Fired up by my sculpture art

Nov 11 2009 Birkenhead News

Fired up by my sculpture art

CERAMICIST Janet Holmes creates sculptural stonework that exists “body and form, for itself”.

Hailing from Wallasey, and now living in Prenton, Janet has work on show throughout Wirral’s galleries, with her influence stretching across the water and as far away as Glasgow and Scarborough.

The mother-of-two told Wirral Arts: “When I was 14, I went to art classes and everybody I knew kept saying I was better at 3D.

“I love the form and the movement.”

In a break from the traditional throwing technique of pottery, using a wheel, Janet constructs her pieces with hand rolled bands of clay, built to create a finished work.

The 52-year-old said: “Really it’s about how I feel, it’s pure expression.”

She uses a particular material, called Grog, which is a clay that has already been fired and then ground back down.

The material possesses great strength and allows her the flexibility to build bigger pieces.

Janet said: “I love the feeling of the textures.

“It’s all about what the clay can show and what I can get out of the clay, about the different textures and shapes and a bit of reflection on what we are and how we express ourselves.

“When people look at the work they want to touch it and then they’re thinking about what that shape is going to be in their head.

“It’s completely open, and people then get their own image of it, of what the pot is.

“It doesn’t have to be for anything, it’s body and form for itself.”

lVisit www.ceramicrock.com