Pause for a Moment #1 (2024)

Rebecca Thomas is a ceramic artist working from her home studio in London. Her sculptural vases have a distinctive silhouette, with gently inclined sides and an asymmetric mouth. Monochrome abstract decoration covers the surface, gently breaking over the bevelled rim to continue inside, where it changes character. As slender vessels with a narrow base and black decoration, they are a contemporary nod to ancient Greek amphora.

 

A life sculpture evening class started Rebecca’s journey into clay, and now working as a ceramicist, she continues to hand-build her forms. Vases are assembled from slabs of leather hard clay, taking several days to allow just the right firmness for each stage of the make. After the first kiln-firing, black underglaze decoration is printed onto the surface, using silk screens, paper transfer and gel plates. Rebecca works around the vase, printing sections of pattern to build layers of visually textural decoration. Her organic approach means no two vessels are the same and each viewpoint of the same vase brings a distinct perspective, encouraging viewers to pause and look more closely at the detail. After their second firing, the unglazed vases are polished for a smooth, pebble-like finish.

 

Rebecca finds the creative process absorbing, challenging and ultimately rewarding. After a long career in IT marketing, she now enjoys developing her ceramics practice, and seeing her vases finding new homes.

 

3D Ceramic Vessel with Monochrome Underglaze Patterns Screen Printed onto the Surface

8.5x22cm