Emma Parker studied ceramics and gained a degree and an MA at UWIC, in Cardiff and has been making ceramics and sculpture since the mid-1990s. Emma now lives and works in Eton College in the UK where she has been teaching ceramics and fine art to secondary students for 15 years. Here her ceramic practice has been squeezed into school holidays and quiet weekends, providing her with a place to engage with and further her professional skill set.

Her most recent project involves making figurative groups taken from archive photographs from the pre-WWII period of people in the industrial north of England. Her large figures are slab-built from coarse earthenware and rendered with monotone slips and oxides that reflect the quality of the photographs and the subject matter.

Emma’s work spans sculptural and decorative realms. In recent years her work has predominantly been concerned with the concealment of the figure. Sleeping and resting bodies encased in and protected by patterned blankets and wrappings. Porcelain, terracotta and vitreous slips create an exquisite textural finish to these works, with dribbles of glaze and flashes of gold to accentuate their rich qualities. The form of a body cocooned in densely patterned fabrics. Finding new ways to apply colour and experiment with the versatility of slip and glaze application, as well as combining printmaking techniques. These pieces highlight important associations that concern location, ritual, commemoration and the souvenir.

The Australian Ceramics Community

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Emma Parker

Emma Parker

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