We’ve noticed a focus on ceramics recently. The pieces and makers catching our eye blend simple and modern, crafted and rustic. Some are Japanese or take Japanese pottery as inspiration melding this with other styles. We’ve talked about this in the studio recently and begun a draft Journal post about robust, practical and useful pots. We tore this draft up when we encountered Sophie Woodrow‘s work.

Ethereal, otherworldly and very British her imagined animal sculptures exist at the opposite end of the discipline to our original idea for a post about ceramics. Each piece is hand made and entirely unique, often featuring numerous intricate techniques to create wonderfully delicate textural blends of flora on fauna. Her portraits brim with character, they are at once calm, mesmerising yet vibrant and exciting. Talking about her inspiration Sophie references Victorian art and how their (mis)understanding of nature and natural history informed a romanticised creative output. We look at her work and see a cocktail dreamt up by Tove Jansson and Tolkien sipped slowly in the back room of Chalmun’s Cantina in Star Wars.

Sophie Woodrow was brought to our attention by the ever-excellent Shop Floor Project in Ulverston, Cumbria. Credit where it’s due.