About
Shenac Singleton is a ceramic artist whose practice has grown from a personal and intuitive relationship with clay. Her journey into ceramics has been one of discovery; initially drawn to the physicality and possibilities of the material, she gradually found that making offered a way to explore and express experiences that could not easily be put into words. Her MA in Ceramics became an opportunity to step back and look more deeply at what was driving her work. Through drawing, walking and making, she began to recognise how strongly her practice was connected to memory, place and emotional experience. She came to understand that the act of making could become a way of slowing down, paying attention and giving form to things that are felt rather than easily articulated. Working primarily with hand-built sculptural vessels, Shenac uses clay intuitively, allowing the material and the process of making to become part of an ongoing exploration rather than simply a means of producing a predetermined form. Her work is quiet and contemplative, with an emphasis on abstraction, form and surface. Her practice is rooted in an interest in how places can become embedded within us, carrying memories, emotions and a sense of belonging. She is particularly interested in the relationship between the physical landscape and the inner landscapes we carry with us.
Project overview
Memories of Place
Memories of Place explores the relationship between landscape, memory and emotional connection through a series of abstract, hand-built sculptural vessels. The work has developed in response to Sawbridge, a small hamlet in Warwickshire whose open countryside and ancient landscape hold deep personal significance. The starting point for each vessel is a contour line drawn from the landscape. This line informs the shape of the base, creating a physical connection between the vessel and the place from which it originates. From this initial point, however, the process becomes intuitive. As the vessel is built, Shenac responds to the clay, allowing the material, the developing form and the act of making to influence each decision. The finished vessel is therefore not a literal translation of the landscape, but an interpretation that emerges through the dialogue between place, material and maker. Through abstraction, contour, surface and form, the work seeks to distil something of the atmosphere and emotional resonance of a remembered place. The vessels explore ideas of belonging, sanctuary, stillness and the way places can become embedded within us. Although rooted in a specific landscape and personal experience, the work invites viewers to reflect on their own memories of place and the landscapes they carry with them.
First Frost series
First Frost series
The Quiet Within
part of Held by Place
Held by Place 3/5
