for makers finding their identity as artists.

www.omvedgardens.com

www.throwncontemporary.co.uk

The gallery was set up by gallery director Claire Pearce who has been working in galleries since graduating from a degree in Architecture in 2010. Five years spent in St Ives, Cornwall, first introduced her to ceramics as an art form, which has been a passion ever since.

A collaboration by